In October, the first Social Justice Council’s Literature, Film and Drama Contingent (LFDC) Fishbowl Exercise went swimmingly! Many thanks to Julie Rogers for facilitating and to our volunteer fish for their stories about class. It was an afternoon of warmth and camaraderie.
On Sunday, November 5, LFDC will have Claude M. Steele present for a discussion of his 2010 book, Whistling Vivaldi and Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us. Join us from 12:30 to 2:30 pm in the Fireside Room. Claude Steele is an American social psychologist and a professor of psychology at Stanford University. He is best known for his work on “stereotype threat” and its application to minority student academic performance.
The October potluck & meeting of the Social Justice Council (SJC) reviewed the sixteen organizations nominated for the 2018 UUCB Good Neighbor program. At the November meeting, SJC will vote on which of the nominations become the eleven finalists to receive UUCB donations next year. The next SJC potluck meeting will take place on Sunday, November 12, at 6 pm in the Fireside Room.
Sunday, November 5 at 3 pm at UUCB, The Social Justice Council invites you to a free screening of From a Silk Cocoon, followed by Q&A with filmmaker Satsuki Ina, immigration lawyer Laura Craig, and Zahra Billoo, Executive Director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations. The film tells the story of Ina’s parents, a Japanese American couple who struggled being incarcerated in Tule Lake internment camp, a maximum security facility which housed those deemed “disloyal” during WW II, and the consequences of resistance. Their story connects US history of the past to US history of the present, DACA youth and the undocumented, and into the future with the possibility of a Muslim registry. FREE but tickets required for head count: https://silkcocoonuucb.eventbrite.com
Tuesday, November 7 at 7 pm, St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave., Berkeley. The Social Justice Council has facilitated the UUCB co-sponsorship of the showing of Disrupting the Peace, an award-winning documentary by Combatants for Peace. Combatants for Peace was formed in 2006 by Israeli and Palestinian former combatants, people who had taken an active role in the conflict. The egalitarian, bi-national, grassroots movement was founded on the belief that the cycle of violence can only be broken when Israelis and Palestinians join forces. Combatants for Peace is the only organization, worldwide, in which former fighters on both sides of an active conflict have laid down their weapons, choosing to work together for peace and justice. They were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, 2017. The Combatants are for Peace are bringing two speakers: one Israeli and one Palestinian. Each speaker will tell their personal story of transformation from violence to nonviolence, and share the work that they are doing to end the occupation and bring peace to their homeland.
Sunday, November 12, Annual Food Drive. Before and after the service, the SJC will, in partnership with the Youth Adult Team, sponsor Food Drive Sunday at UUCB. (See above.)
Other Social Justice Opportunities and Information
Ceasefire Walks: Friday nights in Richmond at 7, contact maw.jane@gmail.com.
GRIP: UUCB volunteers prepare and serve lunch to hungry and homeless people at the GRIP Souper Center in Richmond on the fourth Tuesday of every month. Want to volunteer? raywest2@sbcglobal.net. To help with supper at GRIP on fourth Saturdays, contact arielwest@yahoo.com.
Read-Aloud: Volunteers needed for next school year to read aloud at local elementary schools in Richmond and San Pablo. Contact Judy Sam at jssam47@yahoo.com.
