Martin Luther King Jr Day of Service Observed

The Newton Martin Luther King Day Observance (webinar) on Monday, January 17th featured music, poetry and community leader voices inspired by the book “Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?” There were inspiring student poets and activists who artfully and powerfully shared their experiences as people of color attending school in Newton, beautiful choirs, moving songs by Katani Sumner, a Newton Public Schools teacher and singer/musician, and words by Mayor Fuller, faith leaders and city representatives.

Citywide FORJ Meeting Recap –King’s Beloved Community & 6 Steps to Nonviolent Action

The opportunity to celebrate the life and impact of Dr. Martin Luther King continued this week at the Citywide FORJ meeting with a discussion of Rev. King’s “Beloved Community.” Among the discussion leaders were Newton Public Schools folks and officers from the Newton Police Department who spoke to us about the difference between bias incidents and hate crimes and how all are handled in Newton. We heard many Dr. King quotes that may be lesser known and discussed the legacy of the six steps to nonviolent action. If you haven’t heard of the Beloved Community before, please have a look and listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeCzzRY_RI8

L-E FORJ PTO Liaison Lanni Isenberg has been receiving lots of notes from folks interested in learning more. Drop a line if you’d like to, too! lanni_harris@yahoo.com

FAMILIES ORGANIZING FOR RACIAL JUSTICE (FORJ) is a group of diverse Newton families helping our children learn about issues of power and inequality and how to stand up for racial justice. We seek to generate understanding and curiosity about differences in our society, and to work together towards racial equity.

Martin Luther King Jr Day of Service

Monday, January 17^th is the Martin Luther King, Jr Day Observance for all of Newton. The City of Newton is hosting a webinar community book discussion of MLK’s “Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?” See the link for information to prepare for the event and for details on a community food drive: https://www.newtonma.gov/government/mayor-fuller/special-projects-and-initiatives/newton-mlk-day

Each year, Cambridge organizations gather for a day of service to honor the memory of MLK. On January 17^th, Many Helping Hands 365 will host virtual activities for families. And, they are offering a community walk from Starlight in Central Square through The Port Neighborhood to learn about Cambridge’s Black and Brown History. https://manyhelpinghands365.org/

January 19^th CityWide FORJ Meeting via Zoom, 6:30PM

The January Citywide FORJ meeting will take place on Wednesday, January 19th at 6:30PM via zoom. This month, we will be celebrating the life and impact of Dr. Martin Luther King. This meeting is called “Building a Beloved Community in Newton”. In this meeting, we will focus on the idea of Dr. King’s Beloved Community.

With the start of the new year and the significance of January (MLK day and birthday), it is important that we use this time to reflect on Dr. King’s words and life as we look towards our anti-racism aspirations for 2022. Please join us for this important conversation and help us contribute to building a Beloved Community throughout Newton.

We also are looking for individuals to share a quote from Dr. King that has some relevance to this idea of the Beloved Community and to the Newton community during the meeting. If you are interested in reading this quote during the event, please indicate in the registration form.

The Heller School at Brandeis University is hosting a 7-Day Anti-racism Challenge

Check out these daily learning and reflection resources to make thinking about (and acting on) anti-racism a part of your everyday life: https://heller.brandeis.edu/diversity/learning/antiracism-challenge.html Features readings, videos, web resources and reflection activities.

While you’re on the site, feel free to check out last year’s 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge.

Racial Justice in America

In November, in Brunswick, Georgia, three white men were convicted in the killing of 25-year old Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was running through the neighborhood. All were sentenced to life in prison this week.

Recognizing the pain, fear, and trauma brought on by continued racism within the justice system, there is clearly still work to be done to fight racism and violence against and within our communities.

