dancewater: Upcoming events for the week of February 12, 2017

UPCOMING EVENTS CALENDAR BY DANCEWATER

02/13/17 BLACK HISTORY MONTH EVENT AT UNCA

“A Reintroduction: Black Lives Still Matter” discussion will be facilitated by Dahlia Hylton, director of the Intercultural Center and Multicultural Student Program intern Briana Joseph. Free. Time is 3:30 PM. Location is Highsmith Student Union, Mountain Suites, room 221 at UNCA. No contact information.

02/13/17 TRANSITION ASHEVILLE SOCIAL

Working within communities to achieve change: Lessons learned the hard way about diffusing sustainability. Despite many technological advances, we still often struggle to achieve our sustainability goals. One important reason is failure to adequately account for the “people” factor in choosing and implementing our courses of action. In the upcoming February social, Dr. Annie Pearce, head of the Sustainable Facilities & Infrastructure Lab at Virginia Tech, will share her lessons learned from 25 years of working to diffuse sustainability throughout the architecture/ engineering/ construction industry. In particular, she will talk about her efforts over the last ten years to achieve change in the community of Radford, VA, where she has worked as a homeowner/DIY builder pushing the limits of local zoning and building codes, a sustainable construction professor whose students do active service learning in the community, and a planning commissioner both frustrated and inspired by the political process in local government. Bring your own stories and questions to share as we learn more about the dos and don’ts of working toward sustainability at the local level. Time is 6:30 to 8 PM. Location is St. Mary’s Episcopal Church at 337 Church Street in Asheville. Contact Rebecca Mahan at 812-334-0176 or palmtree747@gmail.com for more information.

02/13/17 GDC COMMUNITY SELF DEFENSE TALK

Join us for a two-hour presentation and group discussion about Community Self Defense! Members of the Twin Cities IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) General Defense Committee will be discussing how the concept has developed within their work and how we can apply the model of a member-controlled, direct-action-oriented mass organization to fight oppression and meet the needs of our community and beyond. Time is 6 to 8 PM and location is West Asheville Library at 942 Haywood Road in west Asheville. This is a Facebook event.

02/14/17 VETERANS FOR PEACE VIGIL - BECAUSE THE WARS STILL GO ON

Every Tuesday, Veterans for Peace Chapter 099 holds a vigil at Vance Monument in downtown Asheville. During the winter, this is from 4:30 to 5:30. This has been happening since 2002. No matter the weather, no matter if it falls on a holiday, they are out there standing for peace. Last year, our former president dropped 26,000 bombs on seven different countries. The current president has already bombed one country, and has likely bombed a couple more. Meanwhile we are banning refugees from those countries we have destroyed. I am impressed at the protests against banning Muslims, but mystified at the lack of large protests against bombing Muslims. Isn’t bombing them worse than banning them? Show you are publicly against our country's endless wars and occupations by standing with Veterans for Peace.

02/14/17 VETERANS FOR PEACE MEETING

On the second Tuesday of 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 the Center for Art and Spirit at Saint George, address is One School Road in west Asheville. For more information, contact Gerry at gwerhan@gmail.com.

02/14/17 SHOWING UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE EVENT

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.

02/14/17 WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL LECTURE AT UNCA REUTER CENTER

Come to the Reuter Center for these fascinating lectures and discussions that aim to advance international awareness and foster Western North Carolina's global ties. OLLI members receive a discount on WAC annual membership fee. The World Affairs Council meetings offer a lively line up of topics and compelling presenters.The Great Decision Lecture series is scheduled for the winter and spring terms on Tuesdays at 7:30 PM. All lectures are scheduled in the Reuter Center's Manheimer Room, free to WAC members and students, all others $10 at the door. Today’s lecture will be by Jim Lenburg on South China Sea.

02/14/17 HAVE A HEART - VISIT TO BURR’S OFFICE IN ASHEVILLE

First, we're asking people to make postcards and drop them off at Purl's Yarn Emporium on Wall Street, downtown Asheville. The cards should ask Senator Burr to have a heart and not gut our health care. These will be delivered to Senator Burr's Asheville office at noon on Valentine's Day. If you have insurance through the ACA, and especially if you have a pre-existing condition, we want you to be there with us. Please PM Leslie Boyd on Facebook if you want more information. Then, at noon on Valentine's Day, we will deliver postcards to Richard Burr's office in Asheville. Write out your postcard asking him not to vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act until there's a replacement that actually offers more people access to care. If you can’t make the event but want to have a postcard delivered, there's a collection box at Purl's Yarn Emporium.

02/14/17 ASHEVILLE-BUNCOMBE N.A.A.C.P. BRANCH MEETING

Our Branch meets every second Tuesday of the month at 6:30 PM. Location is 135 Hill Street in Asheville. Contact 4ward2gethercall2action@gmail.com for more information or call 828-255-4453.

02/14/17 VALENTINE’S DAY CHALKING AT UNCA

Say "I love you" to the environment this Valentine's Day by coming out to Ramsey Library to protest the potential elimination of the EPA! We'll have plenty of chalk to draw with, and plenty of candy to eat :) Ways you can get involved will be provided as well! Time is noon to 1 PM. This is a Facebook event.

02/15/17 AUTHOR EVENT AT MALAPROPS

In 1955, a fourteen-year-old African American boy from Chicago named Emmett Till, while visiting relatives in the Mississippi Delta, violated racial taboos in a harmless exchange with a young white storekeeper, Carolyn Bryant. Three nights later, several of her kinsmen and family friends tortured the boy to death and threw his battered body in the river. Part detective story, part political history, “The Blood of Emmett Till” is an explosive reconstruction of the lynching, the trial, and their crucial impact on our history. Award winning author Timothy Tyson uses a range of sources—including the only interview ever given by Carolyn Bryant, along with her unpublished memoir—to tell the definitive story, in which black power and a mother's courage confronted the atrocities inherent in America's enduring racial caste system. Till’s mother’s insistence on an open casket, as well as African American self-assertion in Chicago, spurred nationwide protests that turned this local atrocity into a global symbol of American injustice; it transformed civil rights from a Southern issue into a national movement. Timothy Tyson is Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, Visiting Professor of American Christianity and Southern Culture at Duke Divinity School, and adjunct professor of American Studies at the University of North Carolina. He is also the author of “Blood Done Sign My Name”, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, winner of the Southern Book Award for Nonfiction and the Grawemeyer Award in Religion, among others; and Radio Free Dixie: Robert F. Williams and the Roots of Black Power, winner of the James Rawley Prize for best book on race and the Frederick Jackson Turner Prize for best first book in U.S. History from the Organization of American Historians. He serves on the executive board of the North Carolina NAACP. Time is 6 PM and location is Malaprops at 55 Haywood Street in downtown Asheville. This is a Facebook event.

02/15/17 ‘NEW JIM CROW’ DISCUSSION GROUP

This is the last in a series of discussions of Michelle Alexander's book the "The New Jim Crow." Anyone is welcome to jump in anytime. Led by Eryka Lynn Peskin. Time is 6:30 PM and location is Firestorm Books & Coffee at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.

