Friday, February 26, 2021 |
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A Message from CMM's Executive Director |
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Transitions
Friday, Feb. 26, 2021
Rev. Dr. Rodney L. Petersen
We are in a season of transitions. We are in a liminal space brought on by the end of winter. Crocuses are mostly in the mind. We find ourselves in the wilderness for 40 days, tempted by devils. Perhaps we are with Esther, under threat in a Persian Court, finding in Purim the slippery slope of political intrigue marked by the Ides of March, St. Patrick’s Day parades and Evacuation Day in Boston. All of this is metaphorical for the social climate and cultural chaos in which we find ourselves.
We are in need of a new narrative, one that is inclusive of all of our different stories, an Inclusive American Narrative, and we are in a liminal space until we find it. Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries (CMM) is promoting a community-building exercise through the spring around the topic, “Sharing Our Stories: Towards an Inclusive American Narrative, ” first explored by CMM at the linked event in December. Issues of identity, spirituality, neighborliness, and the importance of hospitality are all in play and reach to the core of who we are and as that becomes expressed in social settings with civic implications. In her book. The Human Condition, political philosopher Hannah Arendt ties efforts like this to forgiving, promise-making, and political agency in society. Components include:
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Race – CMM encourages joining the zoom workshop on March 14, “Facing our Racism: Becoming Conscious Partners.” It is crucial to become “conscious partners” with our neighbors in this liminal time. And speaking of which, we, along with the rest of the At My Neighbor’s Table series, are energized to promote, “Fault Lines: Grappling with Segregation in Our Schools,” discussing the high levels of K-12 school segregation in our communities, the detrimental impacts and what can be done to build a better educational experience for our children.
Race, religion, and resilience – all in the midst of the current pandemic – are components that underlie the liminality we feel. They call for an Inclusive American Narrative to be worked out in communities of neighborly regard.
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Facing Our Racism: Becoming Conscious Partners Workshop
Sunday, March 14, 2021, 12 - 4:30pm
Online via Zoom
(Registration ends at 11am on the day of, and the Zoom link will be sent right after that.)
The killing of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor galvanized White people to become “conscious partners” with our Black sisters and brothers to end racism. Crucial to this new understanding and awareness is the formation of genuine, open, truthful relationships between Black and White community members. You are invited to take part in a “Facing Our Racism: Becoming Conscious Partners” workshop which analyzes the systemic, institutional, policy, and power-driven persecution and discrimination against Black Americans since the very beginning of slavery.
Recommended Pre-Viewing:
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Dr. Ibram X. Kendi: Creating A More Equitable Society Is In White Americans' Self Interest: https://youtu.be/dCUOX3NMd4U
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Deconstructing White Privilege with Dr. Robin DiAngelo: https://youtu.be/DwIx3KQer54
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How Racial Bias Works – and How to Disrupt It with Jennifer Eberhardt: https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_l_eberhardt_how_racial_bias_works_and_how_to_disrupt_it
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A Blueprint for Reparations in the US | William "Sandy" Darity: https://youtu.be/hv88_R-XDDw
About the Facilitators
Dr. Connie Holmes is a retired psychologist who counseled cancer patients and their families for 28 years in Boston and in the San Francisco Bay area. She conducts these workshops throughout the United States. Her great-grandfather perished in Theresienstadt, a World War II concentration camp. Her exposure to the horrors of the Final Solution has motivated her to join the struggle for racial justice in the United States.
Dolores Moorehead, MS, APCC is the Lead Navigator/ Multi-Cultural Client Support Clinician at the Women’s Cancer Resource Center in Berkeley with over 30 years of experience that includes the American Cancer Society. She has worked with diverse populations including LGBTQIA+, African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Pacific Islanders. She is committed to improving communication between doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals about the medical needs and access to care of diverse populations.
Sponsors: Grace Church in Newton, St. Mary’s Church in Dorchester, the Charles River Deanery, Temple Shalom in Newton, Temple Beth Zion in Brookline, ten other congregations, and Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries (CMM), the greater Boston area’s oldest interfaith social justice organization that has been fighting racism since 1966.
