Bushel’s neighbors at FOR-DO — Friends of Recovery of Otsego and Delaware Counties — host an ever-increasing number of community classes, workshops, and events including an Open Mic night several nights per month. Check out their calendar here (scroll down for Delhi’s chapter).
They also offer NARCAN training, which takes less than an hour and can save a life. And you can donate or volunteer your support here.
PEACE FOR UKRAINE
August 7, 1-8pm
The Turquoise Barn
8052 Rt 18, Bloomville, NY
Music, Art, Storytellling, Poetry, and food from the Tulip & Rose
Help raise funds for Emergency Relief Effort Ukraine / Doctors without Borders
** rain or shine **
(more…)A group of local residents has organized to raise funds to support the National Network of Abortion Funds, and organize a community-supported raffle. 100% of proceeds will be donated to the NNAF and split among abortion funds nationwide. To donate or participate in the raffle: https://givebutter.com/DelCountySupport
There is also a RALLY on May 7th at noon at the Village Square.
The Delaware County Citizens for Refugee Support (DCCRS) will be attending and invites you to join for a film screening of “Utica: The Last Refuge” at the Stanley Theater in Utica on May 5, 7 pm. The event will be a fundraiser for Ukraine and an intro to the work of The Center in Utica, which provides refugee support. For details, go to Utica’s The Center’s website here.
The Otsego Pride Alliance invites all to the 5th Annual Oneonta Pridefest, to take place on Saturday, June 4, 2–8pm, at Neahwa Park by the pond. The theme this year is SMALL CITY BIG PRIDE. The parade starts at the Foothills Performing Arts Center. For the full program and more information, visit their website here.
On Saturday, February 19, 4:30 pm, in conjunction with Roxbury Arts Group’s presentation of The Wilderness Diary by Jessica Farrell, there will be a free artist talk and online panel discussion addressing the mental health crisis in our region and ways we can address the disparities in our healthcare system. Please register here for this program: https://roxburyartsgroup.org/event/the-wilderness-diary-2022-02-19/
Anti-Racist Catskills is hosting a Listening Party (twist on a bookclub): Listen to the 1619 Project podcast and discuss with the group online Tuesdays, 6:30 to 8 pm, in February and March 2022. To sign up and see the supplemental reading list, email: antiracist.catskills@gmail.com and let them know you want to sign up for the bookclub list for the 1619 project.
Neighbors in South Kortright are putting on a pre-order bake sale/fundraiser to support two organizations that are helping with Afghan refugee resettlement: Keeping Our Promise and International Rescue Committee. For information and to place your order by Nov 12, go to their website.
Anti-Racist Catskills begins their 4th bookclub November 2nd with Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. For information and zoom link, go to their website.
Anti-Racist Catskills is forming an action group this fall and winter to continue the push to ban Confederate flags from NY State & County Fairs. To join the effort, email them.
The River is hosting an online roundtable discussion on new models of local journalism. Panelists include:
Moderated by Phillip Pantuso and Lissa Harris of The River
register here.
suggested $5 donation.
An Artist’s Soul: Form and Social Conscience
JANET WENTWORTH ERICKSON
A World of Diversity in Watercolor, Pastel, and Oil
July 17 – August 21, 2021
Reception for the Artist:
July 17, Saturday, from 4 – 6 PM
MURAL Art Gallery
631 E. Main Street, Hobart, NY
MURAL Art Gallery, 631 E. Main Street Hobart, New York 13788
Gallery Hours: Saturdays 12PM – 4PM OR BY APPOINTMENT- 607-538-3002
www.muralgallery.org muralmain@gmail.com
From NO OD NY: Overdose Prevention Centers (OPCs) are sites where people may use illegal drugs under the supervision of trained staff in order to reduce the risk of death, disease, and incarceration. Governor Cuomo promised an activist coalition that he would greenlight OPCs in Ithaca and New York City in 2018. The pilot program remains unauthorized.
This July, Ryan Carson and a team of activists will walk more than 350 miles across New York state in order to pressure Governor Andrew Cuomo to authorize Safe Injection Facilities in New York state. Along the way, they will host town halls and other public events in order to foster dialogue about the opioid epidemic and raise awareness about the life-saving potential of Safe Injection Facilities. They will stop in cities across the state that have been hard hit by the opioid epidemic, connecting with New Yorkers whose lives have been forever changed by this crisis.
