Letter from Rabbi Alissa Wise
I was in 5th grade when I learned about the Trail of Tears and the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Native Americans. I’m not sure what Mrs. Gary, my teacher, expected us to think or feel – but the lessons I learned were about unthinkable horror,...153 Groups Sign Solidarity Letter
Thank you very much to all those that signed the statement. It’s a really great list of 153 signatories from 24 different countries! The final statement and list of signatories is below and...The Snowden Case
David Bromwich London Review of Books July 4, 2013 Most Americans who know anything about the National Security Agency probably got their mental picture of it from a 1998 thriller called Enemy of the State. A lawyer (Will Smith), swept up by mistake into the system of...Developing a Social Justice Curriculum for Educators
WESPAC on Facebook
Dear WESPAC Members, Friends, and Supporters,In these extraordinarily challenging times, strong and independent community organizations are more important than ever. We invite you to renew your WESPAC membership—or to become a member for the first time—and help sustain our shared work for justice, peace, and meaningful social change.As we celebrate WESPAC’s 52nd anniversary, we remain inspired by our rich history and deeply grateful for the community that has sustained us. WESPAC continues to serve a unique and essential role as a hub for progressive organizing in Westchester County and throughout the Lower Hudson Valley. You can donate at wespac.org/donate
Dear WESPAC Members, Friends, and Supporters, @followers In these extraordinarily challenging times, strong and independent community organizations are more important than ever. We invite you to renew your WESPAC membership—or to become a member for the first time—and help sustain our shared work for justice, peace, and meaningful social change.As we celebrate WESPAC’s 52nd anniversary, we remain inspired by our rich history and deeply grateful for the community that has sustained us. WESPAC continues to serve a unique and essential role as a hub for progressive organizing in Westchester County and throughout the Lower Hudson Valley.With the support of our members, WESPAC:• Brings people together through community meetings, solidarity gatherings, educational programs, and public events;• Works with local high school and college students, providing meaningful internships and volunteer opportunities;• Organizes the annual Westchester Social Forum, where organizations and activists from Westchester, Rockland, and neighboring communities share skills, strengthen relationships, and build collective strategies;• Supports organizing for climate justice, affordable housing, immigrant defense, food sovereignty, racial and economic justice, public banking, and worker-owned cooperatives;• Advocates for investment in communities rather than cages, and for a clean and safe transition away from fossil fuels;• Calls upon our federal representatives to invest our tax dollars in schools, affordable housing, healthcare, and meaningful job creation—not war and endless killing overseas;• Provides affordable office and meeting space to like-minded organizations working for a more just, equitable, and peaceful world; and• Honors outstanding local justice advocates at our annual awards ceremony, a cherished highlight of Westchester’s social justice calendar.Annual membership dues are $100 per person, and $50 for students and people living on fixed incomes. Sustaining contributions above that amount are warmly welcomed. No one is ever turned away for lack of funds, and volunteer hours may be arranged in lieu of payment.Please renew or join today by mailing a check to:WESPAC Foundation77 Tarrytown Road, Suite 2WWhite Plains, NY 10607You may also contribute securely online at wespac.org/donate. To arrange volunteer hours or discuss another way of supporting WESPAC, please call us at 914-449-6514.We hope to see you at our upcoming events, including our September 10 author talk with Brian Barber about Gaza and our September 16 Community Partners gathering featuring Common Cause New York on election integrity. Details are available at wespac.org.Thank you for standing with WESPAC. Your membership is not simply a contribution—it is an affirmation that principled, locally rooted organizing matters. Together, we can continue building the relationships and movements needed to create a more just and peaceful world.With gratitude and determination,Steven Rabinowitz, Board Chair and Nada Khader, Executive DirectorContributions to WESPAC Foundation are tax-deductible.
Friday, October 9th at 6pm at the Barn at Vassar College! RSVPs required at [email protected]. Contributions for the farm collective can be made ahead of time. We can also arrange car pools.The WEBATUCK VALLEY FARM COLLABORATIVE (WVFC), established in 2023, is a regional food sovereignty and farm cooperative development initiative rooted in a larger movement for cultural reclamation, economic & racial justice, and community healing. Rock Steady Farm, Sweet Freedom Farm, and WILDSEED Community Farm & Healing Village leveraged a ten-year partnership to transform local farming, economic opportunity, and food access. They aim to remove barriers to entry for Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) and LGBTQ+ beginning farmers in ways that support the prosperity of our communities and the future of our planet.The current food system is built on exploited labor and land, leaving many hungry and malnourished despite excess and waste. WVFC works with communities within, against, and beyond this broken system to build resilient local economies. Their organizations collaboratively support New York State farmers through land access, training and apprenticeships, shared infrastructure, equipment and product aggregation, advocacy, community events, and employment. They advance land-based liberation by training young land stewards, supporting beginning farmers with land access, growing nutrient-dense and culturally relevant food and medicine, and distributing their harvests to families impacted by food scarcity or state violence.This year, that vision takes physical form. They are renovating two barns—one at Rock Steady which will winterize the barns, expand the cold storage three fold for aggregation, build much larger wash-pack space with new equipment, a retail store and new CSA pick-up, Rock Steady staff space and workplace kitchen, short term housing for all the trainees and facilitators and so much more. The barn at Wildseed will be home to a gorgeous event space, and an added value commercial kitchen. Sweet Freedom Farm will be stewarding grain processes equipment and grain processing space that has been a significant need of small to mid-sized grain producers in the area.This shared processing infrastructure will expand the capacity of over a dozen BIPOC- and LGBTQ+-led farms to wash, store, and process food year-round. It's an investment in a more resilient future where farmers across the region can enter a food system designed for their success.The Elias Foundation is kindly subsidizing the cost of the dinner so that more of the proceeds can support the farmers' fund! @followers
Friday, October 9th at 6pm at the Barn at Vassar College! RSVPs required at [email protected]. Contributions for the farm collective can be made ahead of time. We can also arrange car pools.The WEBATUCK VALLEY FARM COLLABORATIVE (WVFC), established in 2023, is a regional food sovereignty and farm cooperative development initiative rooted in a larger movement for cultural reclamation, economic & racial justice, and community healing. Rock Steady Farm, Sweet Freedom Farm, and WILDSEED Community Farm & Healing Village leveraged a ten-year partnership to transform local farming, economic opportunity, and food access. They aim to remove barriers to entry for Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) and LGBTQ+ beginning farmers in ways that support the prosperity of our communities and the future of our planet.The current food system is built on exploited labor and land, leaving many hungry and malnourished despite excess and waste. WVFC works with communities within, against, and beyond this broken system to build resilient local economies. Their organizations collaboratively support New York State farmers through land access, training and apprenticeships, shared infrastructure, equipment and product aggregation, advocacy, community events, and employment. They advance land-based liberation by training young land stewards, supporting beginning farmers with land access, growing nutrient-dense and culturally relevant food and medicine, and distributing their harvests to families impacted by food scarcity or state violence.