2022 Event
Click this link to join us online at 7pm on Wednesday, May 25!
Using Airmeet
Thank you for joining us for our live Airmeet event! Here are a few tips and tricks for using Airmeet effectively:
- It’s best to join Airmeet from the Google Chrome browser from a laptop or desktop computer. However, there is an app you can download on your handheld device that also lets you use the features (just search for “Airmeet”).
- When you click the link to join the live Airmeet event, you will be asked a short series of questions (your name, etc.), then you will enter the “lobby” of the event. Here you can join tables and video chat with other attendees. When the event starts, everyone will be automatically pulled out of the “lobby” and into the session.
- During the session, you will be able to chat, ask questions, and see who all has joined in the event. We encourage respectful discussion of the readings and topics.
We are looking forward to spending time together to support our common cause.
2021 Event
Poets Against Racism: In This Together
An international online event cohosted by Poets Against Racism and The Watershed Journal Literary Group.
Scroll down to see a list of Allyship Resources for getting involved.
This event is a celebration and call for allyship that is occurring in our area and worldwide. Enjoy original performances from poets all over the world!
Leading us through the readings will be our three hosts: Manjit Sahora, Debbie Allen, and Dr. Joseph Croskey.
Manjit is a poet and co-founder of Poets Against Racism and is joining us very late in his day from Nottingham. Since 2016, when he founded PAR, he has performed his work throughout England, hosting the Nottingham Poetry Festival in 2019. His mission is in part to spread the words of unity, humanity and Love.
It was Debbie Allen who brought the idea of this collaboration forward. A writer herself, with much of her published poetry dealing with injustice, she serves as an associate poetry editor for the online journal Poets Reading the News.
Dr. Joseph Croskey is a professor at Clarion University, and has dedicated his professional career to public service. He is a certified teacher at the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (SIYLI) and wholeheartedly supports its mission to develop wise and compassionate leaders. In every aspect of his life, Joseph is an activist and actionist for human flourishing.
Manjit Sahota is the co- founder of Poets Against Racism and a local Nottingham poet; he has performed in number of venues in Nottingham and around the country since 2016. In 2019 he had the pleasure to host and share the stage with Linton Kwesi Johnson at the Nottingham Poetry Festival. Manjit formed PAR in 2016 to rally poets, spoken word artist and rappers to use their poetry to challenge the rise in racism and spread the word of unity, humanity and Love. “Poetry for me is the memory of our history, struggle and resistance” Manjit
Allyship Resources
National Institutes of Health’s “What Is Allyship?”
https://www.edi.nih.gov/blog/communities/what-allyship
This article provides information about what allyship is and who allies are. It is from Communities, a blog published by the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.
League of Women Voters’ “Standing in Solidarity with the Black Community”
https://www.lwv.org/blog/standing-solidarity-black-community
This article emphasizes the importance of enacting legislation and policy reforms focused on creating systemic change in our government institutions, including policing. The League of Women Voters offers varied resources for helping change systemic racism through voting and contacting one’s representatives.
Rochester (MN) Racial Justice Toolkit
https://thetoolkit.wixsite.com/toolkit/beyond-allyship
This tool kit is a compilation of articles, guides, news stories, videos, social media messages, and other tools from several online sources on racial justice and Black Lives Matter activism. This resources is intended for the Rochester, MN, community but has broad applicability.
National Congress of American Indians’ “Allies for Indian County”
https://www.ncai.org/initiatives/partnerships-initiatives/allies-for-indian-country
This website provides resources for learning about tribal nations and being allies to Native Peoples. Formed in 1944, the National Congress of American Indians is an American Indian and Alaska Native organization serving the broad interests of tribal governments and communities.
Indivisible’s “How You Can Be an Immigrant Ally Locally”
https://indivisible.org/resource/how-you-can-be-immigrant-ally-locally
This article contains information about supporting local policies that help protect immigrant families. Indivisible is a grassroots organization/movement comprising millions of activists across the country who support progressive social action.
Stop AAPI Hate’s “Act Now”
This page offers information about how to stand in solidarity with the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. The Asian Pacific Planning and Policy Council, Chinese for Affirmative Action, and the Asian American Studies Department of San Francisco State University launched the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center website in response to increased hate crimes against members of the AAPI community.
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)’s Allies
This page offers a collection of tools that can be used to participate in allyship with Muslim Americans. The Council on American-Islamic Relations is a nonprofit grassroots civil rights and advocacy group.
Anti-Defamation League’s Join Us in Fighting Hate for Good
https://www.adl.org/take-action
This resource offers strategies for talking about bias and hate and addressing anti-Semitism and other forms of hate in various ways.
Anti-Racist Reading List from Author Ibram X. Kendi
This page has a list of books recommended by author Ibram X. Kendi and published by The New York Times. Kendi is the author of “How To Be An Antiracist,” “Stamped From The Beginning,” and a regular contributor to The Atlantic.