It has been one year since Tamir Rice was killed by Cleveland Police. So far, no justice. He was a beautiful child, just playing with a toy gun in a park by himself. This photo came from change.org.
UPCOMING EVENTS
11/23/15 AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT IN ASHEVILLE
The Renaissance Asheville Hotel is proud to partner with the AIDS Memorial Quilt and the Western North Carolina AIDS Project to host this year’s display, November 21 through December 2, 2015. Activist Cleve Jones began The AIDS Memorial Quilt in 1987. The first 1,920 panels were displayed in the nation’s capital during the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1987, to highlight the scale of the epidemic. By 2007, the Quilt included more than 46,000 panels representing over 80,000 people, and it continues to grow. It is a memorial to those lost to AIDS, a tool for preventing new HIV infections, and the world’s largest ongoing community art project. This is free and open to the public. The opening reception will be Monday, November 23rd, at 6PM at the Renaissance Hotel.
11/23/15 DOCUMENTARY SCREENING AT UNCA
PlantPure Nation documentary screening at 5:30 to 7 PM at the Sherrill Center 417, Mission Health Mountain View Conference Room at UNCA. This will be followed by a discussion. Event is free and open to the public. Contact Amy at alanou@unca.edu for more information.
11/23/15 REVISIONING HISTORY BOOK GROUP AT FIRESTORM
This discussion group focuses on books that challenge or expand on dominant historical narratives and research methodologies. Together, we investigate -- and question -- the common idea that history is merely the objective presentation of facts, and explore the ways in which ideology plays a role in how history is interpreted, transmitted, and culturally/academically institutionalized. November book is “An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States” by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. Time is 7 PM and location is Firestorm Cafe & Books at 610 Haywood Street in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.
11/24/15 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 Street in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.
11/25/15 GREEN DRINKS
Asheville City Councilman Cecil Bothwell has been closely following the development of autonomous vehicles (driverless vehicles) for a few years with an eye to government policy implications from municipalities to the federal government level. He delivered a TEDx Hickory presentation on the subject in May 2014. In an updated overview, he will discuss the latest technological developments and why driverless cars will have a major impact on future interstate traffic through Asheville. Socializing is from 5:30 – 6 PM and presentation is from 6 – 7 PM. Location is the Twin Leaf Brewery at 144 Coxe Avenue in Asheville. They are on the corner of Coxe and Banks in the South Slope of downtown Asheville. Entrance is the big garage door on Banks Avenue.
11/27/25 JUST PEACE IN ISRAEL/PALESTINE
This meeting will be at 3:15 PM at Brooks-Howell Home on Merrimon Avenue in Asheville. Meet in the media room. Contact Suchi at suchi1025@bellsouth.net for more information.
11/29/15 LIGHT UP THE NIGHT: A VIGIL FOR THE PARIS CLIMATE TALKS
Come to “Light Up the Night: A Vigil for the Paris Climate Talks” on November 29, 5 PM, at Grove Park on Charlotte Street across from St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, as we unite our hearts and longings for a good outcome for the Paris Climate Talks. Join the Green Grannies in song as we hold candles and send our wishes to Paris in solidarity with events all over the world! Sponsored by 350Asheville and The Green Grannies. Contact palmtree747@gmail.com for more information.
11/29/15 RALLY FOR CLIMATE ACTION IN HENDERSONVILLE
This rally takes place on steps of the Historic Courthouse in Hendersonville. The goal is to show leaders meeting in Paris that “our movement cannot be ignored, and we will accept nothing less than an ambitious climate deal, with a global commitment to 100 percent clean energy.” Time is 1 to 5 PM. This is sponsored by MountainTrue. Contact Joan at joan@mountaintrue.org for more information.
12/01/15 MOVIE FOR WORLD AIDS DAY
The documentary film screening of “deepsouth” will be held at the Asheville Renaissance Hotel on Woodfin Street in downtown Asheville. Time is 6:30 PM. Free and open to the public. Please call the hotel for further information on the movie. The quilt display is up until December 2nd, and that display is free and open to the public.
