For all details please visit: https://www.westchestersocialforum.org/
Racial Justice :
WESPAC Foundation supports the work of the Anti-Racist Alliance which is the lead group in Westchester that explores the ongoing harm of institutionalized and systemic racism in our country today. We have honest discussions in a mixed group of how white privilege impacts both people of color and white folk in Westchester County in the form of excessive police force, access to quality education, employment and housing and many other areas. We listen to the range of experience that people of color have to endure in a society that continues to disproportionately benefit white people . For more information, visit antiracistalliance.com
Westchester Social Justice Forum 2018!
Nada Khader
Posted in Blogs, Communities & Focus Areas, Criminal Justice, Director's Blog, Economic and Human Rights, Frontpage, Immigration, Militarism and Foreign Policy, Movement Building, Racial Justice
An Evening to End Solitary Confinement at WESPAC
Nada Khader
Posted in Blogs, Communities & Focus Areas, Criminal Justice, Director's Blog, Movement Building, Racial Justice
New York Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement
We will be joined by Cynthia Williams, a 2015 Beyond the Bars of Justice Fellow at Columbia University, who spent time in a federal facility and who will speak about how arbitrary and dehumanizing the system is, how she coped and how people end up in solitary confinement. She will also speak about the New York Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement and will inspire us to get involved and to effect positive change.
This event is free and open to the public. WESPAC has 10 copies of the book Hell is a Very Small Place: Voices from Solitary Confinement in our office that are available now ahead of the event for people to read and become more familiar with this issue. Please call to arrange pick up. The United Nations has defined solitary confinement as a form of torture. Free will offerings to support Cynthia and this work will be requested. For more information, call 914.449.6514 or email [email protected].
Please do not remain silent about Solitary Confinement while 80-100,000 human beings are trapped and remain invisible each year for infractions as minor as possession of too many postage stamps. Create an opportunity for others to learn the truth about solitary confinement. SWASC Social Workers Against Solitary Confinement has created two 8 minute videos that encapsulates what people need to know.
Take Action. We need everyday people, like you and me, to show these videos to our informal and formal networks. Use your smart phone. Keep it Simple. Discussion will automatically follow from these provocative and thoughtful presentations.
Johnny Perez: Three years in Solitary
Mary Buser – The Helping Professions & Solitary Confinement
We also created a petition for people to sign asking the governing commission to reconsider current practices we believe to be unethical and human torture.
Website Resource: Social Workers Against Solitary Confinement
We have a monthly newsletter.
Sign up now.
National Networking Conference Call on the third Monday of the month at 7pm EST.
Conference call number (515) 739-1015 PIN. 455-445-570#
One hour zoom presentation:
Zoom presentation
Social Workers Against Solitary Confinement: Undoing Racism in the Criminal Justice System. (2/18)
This video (1hour) offers a brief U. S. history of structural racism and discussion of solitary confinement and specifically the issue of dual loyalty for mental health professionals.
Sandra Bernabei, LCSW is a co-convener and steering committee member of SWASC as well as a community organizer and a social worker in private practice in Westchester and NYC. She is the past-president of NASW-NYC.
Sandy is the founding member of the Antiracist Alliance.
Marguerita Johnson Tolson BSW, CASAC-T is a graduate student at Fordham University Graduate School of Social Services. She is completing an internship with Social Workers Against Solitary Confinement.
“We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.” Martin Luther King Jr
Separate and Unequal
Nada Khader
Posted in Blogs, Communities & Focus Areas, Director's Blog, Economic and Human Rights, Racial Justice
WESPAC Middle East Committee invites you to participate in Palestine book reading together
Nada Khader
Posted in Blogs, Communities & Focus Areas, Director's Blog, Militarism and Foreign Policy, Movement Building, Racial Justice
Yesterday the WESPAC Middle East Committee met and discussed plans for this year’s 70th Nakba Commemoration with the Westchester Palestinian Community.
To gear up for a larger event later this Spring, we will be reading together Susan Abulhawa’s very fine novel “Mornings in Jenin” to better understand the Palestinian narrative. The committee would like to invite members of the broader social justice community to join with us in this book reading.
