[Antiracism] AFSC Community Action Calendar and HIPP News

[American Friends Service Committee]

AFSC COMMUNITY ACTION CALENDAR

Greetings Friends!

Tonight! Chris Chandler at the Amherst UU (see the calendar)

There is a breathtaking amount going on, thanks to the remarkable community 
of organizers at work in our Valley.

Please take a moment to read through the CALENDAR (scroll down) and action 
items. If you have any questions, call us at AFSC, 413.584.8975.

In the months ahead, the student-age folks at AFSC invite any young people 
in our area to a three-part discussion series....read on for more information.

****

Beginning on Monday, January 30, student-age community members will begin a 
three-part reading/discussion series. Discussions will be held at AFSC, 140 
Pine Street, Rm. 10, Florence.

The three texts drawn from will be:

Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Chapters 1 and 2) - Jan/Feb 
discussions Jan. 30, 9am and Feb. 15, 3:30pm

Paulo Freire and Myles Horton's We Make the Road by Walking - Feb/March 
discussions

Audre Lorde's Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches (focus on dismantling 
the master's house) - March/April discussions

The first scheduled discussion of Pedagogy of the Oppressed is on Monday, 
January 30, at 9am. Bagels, coffee and discussion. RSVP, please, to Elena, 
Kjerstin or Emily at 413.584.8975. Please come having read Chapters 1 and 
2. Texts are available to borrow from AFSC.

****

Lest we think that this all has to happen in one day...we should keep in 
mind that Audre Lorde taught us that "revolution is not a onetime event."

With love in our common struggle,

Jo

Help Increase the Peace (HIPP) newsletter attached
AFSC Organizing Fellow Raul Matta has finished his latest HIPP newsletter, 
which is dedicated to youth-centered news.  November and December 
newsletters are available on line at www.WesternMassAFSC.org

Valley War Bulletin -- Latin America Left!
The latest issue of the War Bulletin is in -- It focuses on the Left-wing 
people's movements in Latin America! It's available on line thanks to Paul 
Eagle and Roger Conant at www.WesternMassAFSC.org/vwb

Planning meeting for coordinated anti-war actions
Planning meeting for coordinated actions on the third anniversary of the US 
war in Iraq (noting that this existing nightmare is an extension of the war 
that the US has waged on Iraq since 1991 -- so really 15 years, not three 
-- thanks to Jen Cannon)

Thursday 1/26, 7pm, NorthStar Learning Center
104 Russell Street (Route 9) in Hadley
in the Sylvan Learning Center plaza
on the same side of the street as Carmelinas

Walk for a New Spring 2006
The monks and nuns of the Peace Pagoda are beginning their annual Walk for 
a New Spring. Thanks to the many of you who have come forward in years past 
to host or support the walkers. To get involved this year, call Sister 
Clare at 413.367.2202 or AFSC, 413.584.8975. Last year's walk initiatived 
the Mayors for Peace campaign, which resulted in 9 WMA Mayors for Peace and 
the historic resolutions in the MA House and Senate! This year, we will 
continue Mayors for Peace in our push for a state-wide community meeting 
with Senator Kennedy, which will focus on nuclear abolition.

The following is the schedule for the walk's first days (it begins on 
2/19). You will notice that the anchors we're using are our regional 
mayor's offices.

More information will be available soon! All help needed and welcome.

Tuesday 2/21
North Adams Mayor, early morning
Pittsfield Mayor, 10 am

Wednesday 2/22
Westfield Mayor, 3 pm

Thursday 2/23
Agawam Mayor, 10 am
Springfield Mayor, late morning
West Springfield Mayor, afternoon

Friday 2/24
Chicopee Mayor, early morning
Holyoke Mayor, late morning
Easthampton Mayor, stop by between 1 pm and 2 pm
Northampton Mayor, 2pm

Monday 2/25
Greenfield Mayor, stop by in morning


Community Calendar
Wednesday 1/25, 8pm, Amherst
Chris Chandler and David Roe live performance AMHERST UNITARIAN MEETINGHOUSE
121 North Pleasant Street
doors open at 7:30pm
admission: $8

Thursday 1/26
Invest in Democracy Day: Mass Voters for Fair Elections kicks off 2006 with 
a series of house meetings. MVFE members in different parts of the 
Commonwealth will host small get-togethers to view "Investing in Democracy" 
about the success story of public financing in New York City, and to plan 
local activities for the year ahead.

Thursday 1/26, 4-6, Amherst
Youth Action Coalition and GirlsEyeView Amherst present: Works-In-Progress: 
Photographs, creative writing, darkroom demos, food, and presentations by 
the artists

Thursday 1/26, 7pm, Hadley
Planning meeting for coordinated actions on the third anniversary of the US 
war in Iraq

Friday 1/27, 7pm, Northampton
film: EDSA 2: People Power in 2001. The Popular Philippine movement takes 
on President Estrada. Free

Friday 1/27-29, Amherst College
"http://www.peoplesmusic.org/"
People's Music Network for songs of freedom and struggle holds its Winter 
Gathering, for musicians, music-lovers, activists, and others (see 
http://www.westernmassafsc.org/calendar/PMNflyer%20small.jpg

Saturday 1/28, 9:30-4:30, Springfield
Communicating with Compassion workshop The mission of IPC's Communicating 
with Compassion project is to spread the tools and consciousness of NVC 
throughout the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts and beyond.