12/01/15 WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL LECTURE SERIES
“DEAS (ISIS) and PKK – The Regional Struggle for Hegemony: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar," with Ali Demirdas, a member of the international studies faculty at the College of Charleston and a Ph.D. candidate at University of South Carolina. The lectures are sponsored by the WNC chapter of the World Affairs Council, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UNC Asheville, and the university's Department of Political Science. Admission to World Affairs Council presentations at UNC Asheville is $10 for the public; free to members of the World Affairs Council and UNC Asheville students. Time is 7:30 PM and location is Reuter’s Center. For more information call 828.251.6140.
12/01/15 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 Street in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.
12/02/15 WORLD AIDS DAY CELEBRATION IN ASHEVILLE
On Tuesday, December 2, from 7 to 9 PM, World Aids Day will be celebrated, with a fantastic evening of music and poetry focused on remembering the past, celebrating successes, and hope for the future. Location is the Renaissance Hotel in Asheville where the AIDS Memorial Quilt is on display.
12/02/15 SIERRA CLUB HOLIDAY PARTY
All are warmly invited to WENOCA Sierra Club Group’s 6th Annual Holiday Party & Recognition Awards at 7 PM on Wed, Dec 2 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Asheville. Last year about 60 folks ate, drank, and were merry. Please bring a potluck dish to share, your own place settings, and a book to swap, as well as laughter and good cheer.
Contact Judy at judymattox@sbcglobal.net or 828-683-2176 for more information.
12/03/15 CREATION CARE ALLIANCE MEETING
Creation Care Alliance General Meeting. Time is 5:30 to 7 PM. Location is the First Baptist Church of Asheville at 5 Oak Street in downtown Asheville. Contact Creation Care at creationcare@mountaintrue.org for more information.
12/03/15 PROGRAM ADDRESSING RACE AND POLICE PRACTICES
Carolina Jews for Justice/West, Congregation Beth Israel and Congregation Beth HaTephila are co-sponsoring a program addressing race and police practices on Thursday, December 3, 2015, at Congregation Beth Israel, 229 Murdock Avenue in Asheville. The program will begin at 6:30 PM with a screening of the documentary film, “Ferguson: A Report from Occupied Territory.” A panel discussion will follow moderated by Rabbi Justin Goldstein of Congregation Beth Israel. Panelists will include Tammy Hooper, Chief of the Asheville Police Department; Van Duncan, Buncombe County Sheriff; Sheneika Smith, Community Resource Specialist of Green Opportunities, and Joseph T. Hackett, Student Development Director of Green Opportunities. A question and answer period will follow. Light refreshments will be served. Free and open to the public. Contact Marilynne Herbert at mherbert1@aol.com or (828) 551-7005 for more information.
12/03/15 REMEMBERING THE FLOOD OF 1916
The Center for Cultural Preservation’s next program Come Hell or High Water, Remembering the Flood of 1916 on Thursday, December 3rd at 7 PM will explore the history of the area’s worst natural disaster nearly 100 years ago. But what have we learned? That flood led to hundreds of mudslides and landslides causing extensive damage and loss of life but that was during a time when few people lived up on ridges or near streams. A flood of similar proportions today would be even more devastating. To recount the history and discuss what WNC’s special topography has forewarned us throughout history, the program will feature the presentation of a new short film, and a forum that will include an historian, mountain elders, and experts discussing the history, what we’ve learned and how better protected are we today since the disaster nearly 100 years ago. The program will start is scheduled at 7 PM and location is Blue Ridge Community College’s Patton Auditorium. There is a suggested donation of $5. Since the program is expected to sell out, advance registration is strongly recommended. Reservations can be made by calling the Center for Cultural Preservation at (828) 692-8062. The program is co-sponsored by the NC Humanities Council, the Henderson County History and Genealogy Center, Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy and Mountain True.
12/03/15 CENTER FOR PARTICIPATORY CHANGE CELEBRATION
You are invited to CPC’s 2015 Circle Celebration. Hear from leaders in the Language Justice Circle, Popular Education Circle and Racial Equality Circle. Food is included and time is 5 to 9 PM. Location is Toy Boat Community Art Space at 101 Fairview Road (near Sweeten Creek Road) in Asheville. This event is free and kid friendly. Call Becky at 545-7223 for more information.
