Friday, November 15, 2024

CALENDAR & NEWS ~ Nov. / Dec. 2024

November/December 2024

ARTS

Erie African Arts Grand Opening  November 18 from 3-9pm13 E. 13th Erie PA. Sourced directly from Kenya, Congo, Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda, Nigeria.

Community Event – She Sings: A Soaring Musical Robert H Jackson Center Jamestown NY November 23 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Harry Burleigh Birthday Celebration   Dec 2 at 7pm Cathedral of St Paul 134 W 7th Erie PA

The Book Women Dec 5-8 SUNY Fredonia, Bartlett Theatre, Fredonia NY. "In the midst of the Great Depression, in a community crushed by the collapse of coal, and isolated by the very mountains they call home, a group of determined librarians take to their horses to reach the people of Eastern Kentucky."

An Interview with Erie county musician Roger Harvey (Nathaniel Clerk/Erie Reader) 'With a tracklist covering The Almanac Singers, Merle Travis, Joe Hill, and countless others, the album is essentially a love letter to the enduring nature of folk music. Harvey expands, "These songs that have been contextually sung for so many different protest movements throughout history but also sung at home. [...] There's something about these songs and the message that uplifts people through hardship, and that was something that I connected to."'

National Comedy Center Launches Special Exhibit to Honor Norman Lear’s Legacy of Civic Engagement National Comedy Center , Jamestown NY thru 2025 and online at  ComedyCenter.org/Lear. Multimedia exhibit honors the groundbreaking creator and producer (All in the Family, Maude, etc., etc.), founder of progressive and pro-democracy People for the American Way, and more 

Video: Chelsea Oliver: Country Music, Culture Wars, and Politics  Recorded presentation at Jefferson Educational Society 8/20/2024 time: 49:27

BENEDICTINES

Coverage about MAGA false allegations of voter fraud Press Release from Benedictines ,  ABC News  National Catholic Reporter 

Cathy O'Neil on Kylemore Abbey and Benedictine nuns history.

Erie Benedictine Monastery Tour "Guided monastery tour at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 7 followed by supper with the sisters, then stay and join us for the Advent Vigil in the chapel at 7:00 p.m. Reservations are needed for the tour and dinner, please RSVP at link. or call Michelle at 814-899-0614 ext 2507. Our address is 6101 East Lake Road in Erie.

Pennsylvania Magazine article Mount St Benedict monastery featured in their Sept/Oct issue. 

SNL alludes to Benedictines in post-election cold open (National Catholic Reporter) 

COMMUNITY

SSJNN details for the proposed "strategic actions and investments plan" focuses on Erie's Little Italy and Federal Hill neighborhoods, as well as a portion of the city's east (Erie Times-News) side. City Council Study Session - 10/15/2024 on this subject. 

Erie Grassroots Coalition meets monthly at 6pm at 2046 East 19th Street Quality of Life Center (814) 899-3904 "The Eastside Grassroots Coalition (EGC) is a collaborative effort between the Urban Erie Community Development Corporation (UECDC) and the House of Mercy. The goal of the EGC is to engage residents, community organizations, and businesses to revitalize the Buffalo Road Corridor and surrounding neighborhoods creating a prosperous and thriving community."  uecdc.org

Safe Streets and Roads Project by Jackie Spry Director of Planning and Neighborhood Resources at City of Erie at 24:35 at Erie City Council meeting 11-6-2024 Erie Safety Action Plan Ms. Spry definitely interested in meeting with local a groups especially BIPOC community on traffic plan

Ending pedestrian deaths in Pittsburgh is a team effort (Pgh City Paper) 

 


ELECTIONS

Sources for news, investigations, etc. of the 2024 PA elections: 

FOOD

Chef Tawnya Brant Mohawk Nation citizen Tawnya Brant  provides a focus on Haudenosaunee culinary roots. Haudenosaunee Cooking: Decolonizing our Food Part 1, 2, 3 ( Ganondagan)

The Power of Your Plate: How Your Food Choices Nourish You and the Earth**  Dec 10 at 6pm **Guest Speaker: Green Heron Growers** 110 Mall Blvd, Lakewood, NY 14750-2097

From UFW video clip at NY State apple farm: "H2-a workers are getting young trees ready for next year. The lucky workers are able to use a hoe to weed, but as there aren't enough tools some of the workers must bend over to hand weed which is very hard on their backs." (H2-a is a guest worker program.) 
My thoughts: We need to do better, provide these workers with tools so they aren't destroying their bodies as they work. I did some of this weeding work for a local farmer when I was 14 and it is very hard, even for young backs. I'd like to see all able Americans try a few shifts of this sort of work to appreciate the people who grow and harvest our food. Note I said "try." Most couldn't or wouldn't last eight hours, much less ten, 12, etc. ~deb

HOME

National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day is December 21  (link goes to YourErie coverage from 2023)

