UPCOMING EVENTS CALENDAR BY DANCEWATER
07/18/16 NIGHTLY VIGILS FOR JUSTICE
Local Black organizers have requested that the White community host nightly vigils at the Asheville Police Department downtown. These vigils have been peaceful gatherings of concerned community members coming together to grieve, share information, stories, and feelings, brainstorm ideas, collaborate, build, and ultimately heal community. This is at 6 PM every night this week.
07/18/16 FILM SCREENING AND SPEAKERS ON SOLAR ENERGY
Join clean energy and solar advocates for an evening of learning and discussion about what we can do to move forward with solar power in a just and autonomous way. Are you passionate about energy justice in a changing climate? Do you want to be powered by solar energy but find barriers to do so? Are you a member of the solar industry? Appalachian Voices will screen a documentary and host a panel discussion with various stakeholders in the Asheville solar energy community. Bring your questions, concerns, comments and inspiration! Vegan food will be offered. Join us for a free screening of “Catching the Sun”, a silent auction, and speakers about solar energy, from 6 - 9 PM. Location is The Block Off Biltmore at 39 S. Market Street (Corner of Eagle & Market) in downtown Asheville. Call 828-254-9277 for more information. We ask for a $3-10 suggested donation at the door to benefit Appalachian Voices and the host of this event, THE BLOCK off biltmore. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
07/18/16 VOICES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING EXHIBIT
aSHEville Museum presents “Bought & Sold: Voices of Human Trafficking” exhibit, which is photography by Kay Chernush of Art Works For Freedom. This exhibit speaks to the experiences of the hundreds of thousands of men, women and children caught up in slavery’s web.This multimedia exhibit asks you, the viewer, to consider their plight from their perspective. It is intended to spark dialogue and inspire creative action, to tell the stores of modern day slavery and the journey towards freedom. The aSHEville Museum is at 35 Wall Street in downtown Asheville. Hours are 10 AM to 10 PM. This exhibit runs until August 31, 2016. Call 828.785.5722 for more information. [This is well worth seeing. - dancewater]
07/19/16 SHOWING UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE
Showing up for Racial Justice (SURJ) is a national network of groups educating and organizing white people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for racial justice. Asheville SURJ hosts a weekly discussion group on risk-taking, accountability, mutual interest and how to call more white people into racial justice work. Anyone with a passion for working with white people on racial justice is welcome! Time is 10 AM and location is Firestorm Cafe & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.
07/19/16 ASHEVILLE TRANSIT COMMITTEE MEETING
The meeting will take place at 4 PM at the 4th Floor Training Room at the Municipal Building at 100 Court Plaza, Asheville, NC. 28801. If you have any questions please contact Asheville Redefines Transit (ART) at (828) 232-4531 or via email at: iride@ashevillenc.gov.
07/19/16 ACCOUNTABILITY THROUGH ACTION
We've changed the name of our monthly Coalition Building meeting to Accountability Through Action: Immigration and ICE Raids in Asheville. This month we welcome Marisol Jimenez from the Center for Participatory Change and Bruno Hinojosa from CIMA to talk with us about the Immigration struggle locally and the ICE raids that have been incarcerating our Latino neighbors. Please join us at 6 PM for a potluck and we'll get the program rolling at 6:30 PM.
Location is Kairos West Community Center at 742 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Contact Holly at 505-554-7133 for more information.
07/20/16 GREEN DRINKS
Dogwood Alliance’s Our Forests Aren’t Fuel campaign for a presentation and discussion about the emerging threat of industrial biomass and the role our Southern forests will play in addressing climate change in the 21st century. We’ll cover a variety of topics including: the role forests currently play in renewable energy policy, sustainability in the biomass industry, and our vision for Southern forest conservation. Asheville Green Drinks is a networking party and part of the self-organizing global grassroots movement to connect communities with environmental ideas, media and action. People who are interested in environmental issues and topics meet up for a drink and occasionally listen to an expert in environment, ecology, and social justice. Location is 20 Battery Park in downtown Asheville. Time is 5:30 to 7:30 PM. Call 855-232-4723 for more information.
