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Upcoming Racial Justice Activities

01/25/2021 06:30:23 PM

Jan25

Seven Guided Conversations About Race: Wherever you are on your racial justice journey, you can benefit from these conversations. Self-assessment and sharing in a safe setting will help you see the world with a racial lens, learn and grow, and engage in conversations about race more effectively. Groups will be held on Tuesday nights (group 1) or Thursday mornings (group 2) during February and March. Group leaders will be Erica Serlin and Lynn Silverman.
Before each group meeting, there will be 10–30 minutes of individual pre-work as a foundation for the week’s conversation. The seven conversations cover topics such as what race is, the privilege of whiteness, racial representation, understanding stereotypes and biases, the N-word, language, and code-switching. Space is limited, so register now. We’ll start a waiting list for those interested once space fills up.

Racial Justice Big Read: For our first TBE Racial Justice Big Read, we’ll be discussing the book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” as part of our ongoing effort to better understand the history of systemic racism and inequality in our country. Written by Pulitzer Prize–winning author Isabel Wilkerson, the book “examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America and shows how our lives today are still defined by a hierarchy of human divisions.”
An all-Temple discussion (including the Sisterhood book club and members of the Adult Education Committee) will be held on Tuesday, February 2, 2021, 7:00–8:30 pm. The Men’s Club book group will hold a discussion on Thursday, February 18, 7:30–9:00 pm. To join the Men’s Club discussion, please contact Tom Krauskopf at tomxx@aol.com. If you don’t have time to read the book, check here for short videos and articles about it. We hope you’ll register and join us for a stimulating conversation even if you haven’t read it.

Blockstein Lecture: Building a Jewish Midwest Racial Justice Coalition: TBE and Jewish Social Services co-sponsor the annual Liesl M. Blockstein Memorial Lecture, featuring a woman who embodies Liesl’s commitment to social justice and Jewish life. This year’s lecture will be presented on Sunday, February 14, 10:00–11:30 am. You can sign up here.

This year’s lecture features Shahanna McKinney-Baldon, director of Edot Midwest Regional Jewish Diversity Collaborative. A seasoned educator and racial equity thought leader, Shahanna has been involved in Jewish racial justice work that centers Jews of Color and diverse Jewish families for over 25 years. Join us to learn about what this work means in this moment and how we can all play a part in a Midwest Jewish racial justice coalition.

Action of the Week: The Racial Justice Action Team has launched a regular feature in the weekly happenings email, offering suggestions for steps you can take to help bring racial equity to our greater community. The suggestions are built around categories recommended to us by leaders of Madison’s Black-led organizations: (1) educate: listen to a podcast, read an article, find a class; (2) participate: attend a community event, march, volunteer; (3) donate: buy supplies, cook a meal, support a community effort; and (4) advocate: write to representatives, testify, sign petitions. 

We know that the idea of addressing racial oppression can be overwhelming. Watch for these weekly action ideas for simple steps to start moving together in the right direction. 

Owning Our Racial Equity Work Ahead: Yolanda Savage-Nava, the Union for Reform Judaism's director of racial equity, diversity, and inclusion, called on each of us in the Jewish community to acknowledge that we have work to do, both as a Jewish community and as individuals. She asks us to recognize the diversity and racial inequities with our Jewish community; and both reflect inward and look outward to see what works remains to be done. You can see the URJ video message here. 

Are you interested in getting more involved with racial justice activities? Please contact Betsy Abramson or Lindsay Mindlin, co-chairs of the Racial Justice Action Team. 

April 25, 2024 17 Nisan 5784