Our Neighbors' Place Seasonal Overflow Shelter in Erie : Nov. 13, 2024- April 2, 2025 . Season 13 of ONP will take place at the Community Resilience Center Center (450 E 16th St. Erie, PA ), a single site location provided by Erie County. This shelter is a collaborative effort from EUM" Volunteers needed, contact Erika DePalma at edepalma@EUMA-Erie.org

EUMA-sponsored homeless ministry coming to Meadville "SAM - Shelter Area Meadville is a mutual help organization ... modeled after the Our Neighbor's Place program started by the Erie United Methodist Alliance (EUMA). EUMA lends SAM their experience, strength and hope, as well as their institutional support..." Volunteers needed, visit link.

IMMIGRANTS

Immigration a driving force in Pa. economy, filling labor shortages  (Rep Ryan Bizarro) "Foreign-born Pa. population has spending power of more than $30 billion"

Friends of Refugees in PA Public FB group 

Erie Reader Book Club November Selection "We'll be reading Miss Me Forever by Eugene Cross. The book follows the story of Tulsi Gurung, a refugee from a Bhutanese camp who is resettled in Erie with his grandfather, as he anxiously awaits word from his beloved sister who still resides at Camp Goldhap."

Trump deportation plan would hurt PA, warn immigration advocates (Penn Capital -Star) 

INDIGENOUS

Native American Heritage Month Speaker Leon Sam Briggs .November 29 at 7pm at Little Church on the Hill, 10410 High St, Albion, Speaker Leon Briggs of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation Hawk Clan,. Q&A after.. Admission free, and any donations received go to the ongoing maintenance, restoration, and preservation of The Little Church on the Hill by the Elk Creek Twp. Historical Society, host of this event.

LISTEN: Niagara Falls H.S. Native American Youth Club (from What's Next on WBFO) "Jessica Forgette, an English teacher at Niagara Falls High School. Jessica recently started the Native American Youth Club...Alex Simone sat down with Jessica to discuss the club’s mission, her journey with her own Indigenous roots, as well as dive into the world of Native American education in Western New York."

UB first SUNY school to offer Indigenous studies major (Olean Times Herald)
University at Buffalo first SUNY school to offer Indigenous studies major Indigenous Studies academic research (WBFO) 

New podcast explores indigenous history of The Ohio Country (WYSU)

Native Land Digital  "strives to create and foster conversations about the history of colonialism, Indigenous ways of knowing, and settler-Indigenous relations, through educational resources such as our map and Territory Acknowledgement Guide."

Boarding schools


JUSTICE

Freda Tepfer is asking people to show up next week 11/19 at County Council budget hearings at 3pm for hearing and to show support for the Human Relations Commission. 

ACLU of Pennsylvania Founded in 1920, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is the nation's foremost guardian of liberty. We are a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending and protecting our individual rights and personal freedoms." https://www.aclupa.org/en  ACLU challenge to Trump

The Legacy of Tamir Rice (City Club of Cleveland) November 22, in-person and live streaming. 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Forum begins at noon.

Fired W.PA Trump campaign field director is white nationalist podcaster (Politico) Online Luke Meyer is co-host of Richard Spencer's podcast. “Every second man under the age of thirty in the GOP believes 90 percent of the same things I believe,” Meyer wrote. “They just don’t have the platform that I do, and can remain undetected as I had done.”

from 2017:  People are using Trump’s “illegal aliens” hotline to complain about ET and Superman (Vox) Dragged out this article from the past because right now a  downstate white supremacist is already calling for "illegal aliens" to be aggressively reported.

Human Rights Day  is observed every year on 10 December – the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a milestone document that proclaimed the inalienable rights which everyone is inherently entitled to as a human being -- regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

LGBTQ+

With Erie a 'safe space,' the LGBTQ+ community is championing more policy progress (Erie Times-News)

Local LGBTQ+ leader worried about 2nd Trump term (Erie News Now)

Trans Day of Remembrance November 20 at Unitarian Universalist Cong. Of Erie 7180 Perry Hwy, Erie. (location changed) 7pm "Join us in remembering our lost transgender siblings for who they truly were. Candlelight vigil with name reading will take place .There will be time for reflection and refreshments afterward.."

Coffee Social for LGBTQ+ Veterans Nov 22 (Panera Bread, 4014 Peach St., Erie, PA) 10 AM. "The Coffee Social is meant to bring Erie’s local LGBTQ+ Veterans together to connect and foster on going relationships of support and friendship. The group will start off with facilitation by Erie VA staff, Brittany and Alisha, with the goal to be an independently run community." Info: Brittany Miklos at 814-844-5944 or Alisha Mackey at 814-860-2174 Open to all LGBTQ+ Vets in all counties served by Erie VA. 