We will read a third of the novel by the end of February (first 100 pages), and will convene at WESPAC on Tuesday, February 27th at 7pm to discuss the first third of the novel. The book is available both at local libraries as well as online. Please let us know if you will be joining us.
Reviews
“Every now and again a literary work changes the way people think. Abulhawa…has crafted a brilliant first novel about Palestine… [This] intensely beautiful fictionalized history… should be read by both politicians and those interested in contemporary politics.” – Library Journal
“This complex story is beautifully told… The perspective is brutal, yet ultimately not without hope… [Abulhawa] draws us into the nightmare of her heroine’s existence with convincing passion.” – Historical Novels Review
“Illuminating and deeply moving, Abulhawa’s epic resonates with compassion…You can’t ask more of historical fiction.” – Brooklyn Rail
“Abulhawa’s pathos and mastery enables the reader to taste, smell and grasp the chronicles of Palestine as if one is actually there… Lovely and heartrending, this story is a must-read for those who wish to not only understand the catastrophe of the Palestinians with their heads but with their hearts.” – Palestine Chronicle
“Winner of the USA Book News Best Books Award” –
#FREEnewyork Westchester Town Hall
Nada Khader
Posted in Blogs, Communities & Focus Areas, Criminal Justice, Director's Blog, Frontpage, Racial Justice
Made in Palestine – Evening of Comedy, Dance and Music
Nada Khader
Posted in Blogs, Communities & Focus Areas, Director's Blog, Movement Building, Racial Justice
Online Tickets Available Here for Purchase: https://tickets.tarrytownmusichall.org/eventperformances.asp?evt=2028
Palestinian – what images come to your mind…
A hilarious comic who has been the headliner at shows at both New York’s Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and has performed around the country and internationally to sold-out audiences?
Do you think of young boys and girls, dressed in elaborate costumes, swirling in precision as they perform the classic Palestinian folk dance of Dabke?
Or maybe, the beautifully intricate and delicate traditional embroidery that has long graced the clothes of Palestinians and has recently become the inspiration for couture and hip fashion alike?
No, this isn’t what immediately pops into your thoughts. We understand. Unfortunately, the long and rich cultural history of Palestine has long been overshadowed by other images portrayed in the media.
We aim to change that and we need your help!
MADE IN PALESTINE, a one- night event planned for Sunday, Nov. 19th at the Tarrytown Music Hall, will showcase the beautiful and light-hearted side of Palestine.
WESPAC Foundation, a leading force for progressive social change in Westchester since 1974, has long advocated for a just and lasting peace to the Israel/Palestine conflict. We are aware that many Americans know little of the multi-faceted cultural heritage of Palestine – the music, the food, the art and the struggle to have their narrative understood. We will highlight aspects of this rich culture and, we hope, leave you hungry to learn more.
We are so excited that comedian and author Amer Zahr will headline MADE IN PALESTINE. Palestinian American Performance Poet Remi Kenazi and a NJ Palestinian folkloric dabke dance troupe will open the show. Authentic food will be served and fair-trade artisan gifts and products from Palestine will be available for purchase.
We are seeking financial support from the Social Justice and the Arab-Palestinian community and others to underwrite this exciting opportunity. We hope that you will support this event by choosing one of the sponsorship options listed below. I will call you in a few days to discuss this invitation and share more details about the show and how you might like to become involved.
We hope you will join us in what will surely be a fun and entertaining evening with important, long-lasting effects.
MADE IN PALESTINE
Sponsorship Opportunities
Benefactor $1000
6 VIP tickets and listing in program
Sponsor $ 500
4 VIP tickets and listing in program
Friend $ 250
2 VIP tickets and listing in program
Supporter $ 100
Listing in Program
PROGRAM Ads
Front inside cover $ 750
Back outside cover $ 750
Back inside cover $ 300
Full-page $ 150
Half-page $ 100
Quarter-page $ 75
Business card $ 50
Name as you would like it to appear in listing:
Please send Black and White Graphic for Ad by November 3rd, 2017
TO: WESPAC Foundation
77 Tarrytown Road, 2W
White Plains, NY 10607
For more information, call the WESPAC office at 914.449.6515 or email [email protected]
Report Back from Annual NACOLE Conference
Nada Khader
Posted in Blogs, Criminal Justice, Director's Blog, Economic and Human Rights, Frontpage, Movement Building, Racial Justice
Nada will be presenting a report on Thursday, September 28th at 7pm at WESPAC regarding her participation at the Annual NACOLE Conference on behalf of WCPR.