Learn more here, follow the walk here, and support the project by contributing to their GoFundMe here.
The Petunias Are Doing Amazing: A Prison Journal and Plant Care Guide
Bushel hosts virtual monthly meetings of the Inside-Outside Study Group, co-founded by Bushel’s Thursday morning meditation facilitator Molly Yakusan Stevens. Inside-Outside fosters emotional and spiritual connections through prison walls. You can read about their doings here. And definitely check out this book that has come out of the group: The Petunias Are Doing Amazing: A Prison Journal and Plant Care Guide, by Shane Pema Tenzin Marcantel. All proceeds go to the author’s reentry fund.
The Slow Factory offers free and donoation-based online classes at the intersection of Climate & Culture,
building anti-racist community and growing climate-positive global movements. Recent and forthcoming classes are on Fashion and Waste, History of Spiritual Activism, Material Literacy, and Cancel Culture, among many others.
Learn more: https://slowfactory.foundation/open-education
The following is a working list of organizations that work to advocate for, uplift, and protect Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander lives. Most of these resources were compiled from lists shared by: Jess X. Snow, RISE Indigenous, and Lisa Lowe. Recirculate freely and donate where possible.
(more…)This page contains the zoom link for the Board of Supervisors police reform public hearing on March 10, 12:45 pm:
Tomorrow (Friday, 3/5), from 10 am- noon, Joyce St. George will be speaking about the police reform debacle again on her WIOX show. Listen here: http://www.wioxradio.org/index.html
(more…)Here are some places to donate to mutual aid groups supporting Texas residents affected by storms, outages, and government neglect. These links are from this live doc, which is continually being updated.
WHO: W.I.D.E is a local group of women promoting inclusivity, diversity and equity in our community through education, literature and the arts. Due to Covid, most of the funding is going to updating the local libraries and classrooms with modern literature that includes multicultural themes and minority voices.
WHAT: #DinnerforaDifference is an Italian style dinner created by local Chef Deanna D’Angelo (ChefDeanna.com) with food donations by Catskill Regional Harvest. Suggested donation is $25 per plate and features a Farm Fresh Salad, Home Made Manicotti and Meatballs, and Garlic bread. There is a vegetarian option without the meatballs. There will also be baked goods to buy at pick up to satisfy your sweet tooth, again, by donation.
While the suggested donation is $25/plate, any amount is happily accepted and dinners can also be sponsored. One can pay for a dinner and we will get it to a family in need.
WHEN: Order today for pick up on Wednesday, January 20th from 4-6PM
WHERE: Two convenient pickup locations in Delhi and Bovina.
From Catskills Addiction Coalition via Delaware County Solidarity:
Friday January 15, 2021 9:00-10:00 a.m., there will be a public/zoom meeting on “The role of law enforcement in recovery friendly communities: Police reform, addiction, and mental health.” Sheriff Dumond is one of the panelists, and it’s being facilitated by Joyce St. George. (Joyce is cc’ed here; you can respond or contact her directly with questions.)
**This could be a great opportunity to ask Sheriff Dumond your questions/share concerns about policing in Delaware County and/or the ongoing police reform committee being overseen by the county. In spite of state guidance requiring them to do so, Delaware County Board of Supervisors, and chair Tina Mole, have not scheduled any public input meetings on police reform.**
If you are concerned about the state of policing in Delaware County, this is an opportunity to voice concerns and input. If you are interested in talking about ways to influence this process through more concerted community action, the Delaware County Solidarity Listserv is organizing on the topic.
Event by Delaware County NY Government
Online Event
Monday, January 18, 2021 at 11 AM EST
Price: Free
Public · Anyone on or off Facebook
The next Delaware County Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 18th, at 11am via Zoom. This meeting will be livestreamed on the Delaware County NY YouTube channel. The YouTube link for the meeting will be shared once generated approximately 15 minutes prior to the start of the meeting.
(more…)Our friends and comrades at Star Route Farm are transitioning to full-time food sovereignty work, and hosting a GoFund me to support the efforts If you can’t make it to Kitty’s, there is a general GoFundMe to help support Star Route’s food justice work. ALL THE INFO IS HERE! <3
The People’s Wellness Initiative is a network of Catskill, Hudson-Valley and New York City based herbalists offering direct wellness support to individuals and families in Black and Brown communities. Learn more and participate in their GoFundMe campaign here!
