RIP John Lewis. Great advice from great people. Zabar's lox slicer. Plus a few laughs.
LETTY COTTIN POGREBIN NEWSLETTER #82 JULY 20, 2020
Ed. Note: News of John Lewis' death broke on Friday just as I was finishing up this week's Newsletter, which, as you'll see below, now seems an apt paean to the remarkable activism of the titan of the civil rights movement. Another storied organizer of the Sixties also died last week, the Rev. C. T. Vivian, 95, whom the NYTimes calls "a paladin of nonviolence on the front lines of bloody confrontations." Rev. Vivian was field general & close confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This issue is dedicated to both men.
WHAT TO DO?
Here's what I've been hearing a lot lately:
" I want to contribute to the cause but where would my dollars do the most good?"
" If I can't go out and demonstrate, how can I support the demonstrators & victims?
" If my main area of concern is [fill in the blank], what group should I donate to?
Because I couldn't answer those questions authoritatively, I reached out to several Black friends and asked them to recommend organizations doing great work. I hope one or more of the suggestions described under each friend's photo will move you to open your hearts and wallets.
Nell Painter, Princeton professor of history emerita, author of Sojourner Truth; The History of White People; and Old in Art School; suggests The Poor Peoples Campaign - A national call for moral revival that recognizes "the interlocking evils of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism and the war economy, and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism. Fair Fight 2020 -- Stacey Abrams's protect-the-vote organization, Fair Fight works for fair elections in Georgia and around the country, encourages voter participation, educates about candidates, voting rights, election reform, and political advocacy. (Nell says people should also investigate local organizations.) ===
Paula Giddings, Professor of Africana Studies at Smith College, author of When and Where I Enter: The Impact on Black Women on Race and Sex in America; In Search of Sisterhood: Delta Sigma Theta and the Challenge of the Black Sorority Movement; and, the biography of anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells, Ida: A Sword Among Lions, recommends: The Black Women's Blueprint which empowers Black women & girls to gain social, political and economic equity and engages in research, historical documentation, policy advocacy & organizing strategies to assist Black women's struggles within diverse communities and the dominant culture. Hurston/Wright Foundation supports Black writers by providing workshops for writers of fiction, nonfiction & poetry, as well as intensive instruction and feedback from acclaimed authors, teachers, and publishers. ===
Joyce Stanley Johnson, former corporate director of EEO; passionate advocate for social justice, human rights, and voting rights; former Democratic candidate for Congress: The A. Philip Randolph Institute, s coalition of African American trade unionists, the senior constituency of the AFL-CIO, who advocate for social, labor, and economic change at the State and Federal level. The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, a coalition of nearly 90 organizations including the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the Urban League, National Council of Negro Women, the Lawyers's Committee on Civil Rights Under Law.
===
Kendall Thomas, Professor of Law, and Director of the Center for the Study of Law & Culture, at Columbia Law School: The Black Voters Matter Fund which works to expand voting rights and access, and helps with staff training and candidate development. The Black Youth Project 100, whose campaign, "She Safe. We Safe," seeks to end "different forms of gender violence that Black women, girls, femmes, and gender nonconforming people face every day." ===
Westina Matthews Shatteen, Ph.D, was the first woman and person of color elected a trustee of the Merrill Lynch Foundation. Westina, former VP & chief program officer at the Jackie Robinson Foundation, recommends supporting JRF's grassroots campaign to raise $98,000 by the end of July in honor of Rachel Robinson's 98th birthday, July 19th. JRF Scholars attend highly competitive colleges and universities, perform community service, hold internships & maintain a consistent 98% graduation rate. Harlem Community Relief Fund A meal service program that meets the daily food needs of poor families & homeless people. The Bail Project provides free bail assistance to low-income individuals so they can return to their families while awaiting their court dates. Color of Change helps people to respond effectively to injustice, and to influence corporate & government decision-makers to create a more human, less hostile world for Blacks in America. ===
Yavilah McCoy, the founder of Ayecha, a nonprofit organization providing educational resources for Jewish diversity and advocacy for Jews of Color in the US, is a teacher, writer, editor, and diversity consultant, Yavilah forwarded an amazing list, saying, "Here are a few organizations local to the Geoge Floyd case, others related to local BLM efforts, then a full donation list that our organizers at Dimensions compiled. Hoping that some of these will be useful for you to share:"
Communities United Against Police Brutality.
M.A.D.E Institute - addresses various issues related to mass incarceration
Black Visions Collection (Minnesota)
Five Things White People Can Do Right Now to Combat White Supremacist Violence
Black Lives Matter (Louisville)
Split one donation between 70+ bail funds, mutual aid funds, and racial justice organizers here.
List of state and city bail funds and legal aid resources here.
NorthStar Health Fund for Protestors
On the Ground Chi (Chicago): “a coalition of young black and brown organizers trying to provide resources during this fight for justice and liberation.” Donate at paypal.me/onthegroundchi)
Black Inmates Commissary and Book Fund
Funds for Victims of Police Brutality & legal fees for their families:
Find more local Black-led organizations near you here.
**To ensure your donation is being used to its fullest is by donate to local grassroots organizations.**
Organization
Location
Atlanta
Minnesota
National
Minnesota
Communities United for Police Reform
New York
National
NYC
F2L Fund for queer & trans POC
NYC
NYC
Houston
Solutions not Punishments Coalition (SnapCo)
Atlanta
Detroit
National Police Accountability Project
National
Phoenix
Access to Resources from Non-Black People
Assistance for Black Trans people:
Atlanta (Can donate from anywhere)
National
National
National
National
Transgender Gender-Variant & Intersex Justice Project
National
Also see "How To Support the Struggle Against Police Brutality and Where to Donate." And don't forget the tried and true NAACP Legal Defense Fund; Equal Justice Initiative; Center for Constitutional Rights; National Urban League & ACLU's Racial Justice Program,
No matter which cause speaks to you, please give what you can and do it now before the next rf law enforcement outrage (see Portland, Oregon) overwhelms these struggling groups.
A PAUSE FOR HUMOR
* Enjoy these clips of hilarious Sarah Cooper channeling Trump. BTW she doesn't just do POTUS, she does her own jokes, i.e. "I used to have an inferiority complex but it wasn't a very good one."
* Only in New York. Len Berk, age 90, the "lox columnist" at The Forward, writes about 16 personality types who frequented his smoked fish counter at Zabars. Read more here about the career of this a former CPA who became a 26-year veteran Nova-slicer and only retired in March because of the pandemic.
* Everyone seems to want to get into the act
JUST SAYIN' (thanks to all the subscribers who sent me this meme last week)
* The countries most affected by coronavirus are the USA, Brazil, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy and France. Here are the photos of their leaders:
* And here are the national leaders most successful at managing Covid-19 Top row: Angela Merkel; Tsai Ing-wen; Jacinda Ardern; Bottom row: Katrín Jakobsdóttir; Sanna Marin; Erna Solberg; Mette Frederiksen.
Just FYI: Tomorrow, Tues, July 21 from 4:30-5:30, I'll be in conversation with Amy Schwartz, Moment magazine's opinion and books editor, to discuss the state of women today and how the miniseries Mrs. America misrepresented second wave feminism. Register here.
STAY SAFE. HELP SOMEONE ELSE. SUPPORT BLM.
-- Letty
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