On September 10th, hundreds of members of law enforcement, community leaders, elected officials, journalists, academics, students and oversight professionals will gather in Spokane, Washington, for the annual four day NACOLE conference (National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement): http://www.nacole.org/2017_annual_conference .
Conference attendees will be able to choose from 31 different concurrent and plenary sessions on a wide range of topics including Building Community Trust, Trauma Informed Policing, Auditing for Accountability, Evaluating Police Use of Force and much more. Attendees will be part of a learning and networking event that will provide inspiration, ideas and practical knowledge as we work for a vision of implementing best practices and enhanced police legitimacy in our local communities and around the nation.
After Charlottesville: A Conversation with Local Law Enforcement
Nada Khader
Posted in Blogs, Communities & Focus Areas, Director's Blog, Movement Building, Racial Justice
After Charlottesville: A Conversation with Local Law Enforcement
Thursday, September 7th at 7pm at the new WESPAC Office location
77 Tarrytown Road, Suite 2W
White Plains/Greenburgh, NY 10607
77 Tarrytown Road, Suite 2W
White Plains/Greenburgh, NY 10607
Join the Westchester Coalition for Police Reform as we speak with Detective Keith Olson, President of the Yonkers Police Benevolent Association and Damon Jones, Blacks in Law Enforcement of America’s NY Representative, about policing, community relations and accountability in an era of emboldened white supremacy. This community forum is free and open to the public and will be facilitated by WESPAC Director Nada Khader. There is plenty of free parking on site. Take the driveway all the way to the top behind the building. For more information, call the WESPAC office at 914.449.6514.
Call for all citizens to join in the efforts for inclusion and respect for the human rights in New Rochelle
David is a core trainer with the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond and is the founder/leader of New Rochelle Against Racism
Call for all citizens to join in the efforts for inclusion and respect for the human rights in New Rochelle
The recent violent events in Virginia have surprised many who do not believe that a racist ideology of white supremacy is alive and well in this country. However, it is not a surprise to people of African descent and other people of color. As members of New RoAR (New Rochelle Against Racism), we reject the notion that this ideology is limited to Neo Nazi, KKK or any other overt member of a so-called white nationalist group. We also reject the notion that in the absence of these horrible events, white supremacy doesn’t exist. The consistent historical and current impact of structural and institutional racism is embedded in all of the major institutions of this country.
As a result, for our purposes this statement also applies to New Rochelle, New York.
We believe that only a consistent racial analysis of the current policies and decision making by our city, school and social service providers will provide the level of accountability needed to achieve racial equity. We reject the belief that our demographic diversity alone is an effective lens for evaluating the health of our city.
We call on all citizens to join in the efforts for inclusion and respect for the human rights of those who are most impacted by these racist policies and practices.
Moving forward, we will highlight when and where these concerns need to be addressed. We intend to hold accountable community groups representing those oppressed by these systems and institutions. We will not hide in the shadows or blame people for the conditions in which they live.
We believe that our collective efforts will alter the way power is currently exercised by all of the systems in our city.
David Peters,
New Rochelle Against Racism (New RoAR)
The Social Justice Forum is this Sunday April 22nd at the Pace Law School!! Here is video footage from the 2017 social forum: we hope you are excited and inspired by last year to make it even better this year! Spread the word and check out the Facebook event: www.facebook.com/events/826655807515066/ It’s going to be sunny and 60 degrees, so get ready for a wonderful day! #socialjustice #communitybuilding #solidarity
MEMO OF SUPPORT FOR S.4784A/A.3080B
April 17th, 2018
Dear Senator Flanagan, Senator Stewart-Cousins, Senator Klein, and all New York Senators, as well as Speaker Heastie and all New York Assembly Members:
WESPAC is writing to urge the New York Senate and the New York Assembly to pass the HALT Solitary Confinement Act, S.4784A/A.3080B, immediately. WESPAC recently invited Cynthia Williams to speak to our membership about solitary confinement. As an educational non-profit, we support the United Nations definition of solitary confinement as a form of torture.