From the organizers:
Did you know that :
1 in 920 Black Americans has died of Covid-19 (108.4 deaths per 100,000)
1 in 1,110 Indigenous Americans has died of CV-19 (or 90.0 deaths per 100,000)
1 in 1,360 Latino Americans has died of CV-19 (or 73.5 deaths per 100,000)
1 in 1,450 Pacific Islander Americans has died (or 68.9 deaths per 100,000)
1 in 1,840 White Americans has died of CV-19 (or 54.4 deaths per 100,000)
1 in 2,200 Asian Americans has died (or 45.4 deaths per 100,000)
Help us get free herbal medicines to the underserved and marginalized indigenous, black and brown communities afflicted with COVID and other health conditions.
Donate $25 or more to this drive. Your gift will be a 2 ounce bottle of Sweetgrass Spray (limited supplies).
(more…)This document is full of resources for safety and mutual aid during the coming month and beyond.
From the authors:
“The scenarios anticipated by this document are not the apocalypse or the purge. This is about pre-emptive action to take care of yourself in what will undoubtedly be an unpredictable and chaotic time.
(more…)Save the Post Office! Show up at 11am on Saturday, August 22, to the Delhi or Franklin USPS.
A March to Respect Black Life & the Right to Assemble
Delhi Courthouse, Thursday July 30 at 6 pm
The New York State Sheriff’s Association recently introduced a dangerous legislative agenda, which was supported by six Southern Tier county sheriffs including Delaware County Sheriff Craig Dumond at a July 15th press conference. The sheriffs’ agenda is a callous, dismissive, and outrageous response to local and national demands to respect and value Black life and to respect the rights of free speech and assembly. It calls for a vast expansion of police power, limiting oversight of police, and punishing people who rightfully call attention to police misconduct.
Delhi resident Barb Kaplan is petitioning the Delaware County Fair Board to ban display and sales of Confederate-flag merchandise. Please consider signing on to her letter at change.org and please pass it on:
http://chng.it/XLsSw5jVT7
Wendy’s Subway has organized an ongoing abolition reading group — free on Zoom — which starts this Saturday, July 18. Register here. Readings for the first session are here.
“In this first Abolition Reading Group session, we envision an end to political policing and police violence with Alex S. Vitale and Philip V. McHarris. Join us for an introductory presentation and discussion by Vitale, followed by a moderated reading group conversation with McHarris.”
Racism in Rural NY
Thursday, July 9. 7-9pm
Streaming on Facebook
Join us for a panel discussion about the expressions and impact of racism in rural communities in New York.
This will bring together leaders from four regions of the New York State Poor People’s Campaign (North Country, Central New York, Western Southern Tier, and Eastern Southern Tier) as well as Scipioville Presbyterian Church, Be You and MR Hess Home Works.
(more…)Black Lives Matter protest in Stamford NY. Friday, July 10 at 5pm. Meet across from TP’s Cafe.
“Two days ago, menacing racist graffiti was found on an abandoned building in Stamford. It’s been painted over, and a few of us brought flowers and a BLM sign there to counter the ugliness and hate and with beauty and determination. On Friday, the community will gather in a protest for Black lives and racial justice.”
From the Daily Star:https://www.thedailystar.com/news/local_news/racist-graffiti-in-stamford-spurs-probe/article_ccad0bba-8c31-5d23-aab7-4a556e04dfaf.html
From the Black Hills Legal Defense Fund Website:
“On July 3rd, 2020 Indigenous People and our allies were arrested in the process of defending our sacred lands in the Black Hills. Acts of courage and civil disobedience resulted in arrests and criminal charges … As a group of Indigenous people and our allies we made a stand against Donald Trump the President of the United States who made a decision to come to Oceti Sakowin Territory without the free prior and informed consent of the Tribal Nations of the region…At a time of social and racial reckoning in this country Trump has perpetuated a White Supremacist narrative that has further divided the country. As a group of Indigenous People and our allies we are committed to the dismantling of White Supremacy and systemic racism in this country.”
