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NEW! Save the dates: 2012 Overcoming Racism conference
Decolonizing Minnesota & Beyond: Historical & Current Struggles
November 16-17, 2012 at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul
Download & share the flyer
Keynote speakers:
Waziyatawin, Dakota writer, teacher, and activist committed to the development of liberation strategies that will support the recovery of Indigenous ways of being, the reclamation of Indigenous homelands, and the eradication of colonial institutions.
Rose Brewer, scholar-activist, professor of African American and African Studies at the University of Minnesota, co-author of The Color of Wealth, founding member of the Black Radical Congress, long-time UFE board member, and co-founder of the Freire Center.
NEW! Year-round film & discussion series kicking off May 10
Refocus the Frame: Turning a Lens on Race and Racism
A series of powerful film screenings followed by facilitated discussion, to stimulate insight and thoughtful dialogue. The films are free and all are welcome. Popcorn and door prizes, too!
First film: 9500 Liberty documents the first time in U.S. history that an Arizona-style immigration law was actually implemented—and the surprising grassroots opposition that led to its repeal.
May 10, 2012, 7-9:30 pm (Doors open at 6:45)
Location: Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave. S in Minneapolis
Download & share the flyer
You or your organization can be part of our collaborative work! Join us for our regular monthly planning and coordination meetings, 2nd Thursdays, 9-11 am at Cherokee Park United Church in St. Paul. The next one will be May 10, 2012.
Related Learning & Action Opportunities--Scroll Down!
Read an article FREC discussed recently, No-Man's-Land by Eulah Biss found in the February 2008 issue of The Believer, Believermag.com. Subtitle: Fear, Racism, and the Historically Troubling Attitude of American Pioneers.
Download a reflection on Joe Feagin's book, The White Racial Frame.
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Enough is Enough! Open Conversations about the Harassment in our Schools
Thursday, April 26, 5:30pm-7:30pm.
Anoka Ramsey Community College, 11200 Mississippi Blvd. NW, Coon Rapids 55433
This panel discussion will feature Jamie Nabozny, who is featured in the Teaching Tolerance documentary "Bullied." Jamie won a landmark case against his school district and travels the country empowering educators, parents, students, and community members to take a stand against the harassment that many youth experience in our schools for various reasons. He will be joined in the discussion by local experts and educators as well.
This workshop is free and CEU's will be provided.
We will begin right away at 5:30. Feel free to arrive as early as 5:00 for refreshments and to meet others who are passionate about this topic
Please let us know if you plan to attend so we can plan seating and snacks accordingly.
For more info or to RSVP: Seema Pothini, sg1515@hotmail.com
Presented by MN-NAME, the Minnesota Chapter of the National Association for Multicultural Education and Anoka Ramsey Community College.
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Storytelling in the Classroom
Saturday, April 28, 2012, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Minnesota Humanities Center, 987 Ivy Ave East, St. Paul, MN
Intended Audience: 6-12 Educators
Free!
Based on the curriculum for the PBS documentary, Slavery by Another Name, learn best practices for using storytelling, including digital storytelling, as an effective teaching tool in the classroom. In the afternoon educators will work in small groups and engage in peer-to-peer learning to create digital stories using images and materials from the Slavery by Another Name documentary. All of the technology will be provided for the small groups.
Slavery by Another Name explores a system of “neo-slavery” that thrived following the Civil War based on the forced labor of imprisoned African American men and women through the convict lease system. The standards-based curriculum features an array of multimedia teaching tools, including rich oral histories and digital stories.
To register: http://mnhum.org/register
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DOCUMENTARY FILM: Dakota 38
Wednesday May 2, 7:00 pm (78 min)
St Anthony Main
Tix $11.00
In the spring of 2005, Jim Miller awoke from a dream in which 38 of his Dakota ancestors were hanged. At the time, Jim knew nothing of the largest mass execution in United States history ordered by Abraham Lincoln on December 26, 1862. Four years later, Jim and a group of riders decide to retrace the 330-mile route of his dream on horseback across the Great Plains to arrive at the hanging site in Mankato, Minnesota on the anniversary of the execution. Filmmakers attending the screening. More info: mspfilmfest.org/2012/content/dakota-38
Many more films addressing themes of oppression, colonization and race can be experienced during the Mpls/St Paul International Film Festival, running through May 3
mspfilmfest.org
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Topics for upcoming Discussions That Encounter Forums include Leon Rodrigues on Apartheid in South Africa on April 26 and Sondra Samuels on the Northside Achievement Zone on May 24. We start with a light supper and very warmly invite you to join us at any Discussion Forum!
For over seven years, Discussions that Encounter has facilitated open discussions about race, racism and white privilege. These events are open to all and sponsored free of charge in Minneapolis on the second and fourth Thursday evening of each month. Our vision is to provide an environment where people of all walks-of-life and backgrounds can openly discuss any aspects of racism. We use video or prepared materials to pursue a specific topic with ample time for facilitated conversation. The objectives of these forums are to raise awareness, build relationships, assist all along the journey of overcoming racism, provide education on historical and current topics, and facilitate open conversations that can't usually be approached across the "races." Notices are sent prior to each Discussion Forum with details on topic, location and directions. Contact Bill Keatts at wkeatts@austin.rr.com to receive information or to be added to the regular distribution.
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Brotherhood, Inc. offers a wide variety of coffee, tea and cocoa products for sale or delivery. These products are available at all Discussions that Encounter Forums and directly through the website www.brotherhoodmn.org. Sales assist in achieving their mission to enable African-American youth and young men to envision and achieve successful futures. Brotherhood, Inc. aspires to create a pathway out of poverty, gangs and incarceration by offering comprehensive and culturally-sensitive educational opportunities, social services, legal services and in-house employment all under one roof.