Our friends from the Bigelow Middle School Chapter of FORJ shared some resources for people at all levels in the work of racial justice education, understanding and practice:

105 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice | by Corinne Shutack | Equality Includes You | Medium

Education As an Agent of Change: A Racial Justice Reading List & Resource Guide | Books | 30Seconds Mom

Talking to children after racial incidents | Penn GSE (upenn.edu)

Anti-racism resources for white people (google.com)

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s Picks: Anti-Racist Books for Kids (commonsensemedia.org)

Beyond the KKK: Understanding White Supremacy as a System of Power | Pocket (getpocket.com)

Educate Yourself: Virtual Racial Equity Workshops | Eventbrite

Mental Health Resources | City of Newton, MA (newtonma.gov)

If you’d like to have a conversation, coordinate a book or article discussion or other virtual event for families and/or our kids to address racial justice in our community, let’s chat. Please contact L-E FORJ PTO Liaison Lanni Isenberg, lanni_harris@yahoo.com

Native American Heritage Month

As Native American Heritage Month concludes, we can continue to honor and recognize the voices of our neighbors, community and the generations who came before us and acknowledge the discriminatory policy and violence towards indigenous peoples as part of our national history. We can continue to elevate stories of people often excluded from written and prioritized histories. The National Women’s History Museum has a toolkit to recognize the history and story of Indigenous women. You can view their toolkit online: WomensHistory.org

Racial Justice in America

Last week marked the 7th anniversary of the shooting of Tamir Rice, a 12-year old Black boy who was shot by police while carrying a toy gun. Two weeks ago, Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year old white male who shot, killed and injured Black Lives Matter rally protestors with an assault weapon in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was acquitted of all charges and released. Though sadly unsurprising for many reasons, the trial result was troubling and disappointing. And then, a few days later in Brunswick, Georgia, three white men were convicted in the killing of 25-year old Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was running through the neighborhood. Though one of the murderers shared a recording of the killing, the conviction in our courts was not a sure thing.

Recognizing the pain, fear, and trauma brought on by continued racism within the justice system, there is clearly still work to be done to fight racism and violence against and within our communities.

Our friends from the Bigelow Middle School Chapter of FORJ shared some resources for people at all levels in the work of racial justice education, understanding and practice:

105 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice | by Corinne Shutack | Equality Includes You | Medium

Education As an Agent of Change: A Racial Justice Reading List & Resource Guide | Books | 30Seconds Mom

Talking to children after racial incidents | Penn GSE (upenn.edu)

Anti-racism resources for white people (google.com)

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s Picks: Anti-Racist Books for Kids (commonsensemedia.org)

Beyond the KKK: Understanding White Supremacy as a System of Power | Pocket (getpocket.com)

Educate Yourself: Virtual Racial Equity Workshops | Eventbrite

Mental Health Resources | City of Newton, MA (newtonma.gov)

If you’d like to have a discussion to debrief on the news, talk about anti-racist resources, or discuss how we can educate ourselves and our families about racial justice, please contact L-E FORJ PTO Liaison Lanni Isenberg, lanni_harris@yahoo.com

FAMILIES ORGANIZING FOR RACIAL JUSTICE (FORJ) is a group of diverse Newton families helping our children learn about issues of power and inequality and how to stand up for racial justice. We seek to generate understanding and curiosity about differences in our society, and to work together towards racial equity.

Native American Heritage Month Continues

There’s a lot happening in Massachusetts this month to focus on the importance of Native American heritage month and how we can better support the advancement of equity for Native American communities in Newton and beyond.

November CityWide FORJ Recap

In the Newton FORJ meeting last week, Newton parent and Indigenous Peoples Day (IDP) Newton Committee co-founder Dr. Darlene Flores shared a presentation from the IDP Committee to the Boston Athletic Association (organizers of the Boston Marathon). She spoke about the struggle and pathway to get Indigenous Peoples Day approved in Newton and the process, education, encounters, and community action to make it a reality. From getting the day established on the city and school calendars to the acknowledgement and arrangements to make space for the inaugural Indigenous Peoples Day ceremonial celebration. Indigenous Peoples Day is observed on the 2^nd Monday of October.

Land Acknowledgements

You may hear more Land Acknowledgement announcements at the start of meetings and in materials from organizations as our communities learn more about the history and presence of Indigenous Peoples, making visible the invisible, and to start conversations to revise beliefs, thoughts, words and actions. If you’d like to know more, visit: https://www.mcnaa.org/land-acknowledgement

And, for a map of Indigenous Peoples territories, languages and treaties, see this map from Canadian nonprofit Native Land Digital:

https://native-land.ca/

Upcoming Events

The Committee for Indigenous Peoples Day Wellesley, World of Wellesley, and other community partners will hold a virtual event: Myth Busting Thanksgiving (Wellesley Free Library) – Monday, November 22^nd at 7pm via Zoom

Register here.