02/15/17 OCCUPY WNC GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Occupy WNC General Assembly will be at the Sneak E Squirrel Community Room. Dinner from 5:30 to 7 PM, meeting from 7 to 8:30 PM. The Sneak E Squirrel is located at 1315 West Main Street (on left side) in Sylva -- past Watson Park. This is on Wednesday, not Tuesday. For more information, contact Lucy at (828)743-9747 or lucy.christopher42@gmail.com.

02/15/17 SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE GROUP

Come early for community connections and green drink specials. Socializing is at 5:30 and the presentation is from 6 to 7 PM. Location is The Block Off Biltmore at 39 South Market Street in downtown Asheville. Call 828-254-9277 for more information.

02/15/17 BLACK HISTORY MONTH EVENT AT UNCA

“From Allyship to Advocacy: Repurposing Your Privilege” discussion will be facilitated by Megan Underhill, assistant professor of Sociology. Free. Held in Highsmith Union Mountain Suites, room 221, at UNCA. Time is 5 PM. No contact information.

02/16/17 KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT UNCA

“Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933–1945” is a traveling exhibition produced by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Through reproductions of historic photographs and documents, this exhibition explores the rationale, means, and impact of the Nazi regime’s persecution of homosexuals, which left thousands dead and shattered the lives of many more. The Center for Diversity Education is hosting the exhibit from February 12 to April 7, 2017 in UNC Asheville's Ramsey Library. Day and evening programming will include docente tours, film screenings, and lectures. Join us for the Grand Opening on February 16, 2017, featuring a keynote address from Dr. Erik Jensen, Associate Professor of History at Miami University. This exhibit is presented in conjunction with “Pioneering Voices: Portraits of Transgender” People, an exhibit traveled by the Family Diversity Projects. Together, these exhibits provide historical and contemporary perspectives on the lives of the LGBTQ community. To learn more about the exhibit or the keynote address, contact Deborah Miles at dmiles@unca.edu. Keynote address is from 5:30 to 8 PM. Location is Ramsey Library at UNCA.

02/16/17 DISCUSSION ON PUBLIC CONVERSATIONS IN HENDERSONVILLE

A study group discussion “On the Subject of Race” will be held from 6 to 8 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Church located at 2021 Kanuga Road in Hendersonville. Look up Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hendersonville on Facebook for more information.

02/16/17 CREATION CARE ALLIANCE GENERAL MEETING

Join the Creation Care Alliance of WNC for a general meeting as we inspire one another to good work and discuss our work empowering care for creation. We will connect with one another and explore ways to care for creation. Everyone is welcome. The meeting will be held in the First Baptist Church of Asheville in Room MB306, which is upstairs. Address is 5 Oak Street in downtown Asheville. Time is 5:30 to 7 PM. If you have any questions, please contact Scott Hardin-Nieri at scott@creationcarealliance.org.

02/16/17 FUNDRAISER FOR OUR VOICE

This is a dialogue on human trafficking in WNC, served with wine and chocolate, all to benefit Our Voice. $10. Held at Metro Wines at 169 Charlotte Street in downtown Asheville. Time is 5:30 PM. Call 252-0562 for more information.

02/16/17 CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE SMOKIES PRESENTATION

“Salamanders and Storms: Climate Change in the Smokies” presentation. Free. Held at Blue Ghost Brewing Company at 125 Underwood Road in Fletcher. Time is 7 PM. Hosted by Friends of the Smokies. Call 452-0720 for more information.

02/16/17 PRISON BOOKS PROJECT

Come help sort books, respond to letters, and package books to be shipped every Thursday. Asheville Prison Books Program is an all volunteer run non-profit organization that meets weekly in order to mail free reading material to indigent inmates in facilities in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. Each prisoner request is met with a package containing several books, personally selected by volunteers out of our donated library, a letter and if requested, a National Prisoners Resource List. This is at Downtown Books & News at 67 North Lexington Avenue in downtown Asheville. Time is 4 to 7 PM.

02/16/17 FILM SCREENING AT GRAIL MOVIEHOUSE

Join Building Bridges for a special screening of the movie. “I Am Not Your Negro” at the Grail Moviehouse at 45 South French Broad Avenue in downtown Asheville. Time is noon. Ticket price is $10 and part of the proceeds support Building Bridges programs. We will also host a facilitated discussion immediately following the film. It promises to be a powerful film and since we expect the show to sell out, we encourage you to buy your tickets today to support the critical work of Building Bridges in our community. Thanks in advance for your support and we look forward to seeing you at the theater. Call the Grail Moviehouse for more information or contact amiworthen@gmail.com.

02/16/17 STAND UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE DIRECT ACTION GROUP

This is not a regular SURJ meeting, but instead a Direct Action Working Group follow-up meeting to the mass meeting last month. At that meeting, the group talked about the need for both civic watch-dogging and actions within the system (i.e. transportation, city council, criminal justice meetings/issues to write and call about) and also direct action outside of systems (civil disobedience, support for people in need). This meeting is planned to focus on creating sub-groups and create a framework in which they can be more decentralized and effective. Anyone interested in working for racial justice in Asheville is welcome to this meeting of the Showing Up for Racial Justice direct action working group. Time is 6 PM and location is Firestorm Coffee & Books & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.

02/17/17 WNC PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY MEETING

Physicians, health personnel and everyone; all are welcomed at our monthly meetings held on the third Friday of each month. Bring a brown bag lunch around noon. This will be held at The First Congregational United Church of Christ, Room E205, at 20 Oak Street (just off College St. in downtown Asheville). Time is noon to 2 PM. Meeting starts at 12:30. Parking is available behind the church. Enter the church or ring doorbell at the glass doors on Oak Street. For more information contact Dr. Terry Clark, Chair, 633-0892 or Dr. Lew Patrie, 299-1242.

02/17/17 CONGRESS MEMBER OFFICE VISIT IN WAYNESVILLE

In support of the #National Strike, we are going to visit the Waynesville office of Congressman Mark Meadows. Strike organizers have dedicated this action to the following goals:

1. No Ban, No Wall. The Muslim ban is immoral, the wall is expensive and ineffectual. We will build bridges, not walls.

2. Healthcare For All. Healthcare is a human right. Do not repeal the ACA. Improve it or enact Medicare for All.

3. No Pipelines. Rescind approval for DAPL and Keystone XL and adopt meaningful policies to protect our environment. It's the only one we've got.

4. End the Global Gag Rule. We cannot put the medical care of millions of women around the globe at risk.

5. Disclose and Divest. Show us your taxes. Sell your company. Ethics rules exist for a reason and presidents should focus on the country, not their company.

Contact Garrett at gklagan@gmail.com for more information.

02/17/17 ANTI-RACISM ACCOUNTABILITY GROUP AT UUCA

A weekly group focused on Standing Up For Racial Justice core values for people beginning to wake up to the impact of white supremacy on our culture and seeking a safe place to begin to talk about it. Time is 10 AM and location is 23 Edwin Place, next to Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville. Contact Elizabeth at elizabeth@lainschell.com for more information.