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Fault Lines: Grappling With Segregation In Our Schools
"At My Neighbor's Table Series"
Sunday, March 21, 2021. 5:30 - 7:00 PM
This event is Free but limited (Please sign on by 5:15 PM)
Kindly register by noon Friday, March 19.
Event Zoom link will be sent upon registration
Following short presentations by Liam Kerr and Rep. Chynah Tyler, we will explore and discuss the high levels of K-12 school segregation in our communities, the detrimental impacts and what can be done to build a better educational experience for our children.
"The many crises we are now undergoing are layered atop of an existing public education landscape that was already highly unequal and segregated. Sixty-six years after Brown v. Board of Education, ... Nationwide, two out of five Black and Latinx students attend schools where more than 90 percent of their classmates are non-White, while one in five White students attends a school where more than 90 percent of students are also White.
Unlike a virus, school segregation and education inequality are not products of nature: they are the result of ... conscious decisions by lawmakers—combined with individual choices that families make. Through deliberate policies and practices, however, it is possible ... to build a better education system that gives students access to diverse learning environments, equitable resources, and school cultures that affirm their identities." The Century Foundation
About the Presenters:
Liam Kerr, MA State Dir., Democrats For Education Reform.
Through the Policy for Progress initiative, Liam organized a report on school segregation in Massachusetts with the national school finance equity nonprofit EdBuild.
Liam is a Needham native, a NHS Class of 2001 graduate and has two young sons that will be entering NPS. After beginning his career with AmeriCorps, Liam worked in the nonprofit sector and has led several advocacy initiatives locally and nationally for Democrats For Education Reform, No Boston Olympics, and The Welcome Party. He has a BA from Providence College and an MBA from Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business.
Rep. Chynah Tyler (D), 7th Suffolk, Chair, Black & Latino Legislative Caucus.
In 2016, at age 26, State Rep. Chynah Tyler ran a successful campaign to succeed the long-time incumbent. She is the current Chair of the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus and the Boston Delegation. Recently she filed a bill to create commission studying school segregation.
Chynah was born and raised in Roxbury. She credits programs offered to her as a child with giving her the authentic sense of pride she feels as a Roxbury native. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice with a minor in Law, Policy, and Society from Northeastern University. She began her career as a Case Manager for Federal Inmates. From that experience, she grew to understand the importance of state government's role in delivering valuable resources to the most vulnerable populations.
Background reading materials (optional):
Sponsors: These groups have come together to support this event. Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries, Needham Baha’i Community, Christ Episcopal Church, Congregational Church of Needham UCC, First Baptist Church in Needham, First Parish in Needham Unitarian Universalist, Temple Beth Shalom, Wellesley Friends Meeting, Equal Justice Needham, Inclusive Westwood, League of Women Voters Needham, Needham Diversity Initiative, Needham Human Rights Committee, Neighbors In Action, Progressive Dedham/Norwood/Westwood, Progressive Needham, World of Wellesley.
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2021 Interfaith Climate Summit: Healing, Helping and Building Resilience
Sunday, April 11, 2021, 2 - 4pm
We may not be to be together, but we can heal together. More info forthcoming.
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Upcoming Community Events |
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A Medal for Willie by William Branch
Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021, 8pm
Log on at 7:45 to live music by Danny Rivera!
Join us for a virtual production of William Branch’s A Medal for Willie, a powerful play which examines the intersection of segregation and racism during a time when both were permitted to flourish. Set in a small town during the Jim Crow era with eerily contemporary parallels, A Medal for Willie serves as a reminder that bias and supremacy must always be challenged and that change can occur in even the smallest pockets of our society. The play will be followed by an audience Q&A, with a panel of the cast, directors, and members of Families Organizing for Racial Justice (FORJ). We'll explore the themes of bias, prejudice, and structural racism embedded within the play and confront its modern-day relevance. Theater offers a compelling and interesting vehicle for us to delve into challenging conversations with honesty and bravery. It is our hope that this talkback conversation is engaging, thought-provoking, and furthers our understanding of how we can interrupt the corrosive effects of racism. This production is made possible by a generous grant from the Harmony Foundation, and produced in partnership with Overdue: Confronting Race and Racism in Newton.