From Mass Peace Action: National Day of Mourning on Thursday, November 25^th at 12pm via livestream or in-person: https://masspeaceaction.org/event/2021-national-day-of-mourning-copy/ An annual tradition since 1970, Day of Mourning is a solemn, spiritual and highly political day. If you’ve never heard of this day, read more about it.

FAMILIES ORGANIZING FOR RACIAL JUSTICE (FORJ) is a group of diverse Newton families helping our children learn about issues of power and inequality and how to stand up for racial justice. We seek to generate understanding and curiosity about differences in our society, and to work together towards racial equity.

For more information or to work together to address racial equity in our school and in Newton, please contact L-E FORJ PTO Liaison Lanni Isenberg, lanni_harris@yahoo.com

November is Native American Heritage Month

Look for a great selection of books on Native American and Indigenous “Mighty Girls” for kids and teens: tinyurl.com/7ch7bazn

And families wondering what’s happening in the U.S. to update K-12 curriculum to more accurately reflect the voice, history, and culture of the Native American and Indigenous communities, check out IllumiNative, “an initiative, created and led by Natives, to challenge the negative narrative that surrounds Native communities and ensure accurate and authentic portrayals of Native communities are present in pop culture and media.”  See this report — out just before the pandemic, Sept. 2019 — https://illuminatives.org/

Next Citywide Newton FORJ Meeting Wed, Nov 17th at 7:30p on Zoom

If you would like to join, we will be focusing on the importance of Native American heritage month and how we can better support the advancement of equity for Native American communities in newton and beyond.

Upcoming Book Fair Event Nov. 23rd – CALLING FOR NIGHTTIME & SKY STORIES

Do you have family traditions that have to do with night? From bedtime routines to star gazing to stories of the night sky? What makes the nighttime, stars, moon, planets or cold weather sky special for your family? Tell us about it!

Please contact L-E FORJ PTO Liaison Lanni Isenberg, lanni_harris@yahoo.com

FAMILIES ORGANIZING FOR RACIAL JUSTICE (FORJ) is a group of diverse Newton families helping our children learn about issues of power and inequality and how to stand up for racial justice. We seek to generate understanding and curiosity about differences in our society, and to work together towards racial equity.

FORJ is a group of diverse Newton families helping our children learn about issues of power and inequality and how to stand up for racial justice. We seek to generate understanding and curiosity about differences in our society, and to work together towards racial equity. For more information, please click here.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

For a list of books and resources on talking to kids about racial equity, diversity and justice, check out this list compiled by the leaders at Newton FORJ.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY

October 11, 2021 will be the first Indigenous Peoples’ Day observance for Newton Public Schools and Massachusetts. The Indigenous Peoples Day Newton Committee is hosting a city-wide event featuring music and dancing, cultural discussions with elders from the indigenous community, educational exhibits, markets and food. For more information, visit this site.

YOUR FORJ IDEAS WELCOME

For more on the the first celebration of this holiday at Lincoln-Eliot, please contact L-E FORJ contact, Lanni Isenberg, lanni_harris@yahoo.com. Lanni is the FORJ Liaison to our PTO Board. Any parent/guardian at Lincoln-Eliot may help plan or suggest activities for our FORJ efforts. In prior years, L-E FORJ has provided resources, shared information on special events, hosted a 2^nd-5^th grade FORJ Kids’ Book Club, and hosted Lincoln-Eliot’s first-ever Juneteenth Celebration.

Lincoln-Eliot’s FIRST Juneteenth Celebration

Lincoln-Eliot was alive with energy and fun with more than 350 guests for our first Juneteenth celebration!  Kids and grown ups joined in to jump with the Double Dutch Destroyahs, featuring Lincoln-Eliot parent Suzette Worrell.  Along with some energetic L-E students and families, Principal Morrissey even jumped in!  An incredible DJ provided the soundtrack as talented Newton South student Chelsea Jones led us in the Electric Slide, the Cha-Cha Slide and Wobble and more!  We enjoyed ice cream, kite flying, ball games and lots of friendly faces!  We decorated a big Juneteenth sign with colorful hands with messages of hope and encouragement.  Special thank yous to event host/emcee/L-E parent Chris Worrell, METCO coordinator Fhynita Brinson, our L-E custodial staff, and more than a dozen parent volunteers who brought supplies and helping hands throughout the whole event!  We hope to make this an annual event!

