Coming Together Presents Feature Film "Imperial Dreams" at the Jones on May 15

The following is an announcement from the racial justice organization Coming Together. If you are unable to attend this event, the highly rated feature film is also available on Netflix.

Everyone interested in advancing racial justice is warmly invited...

Our video/film series continues!   Tuesday, May 15,  2018 at The Jones Library at 7:00PM   "Imperial Dreams" new feature film - received the Sundance Festival Audience Award A young father and reformed gangster returns home from jail eager to care for his son, Daytona, and become a writer.  Crime, poverty and a flawed system threaten his plans, in this fictional, but realistic drama film. Released in 2017, this film was rated 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. Some African American young men in Amherst recommended it to us for the Coming Together series.  Please join us! We will have a brief discussion of the film following the showing. * * *     This is part of our new format - showing feature length films and having our working groups meet at other times.  This will give us all better opportunities to feel deeply and be moved by powerful stories and works of art. www.coming-together.org

Jones Library Film and Discussion Series: 13TH

Message from Coming Together and the Jones Library:

Join us on Thursday, December 7, 2017 at 7:00 pm in the Woodbury Room for the next event in this ongoing film and discussion series that may educate, touch your heart, and inspire you to action to help dismantle racism.

This month’s screening of 13TH is a powerful documentary which explores the history of race and the criminal justice system in the United States by Ava DuVernay, the director of the feature film Selma. The final half of the film will be screened, as the first half was screened and discussed at the October meeting. After the discussion, work will continue in small working groups to advance anti-racism action projects that have been undertaken.

Free and open to the public.  For more information, please contact Janet Ryan at 413/259-3223.

This film series is co-sponsored by the Jones Library and Coming Together.  More information about Coming Together can be found at http://www.coming-together.org/.

Library Film & Discussion Series on October 19 at the Jones

from the Jones Library – 

Join us on Thursday, October 19, 2017 at 7:00 pm in the Woodbury Room for the next event in this ongoing film and discussion series that may educate, touch your heart, and inspire you to action to help dismantle racism.

This month’s screening is a powerful documentary which explores the history of race and the criminal justice system in the United States by Ava DuVernay, the director of the feature film Selma.   We will view 50 minutes this month, and the rest at the December meeting. After the discussion, work will continue in small working groups to advance anti-racism action projects that have been undertaken.

Free and open to the public.  For more information, please contact Janet Ryan at 413/259-3223. 

This film series is co-sponsored by the Jones Library and Coming Together.  More information about Coming Together can be found at http://www.coming-together.org/.

Community Dialogue Co-Sponsored by EmbraceRace and ARPS on September 18

Charlottesville and the threatened end of DACA are only the most recent in a

seemingly endless series of potentially traumatizing racialized developments. Come hear from--and share insights, observations, and concerns with--other caregivers

working to support children in trying times.

Date: Monday, September 18, 2017

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Location: Library, Amherst Regional High School

If you plan to attend the September 18th parent/guardian event co-sponsored by ARPS and the organization Embrace Race and will need childcare, please remember to contact Debbie Westmoreland at 362-1823 or westmorelandd@arps.org no later than Wednesday, September 13.

Click here for a printable flyer: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-2bHm-1AjRfSGJmY2s1bWYxNUE

Community Dialogue Co-Sponsored by EmbraceRace and ARPS on September 18

All are invited to an important community dialogue co-sponsored by ARPS and the local organization Embrace Race. The event will focus on providing a space for conversation and connection concerning the role parents/guardians play in supporting their children's responses to, and experiences of, recent national events such as that which recently occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

Please mark your calendars for Monday, September 18 at 6:30 p.m. and join us in the High School Library for this important conversation. If you want to come but will need childcare, please contact Debbie Westmoreland at 362-1823 or westmorelandd@arps.org no later than Wednesday, September 13. 

Learn more about Embrace Race through these resources:
10 Tips for Teaching and Talking to Kids about Race (Spanish)
10 Tips for Teaching and Talking to Kids about Race (English)

Sanctuary Meeting followed by NAACP and Coming Together co-sponsored School Committee Candidate Forum March 20

 non-PGO event ... invitation from Coming Together Amherst

"On Monday, March 20th there are two events in Amherst for those who care about issues of racial justice.  Please come to one, or both, if you can. If you are interested in both events, please come to the Amherst Sanctuary Pre-Meeting at 5:30 and/or the Select Board meeting at 6:30pm and then go to the Bangs Center when it's time for the School Committee Forum. 

