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Monthly Archives: September 2013

Tuesday September 24th: “Cracking the Codes” – a film about racism in America

marcie

On Tuesday September 24^th the film “Cracking the Codes” will be shown on Bainbridge Island.
Following the film will be a community discussion.

Event details:

Event details:
Racism — 50 Years After the Dream

Tuesday, September 24^th
7:00pm
Eagle Harbor Congregational Church
Community Room
105 Winslow Way W.
Bainbridge Island
$5 suggested donation

Here is some more information from the Cedars Unitarian Universalist Church:

A new documentary film about racism in America is being co-sponsored by Cedars Adult Programs.

The 70-minute film is titled Cracking the Codes – The System of Racial Inequity. The film includes moving personal testimony from 23 leaders who illuminate the issues around racial disparities, and how important it is to deepen the dialogue around race in America.

Following the showing there will be an open discussion facilitated by three members of the community (Peggi Erickson, Sharon Negri, and Charlotte Rovelstad).

Join us at 7pm on Tuesday evening, September 24th at the Eagle Harbor Congregational Church (the building with the white steeple in the heart of Winslow). There is a $5 suggested donation to cover the cost of the room and handouts. For additional information call 206-780-9718.

Yes! Magazine says “”Cracking the Codes is the most dignified and evidenced response possible to the blithe assertion that we now live in a “post-racial” America.”

Co-sponsors include: Cedars Unitarian Universalist Church, Yes! Magazine, Bethany Lutheran Church, and Suquamish United Church of Christ.

Link to information about the event:
http://www.cedarsuuchurch.org/2013/09/08/racism-50-years-after-the-dream

~ Marcie

Banned Books Week Starts Today – What Will You Be Reading?

marcie

“Celebrating the Freedom to Read: Sept. 22 – 28, 2013”

From the Banned Books Week web site: “Banned Books Week is the national book community’s annual celebration of the freedom to read. Hundreds of libraries and bookstores around the country draw attention to the problem of censorship by mounting displays of challenged books and hosting a variety of events.”

If you are looking for a book to read in celebration of the freedom to read, here are the 10 most challenged titles of 2012:

1. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group

2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group

3. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher
Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group

4. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James.
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit

5. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson.
Reasons: Homosexuality, unsuited for age group

6. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini.
Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit

7. Looking for Alaska, by John Green.
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group

8. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
Reasons: Unsuited for age group, violence

9. The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit

10. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
Reasons: Sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence

Need more ideas? The University of Pennsylvania has an online list of banned books

If you work in Seattle, you might want to check out this event:
Banned Books Week Readings
Each weekday during Banned Books Week we will read a banned book in the library, from 12-1pm.
This is a brown bag event.
Antioch University Seattle
2326 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121

If you want more than a list of books, Banned Books Week also has videos of folks talking about and reading from banned books, including videos of some celebrities: http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/videos%2B

Banned Books Week is also on Facebook: www.facebook.com/bannedbooksweek

~ Marcie

Why Can’t Ending Racism be an American Agenda?

marcie

Several 50-year anniversaries relating to the Civil Rights movement have been marked recently – some good and some sad. The 50^th anniversary of the March on Washington was August 28^th. Just a few days ago, September 15^th, was the anniversary of the church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, where 4 young girls were killed.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech, I went to see the movie “The Butler.” The movie reminded me of the human costs of the fight for civil rights during the 60’s and 70’s, as well as the positive changes that were made. The anniversary of the church bombing is another reminder of the costs.

Much has been published lately on the opinion page about racism and recent events, and one letter to the editor talked about “left-wing extremists” dividing our Country with all this talk about race.

How can we honor the sacrifices made during the civil rights movement, and applaud like the folks in the theater did after the movie I attended, and not be willing to even discuss the racism still present in our society? The problem goes beyond individual cases and situations – racism is, unfortunately, imbedded in our culture and our institutions.

I know it is daunting to think about what needs to change to make our laws, and how they are applied, truly fair and just. But that change can start with each one of us if we recognize that transformations need to be made and start with making them happen locally. The human rights agenda should be something we all embrace. Why can’t ending racism be an American agenda?

~ Marcie