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GBH - Racial Justice in America: Past, Present and Future
Tuesday, March 2, 2021, 7:30 - 9pm
In this discussion we’ll examine how structural racism has fueled inequity and reflect on our nation’s long legacy of racial injustice. We'll explore how America's current engagement in fighting racial oppression differs from movements in the past and look ahead to the future and the hope for meaningful change.
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Building Resilience on the Charles: Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Watertown, Somerville, Dedham, and Westwood
Wednesday, March 3, 2021, 6:30pm
Having the best possible information on the impacts of climate change within your community can inform effective local investment and regulatory changes. CRWA has developed a Charles River watershed flood model. This computer flood model will provide simulations on different kinds of flooding events and possible solutions like green infrastructure. What kind of flooding events are most important in your community? What kind of solutions do you think will work best? Please join us for a discussion with Lower Watershed communities so we can collect your feedback and determine how this tool will be used!
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Tisch College Distinguished Speaker Series: Dr. Anthony Fauci
Monday, March 8, 2021, 4pm
Join Tisch College for a conversation with the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has been one of the leading figures in America’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 1984, Dr. Fauci has served as the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, where he oversees an extensive research portfolio focused on infectious and immune-mediated diseases. As the long-time chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation, Dr. Fauci has made many seminal contributions in basic and clinical research and is one of the world’s most-cited biomedical scientists. He has advised seven U.S. Presidents on HIV/AIDS and other domestic and global health issues, and he was one of the principal architects of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a program that has saved millions of lives throughout the developing world. Dr. Fauci is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Science, the George M. Kober Medal of the Association of American Physicians, the Mary Woodard Lasker Award for Public Service, the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, the Robert Koch Gold Medal, the Prince Mahidol Award, and the Canada Gairdner Global Health Award. He has also received 45 honorary doctoral degrees from universities in the United States and abroad.
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Against the Hounds of Hell: The Life of Howard Thurman
Monday, March 8, 2021, 7 - 8:30pm
Join us for a book talk on Against the Hounds of Hell by Peter Eisenstadt, an online event on March 8 from 7-8:30 p.m. The book will at last establish this multifaceted historical personage as a leading figure of twentieth-century American politics, religion, and culture. Panelists for this discussion include:
- Peter Eisenstadt, Author
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Dr. Walter Fluker, Editor, The Papers of Howard Washington Thurman
- Dr. Shively T. J. Smith, Assistant Professor of New Testament, Boston University School of Theology
- Rabbi Or Rose, Director, Hebrew College Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership
- Nick Bates, Moderator, Assistant Director, Boston University Howard Thurman Center
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Edward R. Murrow Forum on Issues in Journalism: Chris Wallace
Thursday, March 11, 2021, 12pm
Join Tisch College for a conversation with Chris Wallace, the featured speaker for the 14th Annual Edward R. Murrow Forum on Issues in Journalism, on the topic of "Speaking Up & Speaking Out: Politics, Power & Freedom of the Press." A prominent political commentator and a highly respected journalist, Chris Wallace has been in the broadcasting industry for over 50 years and has worked at most of the major networks. He is currently the anchor of FOX News Sunday, prior to which Wallace was a senior correspondent for “Primetime Live” and substitute for “Nightline” at ABC News, covered several presidential elections at NBC News as the network’s chief White House correspondent, and was a print reporter at the Boston Globe. In 2015, Wallace—along with Megyn Kelly and Bret Baier—moderated the first Republican presidential debate, which still ranks as the highest-rated non-sports telecast ever, according to Nielsen Media Research. He later moderated the third general election presidential debate in 2016 – a first for a FOX News journalist. Wallace is the recipient of three Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award for his reporting.
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Help Serve the Unhoused & Food Insecure |
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