07/21/16 LEADERSHIP ASHEVILLE BUZZ BREAKFAST
Jim Stokely, president of Wilma Dykeman Legacy will moderate a discussion of Asheville's Direction. Panelests are Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer; UNC Asheville Chancellor Mary K. Grant; and Bill Dean, CEO, The Collider. Breakfast at 7:30 and program from 8 - 9 AM. Admission $20. Location is the Renaissance Asheville Hotel at 31 Woodfin Street in Asheville. Contact Jan at jlowe@unca.edu or 828.255.7100 for more information.
07/21/16 HOMEWARD BOUND OF WNC TOUR
“Welcome Home Tour” is a tour of Asheville organizations that serve the homeless population. Registration required, free to attend. Time is 11 AM. Call 258-1695 for more information and for instructions on how to register.
07/21/16 FILM, FOOD, AND FRIENDSHIP - PEACEABLE KINGDOM
Join us for the second edition of Film, Food and Friendship. This month we're featuring the film “Peaceable Kingdom” - a riveting story of transformation and healing. This film explores the awakening conscience of several people who grew up in traditional farming culture and who have now come to question the basic assumptions of their way of life. Presented through a woven tapestry of memories, music, and breathtaking accounts of life-altering moments, the film provides insight into the farmers' sometimes amazing connections with the animals under their care, while also making clear the complex web of social, psychological and economic forces that have led them to their present dilemma. At 6:30 PM, there is a free meal provided by Eden-Out Meals and movie starts at 7 PM. Location is Firestorm Cafe & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information. **Please bring a bowl and spoon to keep this event zero waste**
07/22/16 ONE SONG, ONE VOICE, ONE COMMUNITY - FLASH SING FOR PEACE
What if we all took 5 minutes next Friday at 5:30 PM, to came together as one community, in one voice, to sing one song of peace? It will be a of saying we want to get through the violence, through the pain, to understand each other better and that we want peace. Regardless of your ability to carry a tune, just show up, as you are, to be with your neighbors for 5 minutes. Bring your co-workers, your kids, your mate, your dog or chicken, whomever. Show up at 5:25 PM, song to be sung at 5:30 PM. No rehearsals. Sheets with lyrics will be passed out. No skills or talents necessary. However if you have a guitar, harmonica, mandolin etc and want to play, bring it. This is not a political or religious event. Nor should you make it be about your agenda. It's a simple event, with a simple message - hope healing peace. Location is Roger Mcguire Green in Pack Square in downtown Asheville. This is a facebook event.
07/24/16 BROWN VISIBILITY - BLUE RIDGE PRIDE
The Chair of Blue Ridge Pride sends this message: My goal is to bring more Brown visibility to the 2016 Blue Ridge Pride festival and the events that will surround it. Join me on Sunday, July 24th, at 1 PM at the Asheville Downtown Association office at 29 Haywood Street. Here you will find an open and safe space to talk and share. My goal is to work with other folks of color to create brown vendor space, and brown centered events during Blue Ridge Pride Weekend. My work in Asheville began in 2010 after learning about several hate crimes that targeted the LGBTQ community. I found myself lending my spoken word as a medium to generate funding for grassroots organizations. After two years of supporting the efforts of local grassroots organizations, I soon realized that I was the “token black lesbian” in the room. After that realization I made it my mission to find out how other people of color in North Carolina felt while navigating through primarily white spaces. Through this I produced a film entitled “Color ME Brown: Conversations with un-muted voices”. In September of 2012 the film was screened for an audience of 100+, as well as on college campuses throughout the southeast.
07/26/16 OCCUPY WNC GENERAL ASSEMBLY
This will be at 7 PM and will be held at the Sneak E Squirrel Community Room at 1315 West Main Street in Sylva. This is on the left side of NC Hwy 107 going from Sylva to Dillsboro. Contact Lucy at (828)743-9747 for more information.
07/26/16 HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND PATHOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS PRESENTATION
Serena Satori, of Gaia's Garden Oasis, will present on human trafficking and the underlying themes and patterns in our society that encourage these destructive structures to flourish. Time is 7 PM and location is Firestorm Cafe & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.