Donate at https://bhlegalfund.org/
Our partners at the607csa* have just launched three food-justice programs — one to subsidize CSA shares, one to support local food pantries, and one to donate to NYC programs that support healthy food for the city’s BIPOC communities. To read more and donate: https://www.the607csa.com/programs *Bushel is a pick-up location for the CSA, but upstate residents who are not CSA members may order food from the a la carte menu at any time to pick up at Bushel the following Wednesday. Visit the website for more details: https://www.the607csa.com/
Delaware County Solidarity’s listserve of freewheeling and respectful discussions and information sharing on social issues is looking for more folks to join the over 100 of us here who agree with the following statement:
“Delaware County Solidarity is a group working to promote the awareness of local issues, advance human rights and social justice, and protect the environment through research, advocacy, information sharing, and community-wide events. Delco Solidarity is based in Delaware County, New York.” To apply, contact: cooperativemichael1@gmx.com
This action is organized by Fair For All (FB link here.)
Delaware County
JUSTICE RIDE FOR BLACK LIVES
Juneteenth (Friday, June 19), 6:00 – 8:30 PM
Are you on the freedom side? Join us for a cross-county caravan in support of Black lives and racial justice on Juneteenth, which commemorates the day in 1865 when previously enslaved people in Texas learned of their emancipation.
(more…)Sunday, June 14 at 3pm: March for Justice in Roxbury, NY
From the organizers:
“Bring a sign (no profanity, please). We will gather at the south end of Main Street, near Roxbury Wine and Spirits. Marshalls will guide us as we march north, peacefully and with respect for social distancing, along the east side of Main Street to the cemetery.
Marshalls will help us cross there, and we will walk south on the opposite side to Kirkside Park, where we will gather for reflection and speakers.
Everything will proceed with careful adherence to social distancing measures. Wear a mask.”
Micah Herskind from the Souther Center for Human Rights has put together this resource and reading list on prison and police abolition and the intersections of abolition movements with the coronavirus.
River News covers nine protests across the region, including Saturday’s showing at Village Square in Delhi.
Verso Press is giving away the e-book of Alex Vitale’s THE END OF POLICING. “The problem is not police training, police diversity, or police methods. The problem is the dramatic and unprecedented expansion and intensity of policing in the last forty years, a fundamental shift in the role of police in society. The problem is policing itself.”
“This fund has been set up in response to the escalation of protests by the Albany Police Department to ensure the safety of protesters through bail AND rapid response RADICAL BLACK SAFETY. This fund is designed to function as mutual aid and is managed by Albany racial justice activists Amy Jones and Clyanna Lightbourn of Voix Noire.” DONATE HERE
Direct your support to Capitol Region-organized Voix Noire. From the website:
“If you are a Black or Indigenous person experiencing hardship during this pandemic, send an email to RonaRationsVoix@gmail.com and include a social media profile link, zip code, delivery address for food/groceries and Cash App or Venmo links. Asks are fulfilled on a first-come first-serve basis and dependent on the resources available through community donations made.
If you are able to donate to the pool for COVID-19 relief you may give to our COVID Fund, Food Security Pool, or direct cash to Creighton’s Cash App or Venmo. Since March 29, 2020 we have distributed over $26,000 in relief to those affected by COVID-19. Your financial donations are needed to continue the work.”
Read more here: https://voixnoire.com/
Today is Breonna Taylor’s birthday. Here are links to action items in her memory and to support her family and the fight for justice. https://msha.ke/30flirtyfilm/
This list is being continually updated (as of June 4) and lists ways to support protesters and the movement for black lives. It includes places to donate for immediate needs, and much more: https://docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/12y7-Wa4gi8HUeFTv17gPcbMGuVX5cqIudLJmhOrq1-k/mobilebasic#id.9ape04ecjrr5
Organized by GetWoke:
“Join us on Saturday, June 6 at 1pm as we peacefully gather to mourn the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and many others at the hands of a racist law enforcement and justice system. This is not only a rally, but also a living, breathing, feeling monument to Black lives and against white supremacy.
**PLEASE WEAR A MASK & PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING.
We will meet at the Courthouse Square at 1pm for brief remarks. Following, we’ll disperse to marked points along Main St., which will provide the recommended 6ft social distancing to help prevent the spread of Covid-19. Also, this social distancing measure will spread our messages down the length of Main St.
NOTE: As part of this event, a temporary memorial will be in place in the Square from 12-3pm featuring images of 30+ Black victims of police violence. We encourage folks to bring a flower or some other perishable offering to place at the memorial.
Read more on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/196002824896511/
#blacklivesmatter #justiceforgeorgefloyd #getwokecatskills”
A living document intended for white people and anyone wanting to educate themselves about anti-racism, and with a section dedicated to resources for parents of young children.
From Critical Resistance, founded by Angela Y. Davis and others to combat and abolish the Prison Industrial Complex. Download the toolkit here.