Saturday 1/28, 6-9pm, Springfield
PVP MICAH Award Dinner: Pioneer Valley Project/Proyecto del Valle Pionero 
(PVP) presents it annual awards for community activism. MICAH stands for 
Ministry in Community Action Honorees who are nominated by members of PVP. 
Buffet dinner- $30 per person, $250 per
table. Info, RSVP (by January 24)

Sunday 1/29, noon, Northampton
Enoch Page, Professor of Anthropology-UMass, will be giving a lecture on 
Disaster Racism and the threats we face. The talk will be supplemented with 
slides on power point, pictures, and charts.

Sunday 1/29, 3pm, Northampton
"A Report from Israel/Palestine: The Faculty for Israel-Palestine Peace 
Delegation," A presentation by Peter Titelman, Katherine Baker, and Yoav 
Elinevsky.

Monday 1/30, 9am, AFSC, Florence student-age community members will begin a 
three-part reading/discussion series. First discussion will be of Paulo 
Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Chapters 1 and 2)

Monday 1/30, 6:30pm, Amherst
film: Bonhoeffer by Martin Doblmeier. Why did the German Church embrace 
Hitler and the Nazi party? And what was a good German, a deeply religious 
and pacifist man to do about it?

Tuesday 1/31, 8:30, Greenfield
You are invited to participate in a "State of our Values Watch" on Tues. 
Jan 31 when President Bush gives his State of the Union address.

Friday 2/3, 7pm, Northampton
film: Paul Robeson, Here I Stand

Saturday 2/4, 3pm-5pm, Montague
Zen Peacemakers cordially invite you to An Open House to Celebrate the 
Opening of the new Maezumi Institute. This is an excellent opportunity to 
explore the rich heritage of Zen and its most contemporary application to 
21st century social issues. All are welcome!

Sunday 2/5, 12:30pm, Hadley and South Hadley
WAL-MART SWEATSHOP WORKERS TOUR
Join workers from the Philippines, Nicaragua, and Colombia as they
tour the US and talk about conditions in factories that produce products
for Wal-Mart, Gap, and many others.

Monday 2/6, 5:30pm-6:30pm
Undercurrents
91.1FM, WMUA
Professor Jean Grossholtz gives an update on her trip to the World Trade
Organization meeting in Hong Kong and the people's organized resistance to
free/liberalized trade. She will begin by offering a brief global economy 101
talk at the top of the show.

Monday 2/6, 6:30pm, Old Chatham NY
"Doing Time, Doing Vipassana" recently the Indian Government decided to 
apply Vipassana, an ancient meditation technique which shows people how to 
take control of their lives and channel them toward their own good, in all 
the country's prisons. The filmmakers spent about two weeks inside Tihar 
Central Prison in New Delhi and Baroda Jail in the Indian state of Gujarat.

Monday 2/6, 6:30pm, Amherst
film: The Peace Patriots by Robbie Leppzer. The people living in western 
Massachusetts who opposed the war in Iraq. The film follows a diverse group 
of individuals, ranging in age from 13 to 74, including teenagers, college 
students, war veterans, clergy and community activists

Tuesday, 2/7
Monthly meeting of the Military Recruitment Education Network (MREN). All 
welcome. NorthStar Learning Center, Sylvan Learning Center Plaza in Hadley. 
Call AFSC, 413.584.8975

Wednesday 2/8, 7pm, Mount Holyoke College
Kate Michelman, President Emeritus, NARAL Pro-Choice America has been 
described as "one of the most powerful women in Washington." Her political 
memoir, With Liberty and Justice for All, is an urgent wake-up call to 
American women to defend their freedom in its hour of greatest danger.

Thursday 2/9, Amherst
What's the Connection: Globalization, Wal-Mart, the Iraq War, Healthcare 
crisis, Privatization? This interactive presentation by the Center for 
Popular Economics (sponsored by SAGE) will show how these destructive 
trends are driven by a particular economic ideology and model - that of 
neoliberalism which gained prominence in the 1980s.

Friday 2/10, South Hadley
Kathy Kelly, international peace activist and author, will speak about 
human rights work in Iraq on Friday, February 10, at 7:30 p.m. at Gamble 
Auditorium, Mt. Holyoke College. This event is organized by Traprock Peace 
Center and The Odyssey Bookshop.

Fri-Sun 2/10-12, Montague
Zen Peacemaker Circle, Training Intensive: Spirituality, Community, Action.
A workshop for people from diverse spiritual backgrounds (including no 
spiritual background at all) who are interested in investigating how to 
integrate social action and spirituality.