02/17/17 NATIONAL STRIKE ASHEVILLE

General strikes play a vital role in social movements. Asheville will stand in solidarity with the rest of the country and gather at Vance to publicly display our resistance. To connect with one another. To encourage one another. In addition, we urge all who are able to demonstrate their resistance in any of the following ways - do not work (if possible). Post your support on social media. Do not purchase anything. Use your lunch break to disrupt and participate. This is at 5 PM at Vance Monument in downtown Asheville. This is a Facebook event.

02/18/17 GREENWORKS CLEAN UP

Pond Road in West Asheville is super trashed due to all of the waste haulers that use this road to access the Transfer Station. The #1 source of roadside litter is generated from improperly secured loads of garbage. Time is 9 AM to noon and meeting spot is Riverbend Malt House at 99 Pond Road in Asheville. Please email volunteer@ashevillegreenworks.org if you're interested in helping out or for more information.

02/18/17 POVERTY SIMULATION EVENT IN ASHEVILLE

Carolina Jews for Justice/West invites you to participate in a thought-provoking and illuminating hands-on simulation of what it is like to live on a minimum wage in WNC today. The program will be presented in conjunction with Just Economics and will take place on Sunday, February 19th from 2 to 4 PM at Congregation Beth Israel at 229 Murdock Avenue in north Asheville. The cost is $9 per person and participation is limited to the first 44 registrants. To register, please pay through www.carolinajewsforjustice.org, go to “donate” click on “other” and enter $9. According to Vicki Meath, Director of Just Economics, the “Working Poor Simulation” is an experiential learning tool that exposes participants to the real-life struggles of the working poor in our community. Participants are assigned identities based on those of real low-income people and must complete the everyday activities of their families – like going to work, paying bills, applying for public benefits, and other community groups. There will be an opportunity for reflection following the simulation. For more information, contact goldebbie@gmail.com. Please RSVP by February 15th via online registration or by contacting Ellen Golden at Ellen@EllenGoldenanc.com or Marilynne Herbert at mherbert1@aol.com.

02/18/17 BLACK HISTORY MONTH EVENT

The Shiloh Community Association presents: Black History Month - Celebrating the Dreams of the Past, Present & Future. Keynote speaker is Alfred Whitesides, Buncombe County Board of Commissioners. Music by The Delta House Jazz Band. Time is 1 to 4 PM at Linwood Crump Shiloh Complex at 121 Shiloh Road in Asheville. Bring a covered dish and join the community in sharing our history celebration and our accomplishments and looking towards the future. Sponsored by Shiloh Community Association and Asheville Parks and Recreation Cultural Arts. For more information call the Center at 828-274-7739 or the SCA Liaison at 828-277-9654.

02/18/17 TRANSFORMATION HAS BEGUN

The transformation has begun. Maitreya, the world teacher, is in the world. Rise of people power. Economic, social, environmental justice. Signs/miracles. Free presentation. Time is 2 PM and location is Asheville Friends Meeting House at 227 Edgewood Road in Asheville. Call 398-0609 for more information.

02/18/17 CELEBRATION OF BLACK HISTORY

A celebration of Black History at Linwood Crump Shiloh Center. Time is 1 to 3 PM. Contact amiworthen@gmail.com for more information. This is hosted by Color of Asheville group.

02/18/17 GREENWORKS EVENTS

Pond Road Cleanup - Pond Road is super trashed due to all of the waste haulers that use this road to access the Transfer Station. The #1 source of roadside litter is generated from improperly secured loads of garbage. Time is 9 AM to noon, meet at the Riverbend Malt House at 99 Pond Road in Asheville. Also: West Asheville Neighborhood Cleanup - Join WANA for a neighborhood cleanup. Supplies and dumpster will be provided. Time is 9 AM to noon, meet at the corner of Florida Avenue and Burton Street in west Asheville. Contact Greenworks for more information on either of these events.

02/18/17 IWW GENERAL ORGANIZING MEETING

The Asheville International Workers of the World will be meeting to discuss current and future organizing efforts in the Asheville area. Topics to be discussed are workplace organizing, the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee Speaking Tour, and the formation of a local General Defense Committee. Non-members are welcome to attend so if you would like to learn more about us and what we do please come join us. The IWW is a member-run union for all workers, a union dedicated to organizing on the job, in our industries and in our communities. IWW members are organizing to win better conditions today and build a world with economic democracy tomorrow. We want our workplaces run for the benefit of workers and communities rather than for a handful of bosses and executives. Time is 4 PM and location is Firestorm Coffee & Books & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.

02/19/17 CELDF LEGISLATION ASHEVILLE PRIORITIES MEETING

Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund’s Community Rights work is a paradigm shift, a move away from unsustainable practices that harm communities, and a move towards local self-government. Community Rights include environmental rights, such as the right to clean air, pure water, and healthy soil; worker rights, such as the right to living wages and equal pay for equal work; rights of nature, such as the right of ecosystems to flourish and evolve; and democratic rights, such as the right of local community self-government, and the right to free and fair elections. Please research Community rights and CELDF before coming. If you are all in we are going to be deciding what the top issues we face in Asheville city that will be used in drafting Asheville's legislation. This legialation will exert Asheville's soverign rights to protect it's own citizens and basically give the earth personhood. Time is noon to 3 PM and location is The Block Off Biltmore at 39 South Market Street in downtown Asheville. This is a Facebook event.

02/19/17 SANCTUARY MEETING WORKSHOP

Next Sanctuary Meeting Workshop is at St. Eugene's Church in north Asheville. Faith communities coming together to discuss, plan sanctuary support for community members facing deportation. Parish of St. Eugene is at 72 Culvern Street in Asheville. Time is 3 to 5 PM. Please send us your RSVP by an email reply to this message. Over 210 people attended the January 28th. 150 or so let us know they were planning to attend. The more we know about how many and who will be participating the better we can arrange for adequate rooms and equipment for translation. We are also providing childcare. If you are bringing children let us know how many and how old. Participants from the January 28th workshop will be taking part in “Next Step Working Group” concurrently with this second workshop at St. Eugene's. February 19 participants will have an opportunity to meet working group members and commission the working groups at the beginning of the workshop. Join us for a workshop and discussion of Sanctuary’s: role in the larger immigrant rights movement, its history and basis in sacred scriptures, and its objectives and goals. Help us explore crucial questions : Who is seeking sanctuary? Who leads sanctuary? How do faith communities declare sanctuary? What are the logistics of sanctuary? What are the responsibilities of sanctuary providers? What are the legal risks of sanctuary and who is taking them? Are there legal resources available to immigrants? Workshop Co-Convenors: BeLoved Asheville, CIMA- Compañeros Inmigrantes de las Montañas en Acción, Circle of Mercy Congregation, Land of the Sky United Church of Christ, Nuestro Centro, Saint Eugene’s Catholic Church and The Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit. Childcare provided (Let us know how many and how old.) For more information and to RSVP call 828-319-7652 or email sanctuary.wnc@gmail.com

02/19/17 MEETING TO DEFUND DAPL

Meeting of Defund DAPL (Dakota Access PipeLine), all invited. Location is Kairos West Community Center at 604 Haywood Road, below Firestorm Books (must enter from State Street to get to Kairos) in west Asheville. Let's inform the public that their banks are funding the pipeline, and invite them to move their money. Time is 3 to 5 PM. More information at defund.dapl.avl@gmail.com.