The Amherst Select Board will be deciding whether or not to recommend the Amherst Sanctuary Community Bylaw to Town Meeting

Select Board Meeting - Town Hall

Monday, March 20,  6:30PM

We will be meeting ahead of time for an

Art Build and pre-meeting at

5:30PM at First Congregational Church

165 Main St

Please RSVP and let us know you will be attending at

bit.ly/March20AmherstSanctuary

Please also go to the Facebook page for this event at

https://www.facebook.com/events/234787616929365/

For more information email: amherstsanctuary@gmail.com

School Committee candidates to answer questions about equity and social justice...

NAACP and Coming Together are sponsoring a special forum for School Committee candidates to be questioned by the community

Monday, March 20, 2017, 7-9 pm The Bangs Center, large activity room

For more information, please contact Alyssa Melnick / alyssa@mmelnick.com

Many of us have long believed that candidates for the Amherst School Committee should share their views about issues of race and social justice with the public prior to election day.  This is the first time for this event and a sizable audience will help show everyone that these issues are important in our community.

www.coming-together.org

EmbraceRace Parenting Conversation on Tuesday, February 28 at 9 pm.

shared at the request of local non-profit EmbraceRace:

An *EmbraceRace conversation, Parenting in the Age of Trump, will occur on Tuesday, February 28 at 9 pm.  We will be joined by child psychologist Allison Briscoe-Smith. Many parents and educators from around the country have already signed up and submitted questions.

Register now to join or to receive the recording after the event.

*EmbraceRace is an online community of discussion and practice about raising and caring for kids, all kids, in the context of race. We'll have a web site, podcast, FB page, and other platforms, all forming an interactive community of support for those of us – parents, teachers, counselors, grandparents, day care providers, aunts and uncles – trying to raise kids with healthy racial sensibilities. Kids are very welcome too!

EmbraceRace is not only for parents! It's for anyone who has a role in the lives of children or anyone who might have useful information, insight, questions, concerns, or experiences to share w/them - about race, for example. In other words, the community is meant for a great many of us!

Film Screening & Discussion: "What’s Race Got to Do with It?" on June 9at the Jones Library

Join us on Thursday, June 9, 2016 at 6:30 pm in the Woodbury Room for the next film in this ongoing film and discussion series that may education, touch your heart, and inspire you to action to help dismantle racism.  A facilitated discussion will be held after the screening.

What's Race Got to Do with It? is documentary film that goes beyond identity politics, celebratory history and interpersonal relations to consider social disparities and their impact on student success in today's post-Civil Rights world.  

Free and open to the public.  For more information, please contact Janet Ryan at 413/259-3223. 

This film series is co-sponsored by the Jones Library and Coming Together.  More information about Coming Together can be found at http://www.coming-together.org/.

The Coming Together Film Series continues on May 12th at the Jones Library

Thursday, May 12th at 7PM at The Jones Library for "JUST A PIECE OF CLOTH"    This is a new video about Muslim women, the hijab, and other issues of Islamaphobia and racism. Regrettably timely. (See more description below.)  Two local Muslim women, Naz Mohamed and Hind Mari, will share their differing perspectives and lead us in discussion following the film.  Come join with others who care about making our community more inclusive and just.

Clink here to see a trailer of the film.

*    *   * Naz is the Clerk of the Hampshire Mosque in Hadley.  Hind is the Director of the Women of Color Leadership Network at UMass Amherst.  Both are engaged in activities in our community and have rich experiences to share. *** At one of our recent film showings many people wanted more time to talk about the issues raised by the film, and suggested that we might more often show shorter films, thereby allowing for more discussion and connecting among those present.  This is a 34 minute engaging documentary, so we will have more time to engage with Naz, Hind and each other. *  *  * Just a Piece of Cloth is a documentary that unravels stereotypes perpetuated by the mainstream media about Muslim women. The video features four Muslim women in the U.S. from diverse backgrounds as they talk about what hijab, the traditional Muslim headscarf, means to them and how it affects their daily lives. With humor, seriousness, and candor they speak from personal experience about this often controversial garment. Despite their unique stories, universal human questions lie just beneath the surface: What boundaries define me? How do I travel across those boundaries to be true to myself, my community, and my faith? How do I transform the stories that limit my potential? *   *   * The next video in our Coming Together series will be "What's Race Got to Do with It?" on Thursday, June 9th at 7PM at The Jones Library (our co-sponsor for the series).