12/04/15 BENEFIT CONCERT FOR HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
Once again, local musician Aaron Price and West Asheville Presbyterian Church are hosting a concert with a great lineup of local musicians to benefit Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity. Friday, December 4th at 7:30 PM at West Asheville Presbyterian Church at 690 Haywood Road. The lineup includes: Kevin Smith and Planefolk Peggy Ratusz and Bygone Blues Whitney Moore BJ Leiderman Valorie Miller Aaron Price Hanger Hall Glee Club MusicWorks Kindergarten Chorus. Admission is free, donations accepted.
12/04/15 GIFTS THAT GIVE AT MARKETPLACE AT AB TECH
Socially responsible vendors, who give back to the community, sell fair trade items, and work with communities of need, will be selling their products at this event. Refreshments, shopping, chair massage, and more will be offered. From 8:30 AM to 1 PM. Location is Coman Student Center Lounge at AB Tech.
12/05/15 CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY MEETING
Citizens Climate Lobby meets the first Saturday of each month at Kairos West Community Center, 742 Haywood Road in west Asheville. We are advocating for a Carbon Fee & Dividend, which would impose a fee on fossil fuels at point entry; this fee will be refunded to individuals and families. There is bipartisan support in Congress as this will create jobs and help grow the economy, boosting renewables. Time is 12:30 to 3 PM. Location is Kairos West Community Center at 742 Haywood Road in west Asheville. For more information contact asheville@citizensclimatelobby.org.
12/05/15 FUNDRAISER FOR BIBLIOWORKS
All proceeds funds libraries and literary programs in Bolivia. There will be music by Cecil Bothwell, food, beer, cider and a silent auction. Cost is $15 at the door, $12 advance, for admission. This will be held at 67 Biltmore Avenue, across from the French Broad Food Coop. Time is 7 to 9:30 PM. For more information, call 350-0744.
12/05/15 COTHINKK: MOVING THE CONVERSATION FORWARD
CoThinkk is a “giving circle” that uses our collective time, talent, and treasure towards investment strategies that address education, economic mobility/opportunity, and leadership development towards impacting some of the most critical social issues facing African-American & Latino communities in Asheville and Western NC. This meeting is continuing to build upon our momentum and providing an opportunity for us to invite more voices into the room, to continue to refine our giving through defining our time, talent, and treasure, and to prepare for our April 2016 "Signature Invitation Event.” Please RSVP by November 27th to reserve your seat at the table and to receive additional information that will be needed to inform the meeting conversation. If you have any questions or concerns please free to e-mail cothinkk@gmail.com. Time is 1:30 to 4:30 PM and location is the Asheville Art Museum in downtown Asheville. This is a facebook event.
12/06/15 PILGRIMAGE FOR THE PARIS CLIMATE TALKS
Show your support for UN Climate Talk commitments from global powers to fight climate change by attending “People’s Pilgrimage for the Paris Climate Talks” on December 6th at 2 PM at the Carrier Park pavilion on Amboy Road. Walk two miles along the French Broad River to French Broad River Park and stop along the way at significant sites to share in music, poetry and prayer. Come at 1 PM to make signs. Sponsored by the Creation Care Alliance of Western North Carolina. Contact creationcare@mountaintrue.org for more information.
12/06/15 CANDLELIGHT VIGIL AND FUNDRAISER FOR HADAYA TOYS
Please join Hadaya Toys for a luminous candlelight vigil and fundraiser to benefit Syrian refugee children on Sunday, Dec. 6, from 6 to 8 PM at Jubilee on Wall St in Asheville.The evening hosts are award winning filmmaker and teacher Jennifer MacDonald and artist, photographer and entrepreneur Vanessa Bell. Hadaya Toys is a grassroots organization dedicated to supporting the overlooked needs of refugee children through creativity and play. They spread joy, one toy at a time, by providing books, toys and art supplies to the child refugee population suffering from the devastation of war. The candlelight evening will feature Middle Eastern music by World super-group Free Planet Radio (River Guerguerian, Chris Rosser and Grammy Award winner Eliot Wadopian) and other special musical guests. Habibi baklava and other delectable treats will be available to enjoy along with a spoken word and film presentation about the Syrian refugee crisis and Hadaya’s first ‘joy delivery’ this summer to four refugee camps on the border of Lebanon and Syria. This community event is to specifically raise funds for the children of the BEITI orphanage in Southern Turkey, who have lost one or both parents in the war. Tickets are $10 and are available at the door or in advance at Malaprops. All proceeds will benefit Hadaya Toys.