Saturday 2/11, 9-5, Springfield
Exploring Class What class did you grow up in? What strengths and 
limitations came out of your class background? How has your class 
background affected your relationships with people of the same and 
different classes? Join a diverse group to explore these questions and more!

Saturday 2/11, 3pm, Plainfield
Raven Wood Freedom Farm and Learning Center Fundraising Concert featuring 
Radio Free Earth, Stephen Bushway, Marc Fromm and Beth Sperry, Heather Cupo 
and Sean Kimball, Malachite, Plainfield Town Hall, All Welcome, $5 at the 
door, kids under 6 come free.

Wednesday, 2/15, UMass
Platanos and Collard Greens
www.platanosandcollardgreens.com
8pm, Bowker Auditorium @ UMass-Amherst
Free and Open to the Public

Thursday 2/16, 7pm, Hampshire College
Peak Oil - Fact or Fiction? Michael Lynch, an internationally-renowned oil 
economist based in Amherst, says that the "Peak Oil" crowd is wrong or 
lying about the data.

Friday 2/17, 7pm, Northampton
film: Winter Soldier with Professor Chris Appy, UMass Prof. Asian Studies

Saturday 2/18
Memorial for Gregory Levey
& Community Gathering to end the US war in Iraq
15 years ago on February 18, 1991 (President's Day), Gregory Levey took his 
life in a public act against the Gulf War.
Schedule for February 18, 2006
Location: Amherst Town Common (across from Peter Pan)
1:45pm: gather for prayers and drumming led by the Nipponzan Myohogi Peace 
Pagoda
1:53pm to 1:58pm: silence to remember Greg at the time of his death
1:58pm to 3:00pm: prayers and drumming led by the Nipponzan Myohogi Peace 
Pagoda
3:00pm to 4:00pm: community circle with memorial and speak out against the war
4:00pm to 4:30pm: candlelight vigil

Friday 2/24, 7pm, Northampton
film: Weather Underground with Carl Olgesby author of the Port Huron 
statement of Students for A Democratic Society

Monday 2/27, 4pm, UMass
Responding to Hurricane Katrina: Disaster and Politics at Ground Level. 
Ronald Speakes, Executive Director, Hampshire County Chapter, American Red 
Cross and Mississippi Coordinator after Katrina

Monday, 2/27
Monthly meeting of the Statewide Harm Reduction Coalition. Arise, 94 Rifle 
Street, Springfield. Email Holly, outnow at rcn.com

March 4, 7, 14, 21, 28 and April l, Northampton
Basic Mediation Training: Interactive training teaching skills for helping 
others deal with conflict whether through formal mediation or in other work 
settings.

Sunday 3/5, 6:30pm, Amherst film: Romero: Twenty Five Years by Luis 
Alvarenga An exploration of the life and legacy of Archbishop Oscar Romero 
and his impact on the people of El Salvador today and in particular the 
life of one exiled former news reporter and activist.

Monday 3/13, 4pm, UMass
Natural Disasters and the Environment: The Outlook for the 21st Century 
William Hooke, Chair, Disasters Roundtable/National Academies

Tue 3/14, Wed 3/22, Northampton
Two-part military recruitment education training (counter recruitment 
training) led by Tracey Levy and Jo Comerford

Sat-Sun 3/25-26, Montague
weekend training: Council Process: Speaking and Listening from the Heart 
The Council process encourages community building, conflict exploration and 
resolution, the sharing of personal and cultural stories, and collective 
decision-making in a supportive and compassionate environment.

Saturday 3/25
The Imagine conference, with theme: "Strengthening Our Connections" Choose 
your favorite from 12 workshops on Communication Skills and Conflict 
Transformation

Monday 4/10, 4pm, UMass
Human Dimensions of Disasters: The Role of Social Science Research Kathleen 
Tierney, Director, Natural Hazards Center and Professor of Sociology, 
University of Colorado Boulder

Monday 5/2, 4pm, UMass
Learning from Disasters: The Synergy of Geography and Public Policy Dr. 
Rutherford Platt, Professor of Geography, Department of Geosciences and 
Director, Ecological Cities Project, University of Massachusetts Amherst
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.hampshire.edu/pipermail/antiracism/attachments/20060125/6f9acd1c/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: HIPP January News.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 266118 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://lists.hampshire.edu/pipermail/antiracism/attachments/20060125/6f9acd1c/attachment.pdf>
-------------- next part --------------
"Take the first step in faith.
You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."

~ The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Jo Comerford
American Friends Service Committee, Western Massachusetts
140 Pine Street, Room 10
Florence, Massachusetts 01062
413.584.8975 (W)
413.584.8987 (F)
413.695.6059 (C)
afsc at crocker.com
www.WesternMassAFSC.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.hampshire.edu/pipermail/antiracism/attachments/20060125/6f9acd1c/attachment-0001.htm>