02/20/17 NAACP MEETING IN HENDERSONVILLE

NAACP monthly meeting from 6:00 to 7:00 pm at 810 North Whitted Street in Hendersonville. Call (828) 692-7180 for more information.

02/20/17 HEALTH CARE TOWN HALL MEETING

With the majority in Congress calling for the repeal of the ACA, the time has come to tell your story about how the ACA has changed your life. Both NC Senators and Representative McHenry and Meadows and the media have been invited. The purpose is for ordinary citizens to share their stories about access to health care in Buncombe county. Time is 7 PM and location is Highland Brewing at 12 Old Charlotte Highway in Asheville. For more information, contact Chris at 828-231-3704 or chris@chrispelly.com.

02/20/17 LIBERATION STITCH NIGHT

Want to contemplate other ways to use your craftiness in support of the resistance? Come gather for Liberation Stitch In. We've been working on a Liberation Blanket which we'll be raffling off to support a local People of Color led initiative. There's still some more edge crocheting to do and then piecing. But meanwhile we can contemplate new ideas and creative visions. You can come help with this or you can come and work on whatever you're working on as we explore ideas. As long as you're open to conversation about liberation for all, especially in relation to the movement for Black Lives, then you are welcome. Time is 6 to 8 PM and location is Purl’s Yarn Emporium at 10 Wall Street in downtown Asheville. This is a Facebook event.

02/21/17 ASURJ EDUCATION WORKING GROUP

The ASURJ Education Working Group is reaching out to create an incubator for the organizing and facilitation of educational opportunities related to mobilizing more white folks for racial justice. The Working Group will serve to organize and facilitate educational opportunities and maintain a “wish list” of educational opportunities that are requested in community, schools, businesses, etc. If you would like to attend educational events, stay on our email list and keep an eye on Facebook, as they will always be posted. To be part of organizing and facilitating educational opportunities, please join us on Tuesday, February 21st from 6 to 7:30 PM and location is Pack Memorial Library - Activity Room. This is a Facebook event.

02/21/17 VETERANS FOR PEACE VIGIL - BECAUSE THE WARS STILL GO ON

02/21/17 LIFE AFTER DEATH (ROW) TALK AT UNCA

Life after Death (Row) talk will be from 3:30 to 5:30 PM. Location is Karpen Hall, room 139, Laurel Forum at UNCA. This is a talk by Ed Chapman and Pam Laughon on Ed's murder convictions and exonerations.

02/21/17 CITIZENS ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT

A monthly progressives meetup that features short films and discussions. Time is 6:30 PM and location is Firestorm Coffee & Books & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.

02/21/17 SHOWING UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE EVENT

02/21/17 WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL LECTURE AT UNCA REUTER CENTER

02/22/17 MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE IN HENDERSONVILLE

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America will meet at 4 PM at the 1st Congressional Church located at 1735 W. Fifth Street in Hendersonville. No contact information.

02/22/17 DISCUSSION ON PUBLIC CONVERSATIONS IN HENDERSONVILLE

A study group discussion “Gay and Straight Together – Why such Fear? On the Subject of Race” will be held from 6 to 8 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Church located at 2021 Kanuga Road in Hendersonville. Lookup Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hendersonville on Facebook for more information.

02/22/17 LECTURE AT UNCA

Join us on Wednesday, February 22, 3:30 p.m. when award-winning author Scott Ellsworth will talk about “The Secret Game.” This well-researched work focuses on a ground-breaking but little known basketball game that took place in Durham, North Carolina, in 1944, when players from the historically black NC College (now NC Central University) and Duke’s medical school basketball team decided to play one another to see who had the best team in Durham. More than that, however, this is a story of how societies change when ordinary citizens defied Jim Crow regulations. Scott Ellsworth, who teaches at the University of Michigan, has written about race relations in the US for the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, has been a historian at the Smithsonian Institution and is the author of the first comprehensive history of the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. This event, which is free and open to the public, is the first in OLLI’s More Than a Month series of lectures and discussions. Every month for the next year we will plan lectures, discussions and conversations that explore the issue of race locally and nationally. Time is 3:30 to 5 PM and location is the Reuter Center, room 102A at UNCA.

02/22/17 SURJ ACCOUNTABILITY THROUGH ACTION

In our monthly Accountability Through Action meeting, we learn about a people of color led effort in Asheville, ways to support that work and take up a collection to help fund it. We were going to try to fold this program into an existing one at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, but found it became overly complicated! So, we will have our potluck and program on the 22nd at the UU congregation with a 6 PM start. Location is the corner of Edwin and Charlotte Streets in Asheville. For this month's ATA meeting, we will be welcoming back Ms. Bettie Council (who joined us at our last ATA meeting along with several other People Of Color leaders). Ms. Council will discuss some of her observations regarding the “new” momentum to make people aware of racism, some of the challenges we face as we hold difficult conversations and some of our efforts and strategies as we try to make change. Because she often hears people ask, “What can we do?” she has developed a comprehensive plan with ideas on how people can use use their time, gifts, training and talent to help the Black community. Ms. Bettie will share about present and future projects and how people can provide intentional support. She will present her “CompACTION Initiative” (“Turning compassion into ACTION”). She will also provide several useful resources. As with all of ASURJ's meetings, we will pass the hat as a form of grassroots reparations. All funds collected will go towards Ms. Council's work. This is a Facebook event.

02/23/17 DISCUSSION ON PUBLIC CONVERSATIONS IN HENDERSONVILLE

The conclusion of the study group’s discussion “On the Subject of Race” will be held from 6 to 8 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Church located at 2021 Kanuga Road in Hendersonville. If you would like to eliminate or at least mitigate the harm of racism and sexism to our society, you will benefit from the discussion even if you missed the earlier discussions. Lookup Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hendersonville on Facebook for more information.

02/23/17 FILM SHOWING FOR CENTER FOR DIVERSITY EDUCATION

The movie “Paragraph 175” will be shown on Thursday, February 23 at 7 PM at the Fine Arts Theatre on Biltmore in downtown Asheville. This is a fundraiser to help support the expenses of the exhibits and other programs of the Center for Diversity Education, In conjunction with the Center for Diversity Education's exhibition of The Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals. All donations over $7.50 are tax deductible. “Paragraph 175” detailed the German penal codes that criminalized homosexuality from 1875 to 1994. Between 1933 and 1945 100,000 men were arrested for homosexuality under Paragraph 175, the sodomy provision of the German penal code dating back to 1871. Some were imprisoned, others were sent to concentration camps. The documentary Paragraph 175 fills a crucial gap in the historical record of the Third Reich, and reveals the lasting consequences of this hidden chapter of 20th century history, as told through personal stories of men and women who lived through it. If you have questions about these exhibits please email or call dmiles@unca.edu or 828-232-5024.