Transgiving  Nov 23 from 2pm-5pm 3104 State St, Erie, PA 16508 "Join us for our annual Transgiving dinner! Feel free to bring a side dish or dessert to share" Hosted by Transfamily of NWPA

LIBRARY

Priorities, Part 2 (Keep Our Library Public blog)



Video: Libraries and Democracy" A Conversation with ALA President Cindy Hohl. "As a member of the Santee Sioux Nation in Nebraska, Cindy Hoel is the second Native American woman to serve as ALA President...'There has never been a better time to serve our communities within the roles of librarianship and we stand united in our mission to ensure equal access to information for all,' said Hohl." Presented at City Club of Cleveland Oct 14, 2024. 

SCHOOL

Never Mind The Presidency (Curmudgucation) "Take Pennsylvania, where the legislature has been Democratic enough to forestall the worst ideas. Instead, right wingers have adopted a district-by-district strategy.  The Independence Law Center is the legal shop for the Pennsylvania Family Institute,,,"

Youth Homelessness: A Primer JES Raimy Fellow Damali Donovan November 18 (Lincoln Community Center Library 1255 Manchester Road, Erie, PA, 6pm) and also December 12 (ECAT, 650 East Ave.) Host Jefferson Ed. Society

SPIRIT

Opinion: 'The day character died' Bishop Brock reflects on American voters' telling choice (Erie Times-News)

Parris Baker, Ph.D : White Christian Nationalism Isn’t Christian at All! 12/09/2024 06:00 PM - 07:30 PM Admission Free Location Lincoln Community Center Library 1255 Manchester Road Erie, PA Host: JES

WOMEN

WOMEN'S MARCH
January 18, 2025
"DC & Everywhere"
More info:   https://www.womensmarch.com/  

WORKING PEOPLE

Ralph W. Tillotson 1885-1964
Ralph Waldo Tillotson was born 29 Nov 1885 and lived most of his life in Erie PA. He was member of Eugene V. Debs' Socialist Party. and lifelong labor activist. He had a good bit of support for his political runs on the Socialist ticket but also faced harsh opposition for his beliefs. He was arrested for anti-war activities in 1918. The federal agent who arrested Tillotson reportedly said that the arrest was “simply the local phase of a country-wide movement against the Socialist Party and other radical labor movements" He was active with the AFL and later the CIO labor organizations.
"Ralph Waldo Tillotson Erie Labor Leader" by Robert Parks, The Journal of Erie Studies, Fall, 1974, Vol. 3 No. 2 (links to online version).
"The Red Scare in Erie 1918-1920" by David Horvath The Journal of Erie Studies, Spring, 1974, Vol. 3 No. 1 David G Horvath.  (links to online version).
Guide to the Ralph W. Tillotson Collection, 1894-1963 AIS.1976.13 "Ralph Waldo Tillotson (1885-1964) was a Socialist Party member and an active participant in the organized labor movement in Erie, Pennsylvania, in the first half of the 20th century. This collection contains a small sample of his correspondence, campaign material, and Socialist Party information, newspaper clippings about labor events and elections, some Tillotson family genealogical research done by a relative, and a book about the history of Erie County on one roll of microfilm."

GEMISH

Video: An Evening w/Heather Cox Richardson and Tom Nichols Hosted by Jefferson Educational Society 10/29/2024.

Video: An Evening with Liz Cheney and ​Sister Joan Chittister Hosted by Jefferson Educational Society 10/17/2024.

US voters call for reform after challenges dropped (BBC) "thousands of absentee ballot challenges were submitted in Pennsylvania minutes before a cutoff, meaning people's votes could not be counted on election day and had to wait for election board hearings to take place...Pennsylvanians can challenge a voter's eligibility for a $10 deposit, which is returned if the challenge is upheld by the local board of elections or withdrawn. However, the ACLU said that more than 4,000 challenges were lodged in 11 mainly marginal voting districts just hours before the election."

14th Annual Dr. King Awards Dinner, January 18, 2025 at 6:00 PM at the MLK Center's Event Center.312 Chestnut St. Erie, PA. "Join us as we celebrate our community members and their accomplishments over the last year. Register soon because space is limited."

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Peace, Love, and Warmth
People gathered in Perry Square November 16 for the Peace, Love, and Warmth event called by Char Michalak Newport. The event announcement called on people to "gather together and hug and talk and cry and do what we need to do to get us through. We need each other more than ever, and it's time to expand our support systems and lean on each other." People were encouraged to bring donations of warm clothing, and reported they collected about 100 items.
Photo by Mike Mahler
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Calendar and local info sharing for people who believe "a better world is possible. "Focus is local/regional. Not affiliated with any organization.  All upcoming event listings are nonviolent. If you don't notify me don't get mad if something is left out. Submissions and inquiries send to moonkat2014@gmail.com
Blog URL https://eriebluegreen.blogspot.com/








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