The Humane Alternatives to Long Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Act, S.4784A/A.3080B, is a critical bill to remedy the harm of solitary confinement. It would end the torture of solitary confinement for all people in New York prisons and jails, and create more humane and effective alternatives.
Solitary confinement is torture. Thousands of people, disproportionately Black and Latinx people, remain in solitary in New York each day: 22 to 24 hours a day in a cell without any meaningful human contact or programs. People continue to spend months, years, and decades in solitary (including upwards of 30+ years) in New York. These conditions cause devastating physical, mental, and behavioral impacts. The entire United Nations, including the US, passed rules prohibiting solitary beyond 15 days for any person, because it otherwise would amount to torture.
While Governor Cuomo has touted reforms to solitary, New York still has a higher percentage of people in solitary (5.8%) than the national average (4.4%) and much higher than states that have significantly limited solitary (less than 1% to 2%). HALT is the only legislation in NY that would address this problem, place total time limits on solitary, and end the torture of solitary for all people.
Sincerely,
Nada Khader. WESPAC Foundation Director
Executive Director
WESPAC Foundation
Cynthia Williams at WESPAC speaking about the urgent need to end solitary confinement in New York State:
Important:
Our Food System: An Invisible Form of Oppression - Dr. Mark Hyman
drhyman.com
On April 4, 2018, the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s death, I was honored to be asked to speak at Riverside Church in Harlem, the church where 51 years ago to the day MLK Jr. spoke out...It is with great pleasure and thanks to the efforts of Tracy Basile that I announce that we will have two Native American Elders open the social forum on April 22nd and lead the opening march:
Lakota elder, Lessert Moore, has been a "Sundance Chief for 45 years with extensive teaching experience at University of Arizona & New Mexico, UCLA and Aspen Institute. He is an indigenous rights activist and frontline activist of Wounded Knee and Standing Rock. He is very traditional in Lakota ways and welcomes everyone to his circle."
Owl (Steven Smith) of the Ramapough Nation is outspoken on issues currently confronting the Ramapough Nation. He has spoken widely on the importance of maintaining the Split Rock Sweetwater Prayer Camp (called Standing Rock East) in Mahwah, New Jersey.
These two gentlemen from different Nations (Ramapough and Lakota) are representative of the coalition between Standing Rock and Split Rock, both working towards stopping the 'black snake' that propels oil production and pollution and drives climate change. They will also be presenting at the 4:15pm panel on Climate Justice at the social forum.
There are only five tabling space remaining for any group that would like to table at the social forum. Those who plan to attend are strongly requested to register ahead of April 22nd to avoid long lines at the registration table and can do so here: www.westchestersocialforum.org/register It is essential for all to register, especially if you have child care needs so that we can plan accordingly.
Please plan to arrive on campus by 12:15pm latest at 78 North Broadway in White Plains, NY 10603. We will have volunteers guiding you where to park. Lessert Moore will open up the forum at 12:45pm on the front lawn in front of the Good Counsel Chapel before we begin the opening march at 1pm. The planning committee has secured a permit with the local police department for this march that is under one mile and will make a loop in downtown White Plains. We will return to campus by 1:45pm in time for the opening plenary session in the Moot Court Room at Pace Law School which will start promptly at 2pm. At 2:40pm, we will segue to the workshops being offered in Ottinger Hall and listed here (please note the added description for the Climate Change panel): www.westchestersocialforum.org/workshops
We will close out the social forum with a sustainable fashion show and collective folkloric dance with Lisa Genn at 5:30pm in Tudor Hall.
Please help us share information about this largest social justice convergence in Westchester County by forwarding this email to your lists and by sharing our facebook event: www.facebook.com/events/826655807515066/
On behalf of the planning committee, we are all very much looking forward to welcoming you there.