02/23/17 FILM SCREENING IN ASHEVILLE

In response to the overwhelming enthusiasm for this movie, we are excited to announce a second screening on Thursday, February 23. Join Building Bridges for a special screening of the movie. “I Am Not Your Negro” at the Grail Moviehouse in downtown Asheville. Time is 7 PM. Ticket price is $10 and part of the proceeds support Building Bridges programs. We will also host a facilitated discussion immediately following the film. It promises to be a powerful film and since we expect the show to sell out, we encourage you to buy your tickets today to support the critical work of Building Bridges in our community. Thanks in advance for your support and we look forward to seeing you at the theater. Call the Grail Moviehouse for more information.

02/23/17 HEALTH POLICY IN A TIME OF CRISIS

Author Bayla Ostrach presents her new book and discusses what women and health care providers must do to ensure safe, legal abortion, in these times of political and legislative threats. Participants will discuss how public funding for abortion, and health care in general, can be protected as well as how social movements, including feminism, can gain and then defend grassroots victories. “Health Policy in a Time of Crisis” is a vivid ethnographic account of women and providers navigating the Catalan health system to obtain and provide publicly funded abortion care. Author event. Time is 6 PM and location is Firestorm Coffee & Books & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.

2/24/17 JUST PEACE 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.

02/24/17 ANTI-RACISM ACCOUNTABILITY GROUP AT UUCA

02/25/17 27th ANNUAL SWANNANOA VALLEY DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL PRAYER BREAKFAST

We invite you to join us in sharing the life and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as we strive to bring knowledge and awareness of his work to our Swannanoa Valley community. The 2017 speaker will be announced soon! Stay tuned. Breakfast is a 9 AM. You can purchase tickets online, or pay by check with a ticket order form. Please note that donations made above the cost of the ticket are tax deductible, however the tickets themselves are not. Location is Camp Dorothy Walls at 495 Fragment Road in Black Mountain, NC. Go to http://svmlk.org/mlk-prayer-breakfast.html to buy tickets.

02/25/17 SELF-CARE AS SACRED ACTIVISM

A workshop for organizers, activists, advocates, helpers, and anyone who cares about changing the world. Come learn why self-care is crucial to the success of any movement and take home practical tools you can use to refill your spiritual well. Marsha Davis has been an educator in middle and high school settings for over 10 years. She graduated from Harvard University with a BA in Molecular and Cellular Biology, and earned a MAT in Secondary Science Education from Queens College, CUNY. Time is 10 AM and location is Firestorm Coffee & Books & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.

02/26/17 BLACK HISTORY MONTH TALK

Dialogue Cafe presents “Black History Proper”– a talk by Zack Zachary. Five topics will be explored – History is an Egg, Black History is the History of America, Black Historians who Set the Pace, Culturally Inclusive Diversity, the Flipping Flipper of the Color Bad. Time is 6 PM and location is The Block Off Biltmore at the corner of Eagle & South Market Streets. Call The Block Off Biltmore for more information.

02/26/17 WNC SOLIDARITY CONCERT SERIES

The final Sunday of each month in 2017, two groups of WNC-based musicians and their ensembles will each perform a benefit concert to raise funding for WNC nonprofits. The music performed each week will fluctuate between jazz, rhythm & blues, soul, jazz funk, jazz fusion, and swing. Each event will host two groups, playing, consecutively between 3 and 5 PM with a brief intermission. All of proceeds go to the nonprofit organization. The non-profit for today’s concert is the Center for HoneyBee Research. Act I is Richard Shulman Quartet and Act II is Dan Keller Quartet. Location is The Block Off Biltmore at Eagle and South Market Streets in downtown Asheville. Suggested donation is $10, and are available the day of the event. This is a Facebook event. Please call The Block Off Biltmore for more information.

02/26/17 NONVIOLENT CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE TRAINING

Nonviolent civil disobedience training to resist the Keystone Pipeline, Dakota Pipeline, Atlantic Coast Pipeline, and other issues. Time is 2 to 6 PM and location is YWCA at 185 South French Broad in downtown Asheville. RSVP to cathyfholt@gmail.com. This event is full. If you are interested in a future nonviolent civil disobedience training, please email Sherry at 1erthmadre@gmail.com.

02/27/17 DOCUMENTARY SCREENING IN ASHEVILLE

Free screening of the film “Democracy for Sale” – Monday, February 27th at the Orange Peel. North Carolina — perhaps more than any other state in the Union — has been transformed by the new and growing tidal wave of political spending. Zach Galifianakis, the comic star of “The Hangover” movies, travels back to his home state to investigate how North Carolina has become a bellwether for how the money of a few has come to dominate our democracy. Time is 7 PM and location is The Orange Peel on Biltmore Avenue in downtown Asheville.

02/28/17 VETERANS FOR PEACE VIGIL BECAUSE THE WARS STILL GO ON

02/28/17 SHOWING UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE EVENT

02/28/17 WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL LECTURE AT UNCA REUTER CENTER

02/28/17 MOVIE NIGHT AT THE COLLIDER

The Collider and Oskar Blues Brewery launch a new monthly climate and environmental film series at The Collider, open to the public. Doors open at 6:30 PM, the film starts at 7. The first four evenings will feature episodes from the award-winning series, “Years of Living Dangerously.” In May, we will screen the award-winning documentary, “The Memory of Fish.” With the exception of the May screening, all events are free with a suggested donation at the door (the May event will have an admission fee). Oskar Blues will provide beer and, of course, we’ll also have popcorn. On this evening, we will show The Uprooted, featuring “Out of Africa” with Thomas L. Friedman and “Death of the Central Valley” with Don Cheadle, and Fueling The Fire featuring “National Insecurity” with Arnold Schwarzenegger and “The Battle in the Forest” with Gisele Bundchen. This is a Facebook event.

02/28/17 MEN’S DIVERSITY CIRCLE

From circle organizer Duncan Tam: As men of color and culture, we navigate the margins of power and privilege from cradle to grave. We inherit the legacies of our ancestors and pass down our love and pain to our children. In circle, we give support, voice and strength to each other in our personal challenges with the experiences of exclusion and inclusion, and celebrate the contributions we make in our lives and in all our relations. All men of color are welcome. Time is 7 PM and location is Firestorm Coffee & Books & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.

03/01/17 STEM LECTURE AT UNCA

The STEM series of lectures is an interdisciplinary program that covers a wide range of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. Each lecture provides the lecturer with the opportunity to share his/her work, present new ideas for feedback, learn new ideas that participants can use, and introduce students to exciting areas to explore. The lectures are all scheduled in the Reuter Center, room 102A, from 4:30 to 6 PM, and are free and open to the public. The lecture is “Accelerating Climate Innovation” by James McMahon, The Collider.

03/01/17 SIERRA CLUB MEETING

Sierra Club presents Scott Varn of Preserving a Picturesque America will present a program on how his group has been seeking the locations of the adventure artists of the 1800s and then finding ways to preserve those natural and historic places. Scott Varn, founder of Preserving a Picturesque America (PAPA), will show how his organization is using history, art and adventure to help preserve our country’s beautiful natural treasures. He will also suggest ways that the public can join in the adventure. Varn, who holds a degree in Fine Arts and Media Arts from the University of North Carolina, will show how his group is seeking out the locations of the adventure artists of the 1800s and then finding ways to preserve these natural and historic places. Early artistic representations and tales of natural wonders were key in creating the concept of conservation in 1800s America. PAPA believes that stories and art can be used again as tools for preservation. This event is free and open to the public. Location is the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville at 1 Edwin Place in north Asheville (Charlotte Street and Edwin Place). For more information, contact Judy Mattox, 828-683-2176, judymattox@sbcglobal.net.

