January 2011

Via e-mail from NAACP:

Dr. Ben Chavis To Keynote  The Chapel Hill—Carrboro  NAACP Annual Community Martin Luther King, Jr. Service at First Baptist Church

The  Chapel Hill and Carrboro communities will come together once again on Monday January 17, 2011 at the historic First Baptist Church on North Roberson Street,  to honor the legacy of slain Civil Rights hero and Nobel Peace Prize humanitarian, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  This year’s keynote speaker is Rev. Dr. Ben Chavis—long-time civil rights leader and one of the Wilmington 10  whose early-life story was masterfully woven together by Duke Professor, Dr. Tim Tyson, (a senior research scholar at the Center for Documentary Studies and visiting professor of American Christianity and Southern Culture at Duke’s Divinity School and last year’s speaker) and published in Tyson’s best-selling book turned movie, “Blood Done Signed My Name.”  Dr. Chavis--an author, educator and global business leader—is the President of Education Online Services Corporation (EOServe Corp.), the world’s leading provider of online higher education for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across America, as well as other academic institutions of higher learning throughout the world.  Dr. Chavis is also the President, CEO and Co-Founder with Russell Simmons, of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN), the world’s largest coalition of hip-hop artists and recording industry executives.  In 1993 and 1994 Dr. Chavis served as the Executive Director and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and remains a life-member of the NAACP.  In 1995, Dr. Chavis was the National Director and organizer of the Million Man March.  From 1995 to 1997 Chavis was the Executive Director and CEO of the National African American Leadership Summit (NAALS).  

The annual Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday service will begin with a march and rally starting at Peace and Justice Plaza in Chapel Hill at 9:00 a.m.  The service at First Baptist Church is scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m.  During the service two prestigious awards will be given—the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Award and the Rebecca Clark Award for Voter Registration and Civic Engagement.    This year’s theme  is “Not One Step Back: Renewing Dr. King’s Call To Conscience.” 

Via an e-mail from Julie McClintock:

A Meeting of Chapel Hill Neighborhoods

Sunday, January 23, 2011, 3 - 5 PM

Location: 523 East Franklin (former Chapel Hill Museum Bldg. downstairs meeting room)

Additional parking on South Boundary St. across from the UNC Press Building

 

Purpose of this meeting: To explore options for building upon inter-neighborhood

cooperation and participation in Town governance, especially as it relates to

growth in Chapel Hill.

 

Agenda

Welcome and Opening Remarks – Jan Smith, Neighbors for Responsible Growth,

Fred Stang, Facilitator

Neighborhood Speakers - 3 minute stories about organizing experiences in local

neighborhoods.

Introductions - Each person or neighborhood representative is invited to

introduce themselves, their neighborhood and issues or concerns that brought

them to this meeting

Bill Rohe – “The Power of Neighborhoods in Town Governance and Planning”

Bill is the Director of the Center for Urban and Regional Studies, UNC

Group Discussion facilitated by Fred Stang

Conclusion: What did we learn? Where do we go from here?

 

Meeting Organizers: Neighbors for Responsible Growth 

From the Orange County Human Relations Commission: 

Sunday, January 30th, 2011 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm 

A panel discussion will cover the topic “A Community Conversation on Immigration: What are the Implications for Orange County and Its Residents”.   

Panelists for the discussion - 

Keenon James is the Director of Special Projects at the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association (NCSA).  He oversees the Association’s law enforcement training and technical assistance projects as well as provides guidance on state and national criminal justice and law enforcement policies.

Cristina Marcela Rivera was born and raised in El Salvador and moved, with her family, to the United States when she was eleven years old.  She graduated from East Chapel Hill High School and now attending Meredith College on full scholarship.

Marty Rosenbluth is an immigration attorney and the Executive Director of the North Carolina Immigrant Rights Project.  He is a nationally recognized expert on Secure Communities and 287(g) and has attended meetings both at the White House and ICE headquarters to discuss these programs with government officials.

Zaragosa Vargas is a Kenan Distinguished Professor of History at UNC-Chapel Hill.  He has written extensively about the Mexican American labor history and the Mexican American civil rights movement, which focus on race relations, politics, and labor.

The event is free and open to the public.  For additional information, contact James Spivey, 245-2488. 

Join us with Omer Sharir for a special discussion!

Omer has been a part of Anarchists Against the Wall for the past four years, as well as working for the Israeli Committee against House Demolitions, and participating in the Yasamba - the Jerusalem Rhythms of Resistance group. He will describe his part, and his thoughts about the part of Jewish-Israelis in general, in the current struggle against the apartheid system in Israel. The focus will be on a discussion, so be prepared to share your own wisdom and experience about privilege, paternalism and solidarity.

Come out and watch the documentary "The Fourth World War," a film about the struggle of poor and working-class people all over the globe who must battle both large corporations and oppressive governments in order to survive and win basic human rights. Filmed in the streets of Mexico, Korea, Argentina, Palestine, Quebec City, and other locations all over the world, this is an emotional and very politicized look at glaring injustice and the emerging movements that seek to combat it.

(Excerpt from the film)
We walked and these moments changed us. We saw the buildings burning and the pain in our neighbor’s eyes. We rushed bayonets in the mountain and lines of police in the city.

We were touched by too much death. We loved and felt alive. We heard the echo of our word in other voices. We watched the moon rise over the barricades.

We were wounded by the courage of small children. This is not the whole story or the only story.

It is an introduction to some of the people with whom we share this planet.

A much greater story remains to be told. A story that we will write together.

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Check the Orange County Democratic Party website for more information coming soon.

ORANGE COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY COUNTY CONVENTION

AL STANBACK MIDDLE SCHOOL, April 9, 2011

AGENDA