THANK YOU, JUNETEENTH GUEST READERS!

Every Lincoln-Eliot student had the chance to hear a book about Juneteenth in their classroom last week.  Special guest readers joined in person or by zoom to read a book to each class!  Thank you to every Lincoln-Eliot teacher for finding time in your wild end of the year schedule to host a reader!  Thank you to our Lincoln-Eliot and DLA librarians for incorporating Juneteenth lessons into the last library sessions.  And thank you to our readers: Mass. State Senator Cynthia Creem; Bigelow School Counselor Jessica Pierce; Assistant Superintendent Tony Remer; Mason-Rice Elementary School Principal Jake Bultema; Assistant Principal Brown Middle School (and former Lincoln-Eliot Social Worker/METCO coordinator) Julian Turner; METCO Director Lisa Gilbert-Smith; Ward Elementary School Social Worker Kadesia Wood; Superintendent David Fleishman; Honored Uncle from one of our kindergarten families Brian Worrell; ELL specialist and Lincoln-Eliot parent Emily Nunez; NPS Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Kathy Lopes; Behavioral Therapist Loring Masters; and parents from Ms Gayle’s 1st grade classroom.  And a huge thank you to Lincoln-Eliot Social worker/METCO coordinator Fhynita Brinson for coordinating those sessions and making connections with so many local leaders and families!

LINCOLN-ELIOT FORJ KIDS BOOK CLUB – SUMMER
Since the start of the pandemic, the L-E FORJ Kids Book Club has read and discussed four books.  This group of 2^nd to 5^th grade students and their families covered a lot of ground, talking about topics including friendship, bullies, kids’ voices, politics, race, refugees, book characters, and much more!  We hope to read a book or two this summer, too, so contact L-E FORJ Coordinator Lanni Isenberg if you’d like to hear more: Lanni_harris@yahoo.com

JUNE IS LGBTQ+ PRIDE MONTH
June is recognized as LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer) Pride month.  Pride month was established in 1999 to lift the voices and ultimately, increase the rights of the LGBTQ community.  People fighting for human rights, civil rights and legal rights sometimes have to remind supporters to think inclusively.  Did you know that the colors of the rainbow flag that is known to symbolize Gay Pride have meaning?  Red is for Life, Orange is for Healing, Yellow is for Sunlight, Green is for Nature, Blue is for Serenity, Purple is for Spirit and there’s been a more recent addition of a Black stripe or multicolor Black and Brown stripes for Inclusive! (Source: https://www.nickelodeonparents.com/explaining-the-pride-rainbow-flag-to-your-child/)

GIVE TO THE METCO SCHOLARSHIP FUND
To support the 40 graduating seniors from both Newton North and Newton South as they move on to pursue their future dreams, consider contributing to The Newton METCO Community Scholarship Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/newtonmetcoscholar.

M.E.T.C.O. Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity is a state-funded educational program designed to eliminate racial imbalance through the busing of children from Boston and Springfield to public systems in surrounding suburban metropolitan communities.

JOIN A FORJ SCHOOL CHAPTER!
The Bigelow Middle School FORJ chapter is looking for more members. If you’d like to join their chapter this summer or in the fall OR if you’d like to join the Lincoln-Eliot FORJ chapter, please contact L-E FORJ Coordinator Lanni Isenberg: lanni_harris@yahoo.com!

FORJ (Families Organizing for Racial Justice) is a coalition of school-aged families in Newton coming together to teach our children – and ourselves – how to stand up for racial equity. We seek to generate understanding and curiosity about the differences in our society.

We strive to achieve safe and welcoming environments that enhance the well-being of all people.  We promote healing and connection between individuals and communities.  We speak out against injustice, support our kids to be upstanders, and take action to address bias and inequity.