03/01/17 CITIZENS-POLICE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING

This meeting is organized by the City of Asheville. This meeting is free and open to the public. They meet in the first floor Conference Room at the Public Works Building at 161 South Charlotte Street in downtown Asheville. Call 251-1122 for more information.

03/02/17 FILM FESTIVAL ON ISRAEL/PALESTINE

Stories of Struggle, Conscience and Spirit: A Film Festival on Israel/Palestine. There will be a total of six evenings of films and discussions between March 2 and May 18, 2017. PAJET (Palestinian and Jewish Egalitarian Team) and JPIP (Just Peace for Israel/Palestine) are collaborating on this film series because of the importance of bringing these little-known narratives to Asheville. Both groups are committed to human rights for all people, focusing on the struggle for a just, and therefore sustainable, peace in Israel and Palestine. Our participants live in the questions surrounding that commitment. JPIP takes specific stands on issues related to Israeli and U.S. policies enabling the Occupation. PAJET formed as a dialogue group between Jewish and Palestinian residents of Asheville, and explores how to advocate together for peace and justice. Both groups invite the public to view these films and join the dialogue. The film festival is free, donations are welcome. There will be two short films on Jerusalem and opening reception with conversations and photo exhibit. “Jerusalem in Exile” explores the visual images of Jerusalem in the nostalgic minds of Palestinians globally. Photographer Steve Sabella and poet Najwan Darwish contend that Jerusalem exists as a city in exile. “My Neighborhood” chronicles the story of Mohammed El Kurd, a Palestinian teenager forced to give up half of his home in East Jerusalem to Israeli settlers, and in the midst of unrelenting attention finds Israeli allies in his backyard. Directed by Julia Bacha and Rebekah Wingert-Jabi. Time is 7 PM and and location is Lenoir Rhyme University at the Asheville Chamber of Commerce building at 36 Montford Avenue in downtown Asheville.

03/02/17 DISCUSSION ON PUBLIC CONVERSATIONS IN BREVARD

“Religious Bigotry, How to Respond” sponsored by the Transylvania NAACP and local congregations from 6 to 8 PM at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church located at 256 East Main Street in Brevard. Sponsored by the Transylvania NAACP and local congregations. Please check Transylvania NAACP on Facebook for further information.

03/03/17 ANTI-RACISM ACCOUNTABILITY GROUP AT UUCA

03/03/17 to 03/19/17 WALK TO PROTECT OUR PEOPLES AND THE PLACES WE LIVE

The North Carolina Alliance to Protect Our Peoples and the Places We Live (APPPL) is organizing a walk along the 205 mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline route in NC, beginning on Saturday March 4 at the Virginia-North Carolina border in Northhampton County, and ending two weeks later in Pembroke and then in Hamlet. Indigenous people in North Carolina call the Atlantic Coast Pipeline the DAPL of the southeast. It's a linchpin of Dominion's plans to control energy supplies in Virginia (and to export gas to Asia from Cove Point, Maryland), and of Duke Energy's plans to build 12,000 MW of gas fired electricity in NC. This $5.5 billion project will cross many rivers, tear up mountains and national forests, go under several public water supplies, impact much farmland and miles of wetlands. We plan to participate in a Clean Energy Summit in Fayetteville (Sponsored by Sustainable Sandhills) on March 11. On March 17-19 we will to join the Lumbee in Robeson County in their traditional celebration of the Spring Equinox. We want participants to raise money from their friends, families, neighbors and others to support the walk. We suggest that donors give 50 cents a mile walked. No one will be turned away however for inability to raise money. Much other support is needed. We're looking for cultural workers and musicians; banner makers; street medics; people with counseling skills; vans and a bus; a truck that can carry a portajohn, water tank and photovoltaic array (to charge cell phones at night). Social media gurus will be essential. Photographers, videographers, storytellers too. For more information, weekly updates, to register, and to donate to the walk, please visit our website at 2017acpwalk.org or Facebook page at Walk To Protect Our People And The Places Where We Live.You can also email Steven Norris at earthsun2@gmail.com. All potential participants are encouraged to register early.

03/05/17 POLITICAL PRISONER LETTER WRITING NIGHT

Each month on 1st Sundays, join members of Blue Ridge Anarchist Black Cross for an evening of solidarity with long term political prisoners: people who have been incarcerated due to their activism and resistance to systems of domination and oppression. We come together each month to celebrate their birthdays by sending words of encouragement and support. We let them know that they--and their sacrifices for our movements--are never far from our minds and hearts.

Continuously showing up for comrades who have had large chunks of their lifetimes stolen by the State is crucial solidarity work. Time is 5 PM and location is Firestorm Coffee & Books & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.

03/07/17 VETERANS FOR PEACE VIGIL BECAUSE THE WARS STILL GO ON

03/07/17 WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL LECTURE AT UNCA REUTER CENTER

03/08/17 GREEN GRANNIES BOOK CLUB

Founded in 2012, the Green Grannies are a group of women who are willing to make a ruckus about the need for action on climate change. This is their reading group and in February they are reading Dr. Barber's The Third Reconstruction. Time is noon and location is Firestorm Coffee & Books & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.

03/09/17 MEN DOING OPPRESSION, MEN DOING OPPRESSED, MEN DOING ALLY

A courageous and challenging meetup for male persecutors, victims, rescuers, bystanders and allies. Time is 7 PM and location is Firestorm Coffee & Books & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.

03/09/17 DISCUSSION ON PUBLIC CONVERSATIONS IN BREVARD

“The Earth is our Mother– To hurt or to heal?” is the topic and this is sponsored by the Transylvania NAACP and local congregations from 6 to 8 PM at Lutheran Church of The Good Shepherd at 22 Fisher Road in Brevard. Call 828-883-3680 for more information.

03/09/17 FILM FESTIVAL ON ISRAEL/PALESTINE

Stories of Struggle, Conscience and Spirit: A Film Festival on Israel/Palestine. There will be a total of six evenings of films and discussions between March 2 and May 18, 2017. PAJET (Palestinian and Jewish Egalitarian Team) and JPIP (Just Peace for Israel/Palestine) are collaborating on this film series because of the importance of bringing these little-known narratives to Asheville. Both groups are committed to human rights for all people, focusing on the struggle for a just, and therefore sustainable, peace in Israel and Palestine. Our participants live in the questions surrounding that commitment. JPIP takes specific stands on issues related to Israeli and U.S. policies enabling the Occupation. PAJET formed as a dialogue group between Jewish and Palestinian residents of Asheville, and explores how to advocate together for peace and justice. Both groups invite the public to view these films and join the dialogue. The film festival is free, donations are welcome. “Jerusalem: The East Side Story” portrays Palestinian residents’ everyday life under the Israeli Defense Force’s occupation in East Jerusalem. It discloses Israeli government practices designed to create a Jewish majority in the city. Directed by Mohammed Alatar. Time is 7 PM and and location is Lenoir Rhyme University at the Asheville Chamber of Commerce building at 36 Montford Avenue in downtown Asheville.