07/27/16 AUTHOR EVENT AT FIRESTORM
Local activist and writer Clare Hanrahan will present her new book, “The Half-Life of a Free Radical: Growing Up Irish Catholic in Jim Crow Memphis”, and speak on the importance of telling one's story in the context of the political and social realities of the times. Clare will describe the realities of institutional racism as practiced in Memphis in the 1950s and 1960s, how it evolved after Civil War and how it is sustained today. Clare Hanrahan is an Asheville, NC author, activist, organizer and wayside gardener who has been participating in and reporting on direct action events throughout the Southeast for decades. She was a founding editor of Asheville Global Report, a contributor to the Veterans for Peace publication, The War Crimes Times and a long-time member of National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee. She is a founding organizer with New South Network of War Resisters. She has lived and worked for peace and justice in Tennessee, North Carolina and Florida. She is a graduate of Southern Methodist University and deepened her education during a six-month prison sentence at Alderson Federal Prison in 2001-02 for peaceful protest in the campaign to close the U.S. Army School of Americas at Fort Benning, Ga. She is author of “Jailed for Justice: A Woman's Guide to Federal Prison Camp and Conscience & Consequence, A Prison Memoir”. Time is 7 PM and location is Firestorm Cafe & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.
07/28/16 CLEAN ENERGY IN THE MOUNTAINS
Clean Energy in the Mountains is presented by NC Sustainable Energy Association.
Time is from 5:30 to 9 PM and location is Highland Brewing Company at 12 Old Charlotte Highway in east Asheville. Contact Christy at christy@energync.org or 919-832-7601 x 111 for more information.
07/29/16 JUST PEACE FOR ISRAEL/PALESTINE MEETING
This meeting will be at 3:15 PM at Brooks-Howell Home in the Media Room. Contact Suchi at suchi1025@bellsouth.net for more information.
07/31/16 INDUSTRIAL WORKERS OF THE WORLD SPEAKING TOUR
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) organizers will speak on a panel about their experiences and the relevance of the IWW. Time is 3 PM and location is Firestorm Cafe & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.
08/01/16 DISCUSSION ON POSSIBLE RADIOACTIVE SHIPMENTS IN WNC
Liquid highly radioactive shipments in WNC--this summer. Come learn more about the possible mess/take simple action steps to support an injunction being filed in federal court from Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Southeast. Door prize for anyone who can convince the room that these shipments would be good for Asheville/WNC economy. Time is 7 PM, but come earlier for happy hour with jazz guitar to socialize at The Block Off Biltmore, a vegan bar and community space in the YMI building at the corner of Eagle and Market Streets in downtown Asheville. Asheville community knows a lot about nuclear waste, and possible shipments. I don’t think we need a new campaign, but these are actual shipments ready to roll (100 trucks from Canada to South Carolina) and action/awareness is needed. For more information contact Mary at maryo@nirs.org or call 828-252-8409 or 828-242-5621.
08/02/16 ASHEVILLE TRANSIT COMMITTEE MEETING
Meeting is from 3:30 to 5 PM and location is the first floor Conference Room at Asheville City Hall.
08/10/16 JUST PEACE FOR ISRAEL/PALESTINE MEETING
This meeting will be at 9:30 AM at Black Mountain Presbyterian Church at 117 Montreat Road in Black Mountain. Contact Suchi at suchi1025@bellsouth.net for more information.
08/13/16 BUS TO RICHMOND TO FIGHT FOR $15.
August 13th there will be a bus from Asheville to Richmond for the Fight For $15 national rally. The location is no accident, they are taking the fight to Confederate capitol for a reason. The NC labor groups supporting the Fight For $15 are organizing a bus from Asheville for a day trip to their national event in Richmond, VA. If you're interested, then sign up by following this link: http://fightfor15.org/s-petition/summer2016/. This was posted on Facebook.
08/17/16 GREEN DRINKS
Asheville Green Drinks is a networking party and part of the self-organizing global grassroots movement to connect communities with environmental ideas, media and action. People who are interested in environmental issues and topics meet up for a drink and occasionally listen to an expert in environment, ecology, and social justice. The location of Green Drinks has been changing a lot lately, contact them for more information. Time is 5:30 to 7:30 PM. Call 855-232-4723 for more information.