12/07/15 TRANSITION ASHEVILLE MEETING
A panel of Transition Asheville organizers will discuss the Transition Movement and why they chose to participate in it locally. They will tell about the highs and lows they have experienced as well as their hopes for the future of Transition Asheville. Panelists: Dylan Ryals-Hamilton, Cathy Scott, Chas Jansen, and Ron Martin-Adkins. Come early for snacks and socializing. Time is 6:30 to 8 PM and location is Parish Hall at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church at 337 Charlotte Street in Asheville. Park in the lot next to the church off Evelyn Alley. For more information, contact transitionasheville@gmail.com.
12/08/15 VETERANS FOR PEACE MEETING
On the second Tuesday or each month, Western North Carolina Veterans for Peace meets to coordinate group activities and programs.Veterans For Peace is a global organization of Military Veterans and allies whose collective efforts are to build a culture of peace by using our experiences and lifting our voices. We inform the public of the true causes of war and the enormous costs of wars, with an obligation to heal the wounds of wars. Our network is comprised of over 140 chapters worldwide whose work includes: educating the public, advocating for a dismantling of the war economy, providing services that assist veterans and victims of war, and most significantly, working to end all wars. Time is 6:30 PM and location is Firestorm Cafe & Books at 610 Haywood Street in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.
12/10/15 JUST ECONOMICS ANNUAL CELEBRATION
Just Economics Annual Celebration. Free, food and entertainment provided, all are welcome. Time is 6 to 9 PM and location is Jubilee! in downtown Asheville. Just Economics works to educate, advocate, and organize for a just and sustainable local economy that works for all in Western North Carolina. We see ourselves not as people of privilege advocating on behalf of low-income people but rather, people of privilege and low-income people advocating together for a better economic community. We welcome participation in our work from all members of our community. We are currently focused on living wage jobs, accessible transportation, and affordable housing.
12/10/15 CENTER FOR PARTICIPATORY CHANGE EXHIBIT AT FIRESTORM
Language, Power and Identity. For over 10 years, the Center for Participatory Change has been involved in creating multilingual spaces in Western North Carolina. Through interpretation, use of simultaneous interpretation equipment, interpreter trainings and mentoring of interpreters, CPC worked to create a WNC where different communities could fully participate and have their voices heard. To deepen our understanding of language in our lives, our communities, and our movement, CPC organized a Language Justice Tour of our region. Our goal was to listen to stories of language loss, acquisition and preservation. The photographs in this exhibit capture part of this tour. Time is 7 PM and location is Firestorm Cafe & Books at 610 Haywood Street in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.
12/10/15 AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE COMMISSION
Meets on the second Thursday of each month at 11:30 AM in the First Floor North Conference Room of Asheville City Hall. No further information.
12/16/15 REPORT BACK FROM PALESTINE
Recent visitors to Israel/Palestine share reflections on their experience. Time is 7 PM and location is Firestorm Cafe & Books at 610 Haywood Street in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information. This is sponsored by Just Peace in Israel/Palestine.
12/19/15 DOCUMENTARY FILM SHOWING AT FIRESTORM
Mexico is living a crisis. The country no longer believes in its government; it is exhausted by the corruption and impunity which reaches every corner of society. It is tired of the inequality, the violence, the injustice, and the dispossession. In a small town in the semidesert of Hidalgo, a group of men and women of Ñañú origin are setting an example of rural community development – a cooperative rural development that protects natural resources, cares for traditions and respects people. Set in a spectacular box canyon where a thermal river gushes from the side of a mountain, the Tolantongo cooperative has built a popular resort by their own efforts. Members of the cooperative share in the profits from their labor and alternate jobs in a democratic egalitarian community. Their story reveals that organized people can be the creators of their own destiny. There is much to learn from this model of a local community economy through cooperativism that respects nature, people and traditions. The film is called “Tolantongo: A Worker Co-op Resort”. Q & A will follow the film. Time is 5:30 PM and location is Firestorm Cafe & Books at 610 Haywood Street in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.