“Just A Piece of Cloth” Screening at the Jones Library on May 12

“Just a Piece of Cloth” will be screened at Jones Library on Thursday, May 12, 2016 at 7:00 pm in the Woodbury Room for the next film in this ongoing film and discussion series that may education, touch your heart, and inspire you to action to help dismantle racism.  A facilitated discussion will be held after the screening.

"Just a Piece of Cloth" is a documentary that unravels stereotypes perpetuated by the mainstream media about Muslim women.  It is a film about Muslim women, the hijab, and other issues of Islamophobia and racism.  A facilitated discussion will follow the screening.

Free and open to the public.  For more information, please contact Janet Ryan at 413-259-3223.  This film series is co-sponsored by the Jones Library and Coming Together.  More information about Coming Together can be found at http://www.coming-together.org/.

Black Lives Matter Banner Dedication and Community Forum 3/21

We are pleased to announce that Hip Hop Artist Tem Blessed will be performing a piece at both of these events.  We also expect to have 4 local black sixth-grade boys who recently wrote to President Obama about the urgency of Black Lives Matter join us to share at the Forum. These events are free but we will be inviting donations to help pay for the Black Lives Matter street banner. For more information, to get a Black Lives Matter yard sign, to donate to help pay the cost of the banner, or to leave us a comment, please go our website: www.coming-together.org  Please join us for the next event in our film series: “American Indian Comedy Slam:  Goin' Native, No Reservations Needed" Thursday, April 14, 2016, 7PM The Jones Library We will have a panel of local indigenous people to help guide our conversations following the film.

Upcoming Coming Together Events

Upcoming Coming Together Events (visit coming-together.org for the latest):

 

March 10 - 7PM  - Video -  "Conversations Across Differences" -  lessons from Ferguson and taking action against racism - at The Jones Library

March 21 - 12 Noon - Dedication of the Black Lives Matter banner on the Amherst Common

March 21 or 22 (TBA) - 7PM - Community Forum on Black Lives Matter - speakers will include Whitney Battle-Baptiste and young local BLM activists, followed by community discussion and Q&A.  Don't miss this key event in our community.  Location in downtown Amherst to be announced.

April 14 - 7PM - Film - "American Indian Comedy Slam: Goin' Native, No Reservations Needed" - with a panel of local Native people leading the discussion following - at The Jones Library.
 

All events are free and open to the public.  Everyone is invited.  Please join us.

Film Screening & Discussion: Discussions about Differences, An Ongoing Film Series at The Jones

Join us on Thursday, March 10, 2016 at 7:00 pm in the Woodbury Room for the next film in this ongoing film and discussion series that may education, touch your heart, and inspire you to action to help dismantle racism.  A facilitated discussion will be held after the screening.

 

Discussions about Differences is a series produced to communicate information and lessons from the shared experience of Ferguson, Missouri in an effort to promote learning and action to dismantle racism after the shooting of Michael Brown.  Selected videos will be screened from this series, with video featuring a conversation facilitated by Jennifer Blome with selected leaders from that community.

 

Free and open to the public.  For more information, please contact Janet Ryan at 413/259-3223. 

 

This film series is co-sponsored by the Jones Library and Coming Together.  More information about Coming Together can be found at http://www.coming-together.org/.

 

"Plan Local Action Steps against Racism" Tuesday, October 27 at 7pm atThe Jones Library

Join us as our community comes together to plan action steps to help dismantle racism.   Plan Local Action Steps Against Racism Tuesday, October 27, 2015,  7:00PM - 8:45PM The Jones Library - Woodbury Room   This event is co-sponsored by five organizations: ACLU of Massachusetts Amherst Racial Equity/UROC Citizens for Racial Amity Now Coming Together: Understanding Racism, Working for Justice & Building Connections NAACP - Amherst Area Branch Come share your thinking, hear about opportunities, join others to plan effective action.  We hope to see you there. "Black Lives Matter" yardsigns are now available from Coming Together.  A donation of $7 or more is requested to cover costs.  We will have some at this meeting, or you can go to the Coming Together website at www.coming-together.org. Next in our video series:  Saturday, November 21 – 2:30 – 4:00PM “The Story We Tell“ is an eye-opening tale of how deep social inequalities came to be rationalized as natural – deflecting attention from the social practices and public policies that benefited whites at the expense of others.  We will look at how this story continues to affect us and our society today.  (This is Episode #2 in  “Race: The Power of an Illusion” from PBS, California Newsreel.) Copyright © 2015 Coming Together: Understanding Racism, Working for Justice & Building Connections,