08/21/16 ETHICAL HUMANIST SOCIETY OF ASHEVILLE
“The Thirteenth Juror” is journalist Nelda Holder’s investigative report on the contents of more than 6,466 pages of transcripts and documents released in the Missouri grand jury investigation into the death of Michael Brown, Jr. “The Thirteenth Juror” will be presented by Nelda Holder at the Sunday, August 21 meeting of the Ethical Humanist Society of Asheville, from 2 - 3:30 PM at Asheville Friends Meeting House, 227 Edgewood Road, in Asheville. All are welcome. Holder will describe how her involvement in this project came about, and the import of her months of investigation. The book’s title is symbolic of her approach to the material, which was to slip into the role of a grand juror as she read the testimonies and the attorney narratives, and looked at the evidence presented in the transcripts. The book invites its readers to be present as well, offering anecdotes and descriptions that present a candid sense of many aspects of the 24 days of grand jury hearings. In addition to a synopsis of “facts” and a discussion of their import, Holder will share research regarding the grand jury process in this country and the potential and need for its reform. She will also discuss the widely disparate eyewitness testimony in the case and the striking documentation of unreliability for such testimony. The author will share personal stories from witnesses who knew Michael Brown, and stories about their individual lives in the neighborhood they shared, particularly involving police interactions. She will discuss two troubling aspects regarding Darren Wilson’s own testimony (the young police officer on trial) that she discovered in going through these records. She will also discuss the ultimate revelation inherent in the release of these documents, which she feels reveals a sobering ethical dilemma.
Questions and discussion will be welcome. Refreshments will follow the presentation. For more information call (828) 687-7759 or email EHSAsheville@gmail.com.
09/13/16 BUILDING BRIDGES FALL SESSION
Registration for the 2016 fall session of Building Bridges is now open! This seminar is an introduction to the dynamics of racism and is an opportunity to explore how race has impacted our relationships, communities and institutions. Past participants are welcome. The program will be held at Rainbow Community School in West Asheville on Tuesday evenings from 7 to 9 PM starting on September 13th and running through November 8th. Please go to buildingbridges-ashevillenc dot org to get to the registration page and for more information. Help us spread the word by telling your friends and colleagues. We anticipate filling fast, so be sure to register early to reserve your spot. Hope to see you there! Cost is $35. Go to their webpage to see payment instructions. A celebratory pot luck supper will be held for all participants at the ninth meeting. Families are welcome to attend the potluck. You may call (828) 777-4585 for more information.
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ONGOING EVENTS
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TUESDAY
Veterans for Peace have a weekly vigil at 4:30 PM at Pack Square, Vance Monument
Showing Up for Racial Justice is from noon to 2 PM at Firestorm Cafe and Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Educating and organizing white people for racial justice. Free.
Orientation session for Asheville Timebank. 4 PM at Firestorm Cafe & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Email help@ashevilletimebank.org for information and to register.
WEDNESDAY
Haywood Peace Vigilers have a weekly vigil at 4 PM at Haywood County Courthouse in Waynesville
French Broad Riverkeeper has a paddle-n-plant to prevent sediment erosion most Wednesdays and Saturdays. Registration required at anna@mountaintrue.org.
THURSDAY
Political Prisoners Letter Writing at Firestorm Cafe & Books at 6 PM on first Thursday of the month. Materials provided.
FRIDAY
Women in Black have a weekly vigil at noon at the City Hall in Hendersonville
Women in Black have a monthly vigil at 5 PM at Vance Monument in Asheville (first Friday only)
SATURDAY
Transylvanians for Peace and WNC Physicians for Social Responsibility have a weekly vigil at noon in front of the courthouse in Brevard. Call 884-3435 to confirm.
French Broad Riverkeeper has a paddle-n-plant to prevent sediment erosion most Wednesdays and Saturdays. Registration required at anna@mountaintrue.org.
SUNDAY
Youth OUTright meeting from 4 to 6 PM at First Congregational United Church of Christ at 20 Oak Street in Asheville. Ages 14 - 23 only.