03/12/17 PAGANS FOR A FAIR CITY

From the organizer, Sabrah n’haRaven: Although many pagans are involved in social justice work, we're often invisible within the greater activist community, even at events that are specifically interfaith. We work alone with our individual secular activist groups, not coordinating our power as a faith community. Limiting ourselves this way, we also limit the amount of good we can achieve, for ourselves as pagans and for the greater community. Power shared is power multiplied. If you are -- or would like to be -- involved in any kind of social, economic, racial, or other justice work locally, in any kind of work to create positive change right here and right now, please join us to share information and coordinate actions -- activist or magical -- as a pagan faith community. Time is 2:30 PM and location is Firestorm Coffee & Books & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.

03/14/17 WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL LECTURE AT UNCA REUTER CENTER

03/14/17 VETERANS FOR PEACE VIGIL BECAUSE THE WARS STILL GO ON

03/14/17 VETERANS FOR PEACE MEETING

03/14/17 SHOWING UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE EVENT

03/14/17 ASHEVILLE-BUNCOMBE N.A.A.C.P. BRANCH MEETING

Our Branch meets every second Tuesday of the month at 6:30 PM. Location is 135 Hill Street in Asheville. Contact 4ward2gethercall2action@gmail.com for more information or call 828-255-4453.

03/15/17 GREEN DRINKS

Social justice and sustainability meet up. Come early for community connections and green drink specials! 3rd Wednesday of Each Month Socializing: 5:30 – 6:00PM Presentation: 6:00 – 7:00 PM Location: The BLOCK off Biltmore 39 S. Market Street, Asheville. Contact The Block for more information.

03/16/17 DISCUSSION ON PUBLIC CONVERSATIONS IN BREVARD

“Economic Fairness - What would justice look like?” will be the topic for this discussion. This is sponsored by the Transylvania NAACP and local congregations. Time is 6 to 8 PM and location is Bethel A Baptist Church at 290 Oakdale Street in Brevard. Please call 828-883-2035 for more information.

03/16/17 FILM FESTIVAL ON ISRAEL/PALESTINE

Stories of Struggle, Conscience and Spirit: A Film Festival on Israel/Palestine. There will be a total of six evenings of films and discussions between March 2 and May 18, 2017. PAJET (Palestinian and Jewish Egalitarian Team) and JPIP (Just Peace for Israel/Palestine) are collaborating on this film series because of the importance of bringing these little-known narratives to Asheville. Both groups are committed to human rights for all people, focusing on the struggle for a just, and therefore sustainable, peace in Israel and Palestine. Our participants live in the questions surrounding that commitment. JPIP takes specific stands on issues related to Israeli and U.S. policies enabling the Occupation. PAJET formed as a dialogue group between Jewish and Palestinian residents of Asheville, and explores how to advocate together for peace and justice. Both groups invite the public to view these films and join the dialogue. The film festival is free, donations are welcome. “Rana’s Wedding” In this suspenseful yet comic drama, director Hani Abu-Assad tracks the quest of Rana, a 17-year-old living in East Jerusalem, to marry for love before being forced to return to Egypt with her father. Time is 7 PM and location is St. Mary’s Episcopal Church at 337 Charlotte Street in north Asheville.

03/17/17 to 03/18/17 RACIAL EQUITY WORKSHOP

Racial Equity Workshop in Asheville, NC, with exact location to be determined. Phase I will be Foundational Training in Historical and Institutional Racism and will run from 8:30 AM to 5:15 PM both days. Attendance required for entire workshop. Purpose is to educate individuals, communities, and institutions. To provide a historical analysis of race and racism in the United States. To develop common definitions and language for communities to continue to engage in anti-racism and racial equity work. The Racial Equity Phase I Workshop moves beyond individual bias and bigotry by presenting a cultural, historical, and structural analysis of racism. This workshop helps participants become clear on how race and racism have been constructed in the US and how ideas about racism live in our unconscious minds and social structures even 50 years after the successes of the Civil Rights movement. This workshop is appropriate for people who want to increase their understanding of how to eliminate racism in our systems and institutions. The trainers are active anti-racism and social justice advocates and educators with years of experience and varying backgrounds. Community members, institutional players, educators, ecumenical leaders, business owners, non-profits, and all interested individuals are encouraged to attend and/or reach out to learn more about the workshop. Cost of training is $200 per participant (includes meals and materials for both days). A limited number of sliding scale scholarships are available based on need and ability to pay. Fill out the registration form and turn in to Isabel Carson or Katie Latino. Follow payment instructions on the registration form. Payment and registration is due by February 17, 2017. Contact individuals below for registration forms and with any questions. Isabel Carson at carson.isabel@gmail.com, Bettie Council at lionessdear@yahoo.com, and Katie Latino at katie.latino@ywcaofasheville.org. (Other workshops will be held on May 19-20, September 29-20 and November 15-16.)

03/17/17 WNC PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY MEETING

03/21/17 PISGAH LEGAL FUNDRAISER

Pisgah Legal Services' annual Jazz for Justice celebration will feature gourmet food, drinks and cocktails, live jazz entertainment by The Rich Willey Jazz Band, and an awards ceremony celebrating Pisgah Legal's amazing supporters and their stalwart leadership. The event will honor: Russell Shuler- Terry Van Duyn Volunteer Award; Tom Siekman- Karl H. Straus Board Emeritus Award; Bernice and Arnold Green- Pisgah Legal Services Philanthropy Award. Time is 5:30 PM and location is The Venue at 21 North Market Street in downtown Asheville. Tickets vary in price. Contact Betsy at betsy@pisgahlegal.org for more information including where to get tickets to this event.

03/23/17 CREATION CARE ALLIANCE GENERAL MEETING

03/25/17 - 03/26/17 CITIZEN CLIMATE LOBBY REGIONAL CONFERENCE

Everyone is welcome, whether it's your first CCL experience or you're an experienced volunteer, whether you plan to become active in CCL or you want to attend some of the scheduled talks.The registration cost is $40 and covers both days, however, meals are not provided. The First Mid-South CCL Regional Conference happens at The Collider at 1 Haywood Street, Suite 401, in downtown Asheville. Time is 8 AM to 5 PM on Saturday and 8 to noon on Sunday. We are excited to present this two day conference that will help make you a more effective lobbyist and build your skills at creating the political will for a stable climate. The conference will feature multiple speakers including Laura Lengnick (author of Sustainable Agriculture), Drew Jones (Co-Director of Climate Interactive), Madeleine Para (CCL's National Program Director) and many more. Come to learn, have fun and network with climate advocates from Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. We look forward to seeing you there. For more information, contact asheville@citizensclimatelobby.org.