12/23/15 OTHER WORLDS ARE POSSIBLE BOOK GROUP AT FIRESTORM
This discussion group focuses on science fiction, speculative fiction and fantasy literature with a feminist, social justice and/or “radical: theme. We'll read a book each month and discuss both the vision presented by the author and how the book contributes to our understanding of our present moment. The book for December is “Stone Mattress” by Margaret Atwood. Time is 7 PM and location is Firestorm Cafe & Books at 610 Haywood Street in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop 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
Standing up for Racial Justice at Firestorm Cafe & Books at 10 AM
WEDNESDAY
Haywood Peace Vigilers have a weekly vigil at 4 PM at Haywood County Courthouse in Waynesville
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.
Third Saturdays – Asheville’s Green Grannies invites the public to “sing for the climate” at Pritchard Park at 5 PM.
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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Alarm grows over prosecutor conduct in Tamir Rice case
by: RICK NAGIN
November 19 2015
CLEVELAND - With alarm growing that a serious miscarriage of justice may occur in the Tamir Rice case five prominent clergy sent a letter to Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty Nov. 12 asking that he step aside and allow an independent prosecutor to take over. Previously, the Rice family and their attorneys made the same request after McGinty took no action since police gunned down the 12-year-old black child last November, but is publicly releasing reports from experts he hired claiming the police acted reasonably.
The attorneys have raised serious questions about the validity of the reports since the police involved were not interviewed and there was no way to determine their state of mind. In addition, over 50,000 have signed a petition posted at colorofchange.org for McGinty to step aside.
The clergy, including prominent Protestant ministers and Jewish rabbis said they were especially disturbed by comments McGinty made at a recent public forum that the Rice family were "strange people" with "economic" motivations as they demanded justice for Tamir. The religious leaders also noted that while McGinty had publicized pro-police opinions, he had shown "disregard" for the June 11 finding of Cleveland Municipal Judge Ronald Adrine, based on the widely seen video of the incident that probable cause exists to charge the officers involved with crimes including murder, manslaughter, negligent and reckless homicide and dereliction of duty.
After his speech at the forum McGinty refused to say whether he would provide the Grand Jury with Adrine's opinion telling this writer that the judge had not given it to him and the grand jurors "read the newspapers.”
Organized labor has also gotten involved in the issue. At its meeting Nov. 11, the executive committee of the North Shore AFL-CIO Federation of Labor agreed to send a request to McGinty that he provide the Grand Jury with Adrine's opinion as well as that of Cleveland Marshall Law School Professor Jonathan Witmer-Rich.
Professor Witmer-Rich, an expert on police law, argued in an Oct. 25 Plain Dealer opinion piece that the case must go to trial since legal experts can explain the law, but are no better in judging whether police act reasonably and in fear for their lives than ordinary citizens seated in a jury panel.
The shooting of Tamir Rice occurred on the afternoon of Nov. 22 after a resident saw him waving a toy gun in the park outside Cudell Recreation Center. The resident called police with the information that it could be a child with a toy.
However, the police dispatcher, who has since resigned, alerted a nearby squad car only saying that there was a black male with a gun in the park. The patrol car swooped down on Tamir, then standing alone in a picnic shelter, and rookie officer Timothy Loehman jumped out and immediately fired his gun. Tamir was left bleeding on the ground while the officers tackled and handcuffed his 14-year-old sister, who came running from the rec center. They then forced her into the squad car. They also restrained his mother, but administered no first aid to Tamir. Eventually an ambulance arrived and took the child to the county hospital where he died the next day.
McGinty has thus far refused requests that he step aside and ignored a letter from over 100 public officials, clergy, labor and community leaders as well as petitions with over 60,000 signatures that he seek charges in the case. The Tamir Rice Justice Committee has asked that messages to McGinty be emailed to tmcginty@prosecutor.cuyahogacounty.us The committee urges that he be asked to step aside or to recommend to the Grand Jury that they file charges or at least be given opinions advocating a trial.