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ACTIONS AND READINGS
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BUILDING BRIDGES FALL SESSION
Registration for the 2016 fall session of Building Bridges is now open! This seminar is an introduction to the dynamics of racism and is an opportunity to explore how race has impacted our relationships, communities and institutions. Past participants are welcome. The program will be held at Rainbow Community School in West Asheville on Tuesday evenings from 7 to 9 PM starting on September 13th and running through November 8th. Please go to buildingbridges-ashevillenc dot org to get to the registration page and for more information. Help us spread the word by telling your friends and colleagues. We anticipate filling fast, so be sure to register early to reserve your spot. Hope to see you there! Cost is $35. Go to their webpage to see payment instructions. A celebratory pot luck supper will be held for all participants at the ninth meeting. Families are welcome to attend the potluck. You may call (828) 777-4585 for more information.
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Hood Tour Tickets
An interactive tour focusing on Asheville’s African American resilient history and future in the arts, environmentalism and entrepreneurship. The tour visits neighborhoods with existing and active green spaces, art, and grassroots initiatives. Tours run most Thursdays at 1 PM and Saturdays at 3 PM, and by appointment for groups by emailing info@hoodhuggers.com. Tours last approximately 1.5 hours. Cost is $25 per person. Tours begin at the Stephens-Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Avenue.
Hood Huggers International, LLC offers sustainable strategies for building support pillars for resilient historically African American neighborhoods, providing a framework for community capacity building while increasing the effectiveness of existing service programs. These strategies incorporate the arts, environmental education and social enterprise.
DeWayne Barton is the founder/CEO of Hood Huggers. A sculptor and poet, Barton has been involved in community improvement and youth development for over 20 years. He serves on the African American Heritage Commission, CoThinkk, and the City of Asheville Neighborhood Advisory Board.
Please call (828) 275-5305 or email blove@hoodhuggers.com for more information including how to register for these tours.
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GOOD NEWS! St. Eugene's Catholic Church in Asheville saved 35.5% or $4,694 since they installed 147 solar panels in Oct. 2015 and the environmental impact was 27 tons of CO2 not emitted into the atmosphere. The savings will continue – the panels have a 25 year guarantee.
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Contact: Rachael Bliss
WNC 4 Peace: A Partnership of Peace Makers
8283780125
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Students in WNC invited to be creative about peace
ASHEVILLE WNC
4 Peace, a Partnership of Peace Makers in Western
North Carolina, announces a contest in which students across Buncombe County,
NC, can enter via their school’s creative works that promote the importance of
peacemaking. There will be four "Winners" for Best Poem, Best Video, Best
Artwork, and Best Essay on Peace .
Students’s creations will be featured on our website, wnc4peace.com.
Additionally the winning video and a video of the winning poem and essay
being read plus winning artwork will be shown on International Peace Day at key
websites throughout the world .
The School from which winning students submit their poem, video, artwork or
essay will be given $100 checks from WNC 4 Peace. The $100 prizes will be
presented to schools (or homeschooling associations) to encourage students there
to enter, as well as helping schools provide resources for them to teach peace
related skills.
WNC 4 Peace and our peacemaker partner groups will raise funds to support
this important youth project.
We will invite Mountain Xpress and other local media to announce the
competition and to also print the names of winning entries and their schools.
We are naming awards in honor of recently deceased local peace heroes:
● Isaac Coleman, who died recently, and was founder of Read to Succeed and
former Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the 1960s;
● Judith Hallock, cofounder
of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance
and leader of previous local International Days of Peace;
● Tony Bing, former leader of the Palestinian/Jewish Egalitarian Team (formerly
called Western Carolinians for Peace and Justice in the Middle East), and
● Ron Harayda, former chairman of Veterans of Peace Chapter 099 and host of
their weekly WPVM radio program for years.
Deadline for submissions will be September 7, 2016. All entries should be sent to
WNC 4 Peace wnc4peace@gmail.com . In the case of videos, send an email to the
address above and give the name of the video, which has been uploaded to
YouTube by the entrant. Artwork should be uploaded as a. PDF attachment and
sent in an email to WNC 4 Peace. All students from elementary through high school
are eligible to participate. Be sure all entries include entrant's name, school, grade
level, and contact information.
Winners will be announced in September for International Day of Peace. Details
about the date and place to honor all entrants and winners will be announced at a
later date.
For more information, contact WNC 4 Peace wnc4peace@gmail.com , or call
8283780125.
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