03/26/17 WNC SOLIDARITY CONCERT SERIES

The final Sunday of each month in 2017, two groups of WNC-based musicians and their ensembles will each perform a benefit concert to rise funding for WNC non-profits. The music performed each week will fluctuate between jazz, rhythm & blues, soul, jazz funk, jazz fusion, and swing. Each event will host two groups, playing, consecutively between 3 and 5 PM with a brief intermission. All of proceeds go to the nonprofit organization. The nonprofit for today’s concert is the NAACP. Act I is Ruby Mayfield and Friends and Act II is the Rhoda Weaver Band. Location is The Block Off Biltmore at Eagle and South Market Streets in downtown Asheville. Suggested donation is $10, and are available the day of the event. This is a Facebook event. Please call The Block Off Biltmore for more information.

03/28/17 MOVIE NIGHT AT THE COLLIDER

The Collider and Oskar Blues Brewery launch a new monthly climate and environmental film series at The Collider, open to the public. Doors open at 6:30 PM, the film starts at 7. The first four evenings will feature episodes from the award-winning series, “Years of Living Dangerously.” In May, we will screen the award-winning documentary, “The Memory of Fish.” With the exception of the May screening, all events are free with a suggested donation at the door (the May event will have an admission fee). Oskar Blues will provide beer and, of course, we’ll also have popcorn. Tonight we will show Collapse of the Oceans with Josh Jackson and Priceless, featuring “The Sixth Extinction” with Aasif Mandvi and “Price on Carbon” with Nikki Reed. This is a Facebook event.

03/30/17 FILM FESTIVAL ON ISRAEL/PALESTINE

Stories of Struggle, Conscience and Spirit: A Film Festival on Israel/Palestine. There will be a total of six evenings of films and discussions between March 2 and May 18, 2017. PAJET (Palestinian and Jewish Egalitarian Team) and JPIP (Just Peace for Israel/Palestine) are collaborating on this film series because of the importance of bringing these little-known narratives to Asheville. Both groups are committed to human rights for all people, focusing on the struggle for a just, and therefore sustainable, peace in Israel and Palestine. Our participants live in the questions surrounding that commitment. JPIP takes specific stands on issues related to Israeli and U.S. policies enabling the Occupation. PAJET formed as a dialogue group between Jewish and Palestinian residents of Asheville, and explores how to advocate together for peace and justice. Both groups invite the public to view these films and join the dialogue. The film festival is free, donations are welcome. “The Idol” is a drama depicting the life of Mohammed Assaf, a Palestinian pop singer living in Gaza, as he sets a seemingly impossible goal: to compete on the Arab Idol program. Directed by three-time Oscar nominee Hani Abu-Asad. Time is 7 PM and location is St. Mary’s Episcopal Church at 337 Charlotte Street in north Asheville.

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ONGOING EVENTS

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TUESDAY

Veterans for Peace have a weekly vigil at 5 PM at Pack Square, Vance Monument during most of the year, but after DST kicks in, they meet at 4:30 PM.

Showing Up for Racial Justice at Firestorm Coffee & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. 10 AM. Educating and organizing white people for racial justice. Free.

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.

Green Grannies Book Club meets at noon at Firestorm at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville.

“What’s Up With Whiteness” discussion group at 6 PM at Firestorm at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville.

Green Drinks meets at 7 PM at The Block Off Biltmore on the third Wednesday of the month.

Sierra Club meets at 7 PM at Unitarian Universalist in Asheville on the first Wednesday of the month.

THURSDAY

Political Prisoners Letter Writing at Firestorm Coffee & Books at 6 PM on fourth Thursday of the month. Materials provided.

Political documentary film and discussion at Firestorm Coffee & Books 6:30 PM on the third Thursday of the month. Sponsored by Asheville Citizens Accountability Project.

Welcome Home Tour by Homeward Bound on the third Thursday of the month at 11 AM. Call 258-1695 for more information.

Asheville Prison Books Program is held at Downtown Books & News from 4 to 7 PM.

FRIDAY

Women in Black have a weekly vigil at noon at the City Hall in Hendersonville.

SATURDAY

French Broad Riverkeeper has a paddle-n-plant to prevent sediment erosion most Wednesdays and Saturdays. Registration required at anna@mountaintrue.org.

Mountain True holds urban forest workdays on the second Saturday of the month at Richmond Hill Park from 9 AM to 1 PM. Call 258-8737 for more information.

Citizen’s Climate Lobby meeting at 12:30 PM at Kairos West Community Center on second Saturday of the month.

Food Not Bombs serves free vegan/vegetarian food every Saturday at noon at Pritchard Park.

SUNDAY

Asheville National Organization for Women meeting at 2:30 PM at YWCA of Asheville on second Sunday of the month.

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ACTIONS AND READINGS

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From Just Economics:

Please contact our City Council members this week via email at AshevilleNCCouncil@ashevillenc.gov and ask them to prioritize public transit for people that have to ride the bus.

Sample Email (please feel free to make it your own)

Dear City Council,

As a resident of Asheville, I want to make sure everyone who lives in our city has access to good transportation in order to meet their basic needs (work, childcare, healthcare, and food). Please provide funding for:

*Sunday service on all routes

*Extended evening hours (all buses to 10 p.m. and major corridors until midnight)

*Re-instatement of 3 critical stops: Bartlett Arms Apartments, Deaverview Apartments, & Vocational Rehabilitation

I believe that this funding is an investment in high quality transit and into the lives of our most vulnerable residents.

Thank you for your consideration.

************************

Dear Friends of Peace and Justice,

The U.S. Peace Council and several other national peace organizations in the United States have jointly initiated a public campaign in support of Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard’s STOP ARMING TERRORISTS ACT (H.R. 608), which she originally introduced to the Congress on December 8, 2016.

H.R. 608 is a bipartisan bill, which has been endorsed by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-California), Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky), Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vermont), Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-North Carolina), and Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Florida).

Rep. Gabbard’s Stop Arming Terrorists Act is aiming “To prohibit the use of United States Government funds to provide assistance to Al Qaeda, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and to countries supporting those organizations...”. More specifically, it demands that “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no funds made available to any Federal department or agency may be used to provide covered assistance to Al Qaeda, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, and ISIL, and any individual or group that is affiliated with, associated with, cooperating with, or adherents to such groups.”

We believe that Congresswoman Gabbard’s bill is a very courageous and important first step toward ending the U.S. Government’s policy of forced regime change in other countries with the help of terrorist organizations. This policy has led to endless wars in the past decades, and has cost trillions of dollars at the expense of American taxpayers.

H.R. 608 has been referred to both the House Intelligence Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Given the present state of politics in our country, the chance of these committees approving the bill seems very slim in the absence of massive public expression of support for it.

For this reason, we strongly urge all supporters of peace and justice in the United States to sign this joint petition in support of Rep. Gabbard’s bill. Your signed petition will be immediately emailed to the 65 members of both committees of the House of Representatives.

To sign the petition, please click on the link below:

http://hr608.info

We also urge you to share this link with as many people and organizations as you can and encourage them to add their signatures to the petition.

Together, we can make a difference.

Thank You!

U.S. Peace Council

dancewater

Sunday, February 12, 2017

Upcoming events for the week of February 12, 2017

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