“HIS TOOLKIT EMERGED OUT OF DISCUSSIONS THAT BEGAN IN BOSTON IN MARCH 2002. MEMBERS OF CRITICAL RESISTANCE (CR) AND PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS GATHERED FOR A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ON ABOLITIONIST ORGANIZING STRATEGIES. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE AGREED WE NEEDED TO STRENGTHEN OUR WORK WAS A SET OF IDEAS, EXERCISES, AND RESOURCES TO SHARE WITH THE PEOPLE WE ORGANIZE WITH THAT WOULD EXPLAIN THE IDEA OF ABOLISHING THE PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX (PIC) AND WOULD HELP US TAKE CONCRETE STEPS TOWARD THAT GOAL.“
This Google doc, compiled by Uprising Radio, lists bail funds and legal support, city by city. If you know of funds that aren’t listed here, you can submit them to the list via the Facebook page.
This e-book is being offered free by Haymarket Books. Download your copy here.
About the book:
“What is the reality of policing in the United States? Do the police keep anyone safe and secure other than the very wealthy? How do recent police killings of young black people in the United States fit into the historical and global context of anti-blackness?
This collection of reports and essays (the first collaboration between Truthout and Haymarket Books) explores police violence against black, brown, indigenous and other marginalized communities, miscarriages of justice, and failures of token accountability and reform measures. It also makes a compelling and provocative argument against calling the police.”
The Poetry Project in NYC has compiled an extensive list of resources for mutual aid, places to donate and volunteer, relief funds for artists and freelancers, bailout funds, and much more.
Today (May 5) at 5pmEST, a discussion hosted by Between the Lines, Verso, A Radical Guide, Melville House, and PM Press, with panelists including Bushel friend and “Signs of the Times” participant L.A. Kaufman. as well as Gary Kinsmen, Dr. OmiSoore H. Dryden, Peter Linebaugh and Timothy Faust.
“While many have pointed to the similarities between the 1918 flu and the COVID-19 pandemic, there are many examples of past health crises that radicals might reflect on when trying to make sense of the current crisis. Most recently, the activist response to the HIV-AIDS crisis offers lessons for how activists might respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
(more…)This fund is bailing people out of the jails on Rikers Island (people who haven’t been found guilty of any offense, but are put behind bars simply because they couldn’t afford to pay the bail the judge set) and helping them find a place to stay when they get out. Jail is not a safe place to be.
Current/recent “Against the Grain” episodes focus on the politics of pandemics; connections between environmental, health and social justice struggles; and possibilities for the future.
Seven recent documentary films about climate change, recommen ded by EcoWatch and Yale Climate Connection.
If you are receiving a stimulus payout and your circumstances allow you to share it, AMOR (Alliance to Mobilize our Resistance) is organizing redistribution to those most in need.
The Climate Justice Alliance has a robust slate of webinars for activating movement-building amid the pandemic. There are also calls for action (petitions, campaigns, etc) on the site.
If you or someone you know is an “essential” worker, you can get free mental / spiritual care through the NYC COVID Worker Care Network. If you are you are a therapist, counselor, life coach, spiritual care provider, healer, organizer, or trained crisis line volunteer and are willing to donate some time to support essential workers and their families, please consider donating time. You do not need to be located in NYC to receive or give help. (more…)
April 2, 2020 @7:00 p.m. ET/ 6:00 p.m. CST
Movement Building in the Time of the Covid-19 Crisis
A Rising Majority teach-in offering a Left feminist perspective on 21st century racial capitalism in this moment. Supported by the Working Families Party. Register for the Webinar here. With Angela Y. Davis, Naomi Klein, Thenjiwe McHarris, Maurice Mitchell, Cindy Wiesner, Loan Tran
Activits / lawyer / movement builder Deepa Iyer shares a rubric for helping to identify what kind of social movement work you tend toward: https://medium.com/@dviyer/mapping-our-social-change-roles-in-times-of-crisis-8bbe71a8ab01
The #noprisonpandemic hashtag on Twitter is compiling news and calls for action to support decarceration now, as the pandemic takes hold behind bars. Some links to take action on behalf of our incarcerated neighbors:
freethemall4publichealth.org
rappcampaign.com
covid19behindbars.com
The National Nurses Union is circulating this petition to support nurses. Anyone can sign.
https://act.medicare4all.org/signup/covid-19-protect