About a month ago Juneteenth was first celebrated as a federal holiday. This commemorates June 19, 1865, when word finally reached ALL enslaved persons that President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 had set them free. At a celebration of this momentous day in history in downtown Greensboro, it was a real joy to watch a sea of happy faces, feeling pride in the day, and welcome in our city. There was food, music and dancing.…
Interfaith Power and Light and faith leaders around the country are calling on Congress to keep climate justice in the forefront as they draft infrastructure legislation to vote on this summer. Susannah Tuttle of North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light has asked constituents to call on Representative Kathy Manning to push for clean energy, modernizing the electric grid, electrified transportation, and clean water investments. New Gardeners will deliver a letter to Rep. Manning’s office,100 South…
As a community of faith, we have come to realize that our commitment to anti-racism requires the proverbial “thinking outside the box” and creating new habits. Thanks to Traci Claywell for providing information in previous newsletters on Black owned businesses! Recently I was looking for a hairdresser and remembered not to simply consult one of my White friends for a recommendation, which would have been my usual approach. Using one of the aforementioned websites, I…
Dear Members of Congress, More than 3,400 faith leaders across the United States recently sent a letter to Congress calling for a bold economic recovery and infrastructure package that creates family and community sustaining jobs while caring for our climate and our neighbors. They called on Congress to use this opportunity to invest in the clean energy future while addressing the injustices of the past through: Expanding clean, renewable energy and modernizing our electric grid…
Friends Committee on National Legislation is calling on Friends and others to encourage Congress to pass JUST recovery legislation with an emphasis on Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, which could cut child poverty in the U.S. in half. Without congressional action, these tax credits which were included in earlier recovery legislation will expire on December 31. Go to the FCNL web sight, www.fcnl.org; click UPDATES and RESOURCES, click ACT, Take Action; scan…
7:00 p.m. / via Zoom / We continue conversation centered around Ibram X Kendi’s book, “How To Be An Antiracist” Thursday, July 15 at 7 p.m. If you would like to join this Zoom group, please contact Sarah Gates who will be leading us and sending the Zoom invitations to participants. The queries associated with the three chapters we will be discussing (9,10 & 11) are listed below. NGFM Book Discussion: Thursday, July 15th 7:00pm-8:00pm+…
Attention: rising high school juniors and seniors! Are you interested in leadership, addressing the “ism’s”? NCCJ is recruiting for Anytown and and scholarships available. Students earn 40 hours towards required service learning hours. For more information, contact: Lizzie Biddle or Gertrude Beal.
Thanks to all the New Gardeners who contributed to our second virtual food drive for Greensboro Urban Ministries’ Food Pantry! The total collected was $932.00.
It was shocking to learn from the New York Public Library African American Desk Reference list (1999) purchased recently about a number of African American inventors about whom I had never heard! Probably most of us knew about George Washington Carver inventing peanut butter (in 1896), but he’s the only one that I remember studying in school. Here’s another inventor of color, whom we can thank as we manage the heat this summer: Frederick McKinley…
Caring Friends needs new volunteers! If you are willing to provide transportation for folks to things like doctor’s appointments or deliver groceries, provide meals when people need a little extra help, or send cards to cheer people up when they are ill or experiencing loss, or be available for one time event like gardening, delivering something in a truck, sawing wood etc., please call Jane Carter at 336-402-2127. Be sure to leave a clear message…