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May is Minnesota American Indian Month. Metropolitan State University will host a number of events:
May 1: Sunrise Ceremony and Indian Month Kick-Off Parade
We will need volunteers to walk with us in this parade.
May 3: Round Dance in collaboration with Minneapolis Community and Technical College
This event encourages ALL participants to dance and come together in celebration and friendship.
May 17: Indigenous Dance Exhibition
Join us in the New Main courtyard for a BBQ and performances by the Kalpulli Yaocenoxtli Aztec Dancers and the Native Pride Dancers.
See this flyer for more details. RSVP at cultural.events@metrostate.edu. These events are free and open to the public.
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Grassroots & Groundwork 2012 Conference
June 6-8
Prior Lake, Minnesota
Working Together to Reduce Poverty and Build Prosperity
This conference lets you join forces with your colleagues across the country to explore successful and promising models and concepts in affordable housing, job training, green enterprises, financial literacy, public policy and more. Now in its fifth year, the Grassroots & Groundwork conference has become a destination for service providers, educators, researchers, private citizens, policymakers, business and civic leaders, faith leaders and more – anyone looking for proven or emerging strategies to reduce poverty and build community assets and wealth.
Grassroots & Groundwork touches on a wide range of solutions in a variety of venues: smaller, more intimate 70-minute breakout sessions showcasing proven, innovative poverty-reduction models and tools; an extended, interactive session focused on tackling current challenges in poverty reduction; site tours of Twin Cities poverty-reduction projects; and a bonus, hands-on, half-day Community-Builder Institute. Outstanding keynote speakers touch on poverty in ways that are thought-provoking and inspiring.
And you’ll have plenty of opportunities to network throughout the conference to meet or reconnect with others who might help in your own poverty-reduction efforts. Don’t miss this opportunity to share, learn and connect!
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The mission of the Technology Literacy Collaborative (TLC) is to promote digital inclusion. TLC is a network of digital inclusion supporters committed to sharing best practices, advocating for technology and digital literacy skills and access, and promoting collaborative efforts. To get involved with Technology Literacy Collaborative, we invite you to attend one of our general TLC meetings, which are open to the public and can be found on the Calendar. Contribute to the central database of Curriculum & Digital Inclusion Tools or help others http://tlc-mn.org/ctc. Organizations are invited to add themselves to this list if they offer public access computing. You can also join a committee by contacting a committee chair on our Contact page. Consider getting involved with TLC if:
- You work in a library, non-profit, employment center, school, park or other organization providing public computer centers or other community technology services
- You are starting a new public access computer center and want to connect with other practitioners on best practices
- You are interested in building digital literacy skills in the population you serve and want to network with others to avoid reinventing the wheel
- You are interested in sharing curriculum for teaching technology literacy skills
- You are interested in digital inclusion issues and want to collaborate with others on policy direction so that all individuals are able to participate fully in the economic, educational, civic, and social activities of our community
- You are interested in sharing your ideas, skills, and knowledge
- You have digital literacy curriculum, presentations, research, or other digital inclusion resources to share
If you are interested in becoming a racial justice facilitator and leading conversations at community dialogues, YWCA workshops, and the annual It’s Time to Talk: Forums on Race event, please contact Sarah Super. The YWCA is now offering a Level 1 and Level 2 certification process for facilitators. You can apply online to be a racial justice facilitator. The YWCA of Minneapolis provides many tools, resources, and trainings to make your vision for justice a reality. Starting this year, trained facilitators will have the chance to expand their knowledge and skills at trainings year-round. Learn how you can get more involved in our programs in our section of the YWCA of Minneapolis site.
Please email Sarah Super or call 612-215-4133 for more information. Download and share this flyer with others
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Gustavus Speaker Series on U.S. Dakota War of 1862 Available Online
- Dr. John Peacock, “War of Words: Writings by Dakota People in Their Own Language and Later in English During and After the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862”
- Glenn Wasicuna, “A Dakota Way of Life”
- Dr. Gary Clayton Anderson, “The Dakota War Trials: Travesty of Justice or Reasonable Retribution?”
- Thomas Maltman, “Based on a True Story: Researching a Controversial History to Create Fiction”
- Corinne Monjeau-Marz, "Aftermath of the 1862 War: Reviewing the Years from 1862-1866"
- Dr. Gwen Westerman, "We Are Still Here"
This U.S.-Dakota War lecture series was made possible with funds from Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnesota Humanities Council, and the State of Minnesota through the Minnesota Historical Society from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
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Introducing Change Agent Consulting: Each One, Reach One, Teach One
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Join our list (upper left) so you don't miss the next edition!
Read the Spring 2012 e-news
Read the Winter 2012 e-news
Read the Fall 2011 e-news
Read the Summer 2011 e-news
Read the Spring 2011 e-news
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Listen to a conversation with the two 2011 conference keynoters and conference co-host Antonia Apolinario Wilcoxon about racial framing and the conference on Truth To Tell, KFAI Radio. Or watch the in-studio video (keynoters both participated by phone)
More info on or linked from the 2011 Conference page, including workshop and plenary information.
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Lots of great photos from the 2010 Overcoming Racism: Recognizing and Challenging the Legacies That Oppress Us conference can be found at overcomingracism.shutterfly.com/ Thanks to Miss Marie Photography for taking and sharing the photos!
Workshop descriptions, bios of keynote speakers and bios of panel participants are still available.
2009 Overcoming Racism: Why IS It So Hard? conference archives
