Monthly Topics

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Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.  It was on June 19, 1865 that 2,000 Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved, some 250,000 in this state, were now free.  Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863.

June 19 became the day of celebration for black folks in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, and other neighboring states. Juneteenth was made an official state holiday in Texas in 1972.  It is celebrated today with parades, picnics, parties, and other cultural gatherings in over 200 U.S. cities.

We will be having our annual Celebration for Juneteenth on Tuesday June 13th at 6:30 PM at Park Hill United Methodist Church.

Please note that we will start this month at 6:30 PM, a half hour earlier than usual.

For our celebration, we will have a "sponsored" pot luck. We are arranging to provide generous servings of fried catfish and spareribs. We are asking that each of you who are coming will bring along some complementary dishes to serve. We always look forward to the tasty favorites that folks bring to share!

Alas, we also have to ask that you contribute a donation to cover the costs. Our suggestion is that you donate $10 if you can afford it. Please don't let it stop you from coming if you cannot. Donate what your can; we want you to come!

Won't You Please RSVP to this invite by emailing to secondtuesdayraceforum@gmail.com  by Friday June 9th so we can place our food orders. Tell us how many guests you are bringing, and what dish you are going to bring in one of the categories below:

Veggie Side
Bread
Salads
Drinks : Strawberry or Red Pop
Vegetarian main dish (for vegetarian folks)
Dessert
Ice

Cups and Plates

Napkins, Knifes and Forks.
If you are reading this after June 9th, and you have not Replied, come anyway.
A final note: Denver's 2017 Juneteenth Music Festival will be held on Saturday June 17th in the 5 Points neighborhood.  Here is a link to their website:

 

http://juneteenthmusicfestival.com/

 

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Reports from the White Privilege Conference in Kansas City

The theme this year for WPC 18 was “Organizing, Strategizing, Taking Action.  Deconstructing the Culture of White Supremacy and Privilege.” At least 20 people from Denver and the Second Tuesday Race Forum attended the conference, and some presented. They are excited to share with us in the May meeting some of the most impactful presentations and workshops they attended.  Then we will get to break into groups to explore in more detail some of the topics presented that came out of the conference.  This is a great opportunity for us to gain insights and strategies from a variety of topics.  We hope that other Denver area residents who attended may be able to join us for the first time.

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Beyond Vietnam – 50 Years Later

April 4th was the fiftieth anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Beyond Vietnam” sermon which was delivered at Riverside Church in New York City. It was delivered at a time when the country was perhaps more divided than any time since the Civil War. We face a similar division today. In our April meeting we will review, discuss, and unpack this powerful address.
Dr. King talked about the triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism. You are invited to join us as we identify the ways these giant triplets are at work today and how this sermon remains relevant after 50 years has passed.
We invite you to read or listen to the full sermon at: http://kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/documentsentry/doc_beyond_vietnam/. Also, attached to this message is a summary and review of his ideas, “Beyond ‘I Have a Dream’”.

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Jewish Liberation: Why Does It Matter to Racial Justice?
For the March 14 meeting panelists Debbie Zucker, Rabbi Brian Field and Dr. Dena Samuels will talk about some of the past and current dynamics of anti-Semitism (anti-Jewish oppression), and how it gets predictably gets used to manipulate, divert and weaken anti-racism work.  We’ll work in small groups and in the whole-group discussion to make awareness of and resistance to anti-Semitism a critical part of our commitment to anti-racism work, and to building a just, vital and safe society.

To give you more background for the discussion, please read the attached article, “The Dynamics of Anti-Semitism.

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Our February meeting with be next week, February 14th, 2017,  at the Park Hill United Methodist Church at Montview Blvd and Glencoe St. in Denver. The meeting will start at 7 PM.

Again this month we will be having our meeting downstairs in the Youth Lounge.

It seems that some folks have bee confused about what entrance to the church to use. There is a large parking lot on the north side of the church that is accessible off of Glencoe St, that is just east of the church. The door to the church you shoud use is the one that opens onto that parking lot. If you have passengers with mobility difficulties, you can pull up to that entrance and then park in the lot or on the street. Just inside the door, take the stairwell down to the lower level and follow the hallway, turning to the left into the Youth Lounge. If the stairs are difficult, go straight ahead from the door and find the elevator in the narrow hallway.

Crossing Boundaries for Love

This February’s forum happens to fall on Valentine’s Day.  We thought it would be appropriate to talk about the range of experiences people have when they are in relationships and marriages that cross boundaries which at times have been prohibited by custom and by law.  This includes racial, gender, or religious boundaries.  We will hear stories from some couples and individuals in these relationships and from the children who grew up navigating multiple worlds.  Whether you’ve had experience with “crossing the line” to have a personal relationship or not, please join us on a day that love is celebrated.