| Metro Organizer July 29, 2009 |
Events Southwest LRT Community Meeting Ashesh Barsha, Unending Monsoon: A Danced Response to a World Gone Mad CURA Housing Forum: Planning for Housing on the Central Corridor Organizer Roundtable: Racial Equity Impact Policies Using the Arts as a Tool for Social Analysis and Action in Popular Education and Organizing 2009 Regional Equity Series: Measuring the Racial Impact of Public Policies Resources Organizer Roundtable Resource: Community Organizing in the Suburbs New Conversations About White Privilege Scholarships Available to Central Corridor Stakeholders for Railvolution Conference Video Railvolution of a Community in Transit Articles Right Turns Left: The Adoption of Alinsky's Rules by the Right "Government" is Not a Dirty Word Job Opportunities REAMP - Federal Policy Associate CERTS - Events Programming Coordinator Other opportunities Vote for your favorite photos in the in/stability photo contest Surplus office furniture available To submit an item to the next Metro Organizer, please contact Tracy Babler Event I Southwest LRT Community Meeting 6:30 - 8:30 pm Transit for Livable Communities, an Alliance member group, wants to give you the opportunity to learn more and talk with people in your community about the Southwest Light Rail Transit line. TLC is having a Southwest Light Rail Community Meeting tomorrow. Hennepin County Commissioner Gail Dorfman and Southwest LRT Project Manager Katie Walker will present and answer questions about the Southwest LRT. Event I Ashesh Barsha, Unending Monsoon: A Danced Response to a World Gone Mad September 10 - 13 Ashesh Barsha, Unending Monsoon is a danced response to a world gone mad through the overconsumption of electricity, energy and natural resources. A world premiere, Ashesh Barsha completes Ananya Dance Theatre’s trilogy on environmental justice and explores unanswered questions of reparation, the mismanagement of hurricanes and tsunamis, and a world where human connectivity is lost and indigenous knowledge eroded. The women of Ananya Dance Theatre tell their collective story through a unique combination of Odissi dance, yoga, martial arts, ritualistic movement and street theater. Alliance staff member Alessandra Williams will be performing! Event I CURA Housing Forum: Planning for Housing on the Central Corridor Noon - 1:30 pm The Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) will host its monthly housing forum on Planning for Housing on the Central Corridor, featuring Nancy Homans, policy director for the St. Paul Mayor's Office. Please RSVP by September 16. Event I Organizer Roundtable: Racial Equity Impact Policies Noon - 1:30 pm The Alliance for Metropolitan Stability invites you to this month's Organizer Roundtable on racial equity impact policies. Around the nation, local governments are creating policies and programs to address racial disparities affecting their communities. Here in the Twin Cities, a dedicated coalition has been working with the St. Paul Planning and Economic Development Department to create a racial equity impact policy to promote equitable development within the city of St. Paul. Event I Using the Arts as a Tool for Social Analysis and Action in Popular Education and Organizing 1 - 6 pm This mini-conference presented by the Headwaters Foundation is a gathering for activists, community members, educators and anyone who wishes to expand the use of the arts in improving their work against oppression and violence -- and for democracy, sustainability, justice and peace. Popular education uses various hands-on techniques and methods to encourage attendees to examine their lives critically and take action for social change and liberation. Event I 2009 Regional Equity Series: Measuring the Racial Impact of Public Policies 2 - 5 pm The Alliance for Metropolitan Stability invites you to the third event in our 2009 Regional Equity Series: Measuring the Racial Impact of Public Policies. Racial disparities in our region are growing at an alarming rate – and the way we plan growth and development in the Twin Cities is one of the major contributing factors. Racial equity impact policies are designed to empower people of color by specifically naming and addressing racial disparities that can result from public decision‐making related to development. Resource I Organizer Roundtable Resource: Community Organizing in the Suburbs Last month, Twin Cities organizers came together to discuss specific strategies for community organizing in the suburbs (PDF). Check out the summary of the discussion among presenters Amina Saleh of Family & Children’s Service, Patrick Ness of Catholic Charities Office of Social Justice, JoAnn Tesar of Community Action Partnership of Ramsey & Washington Counties and other organizers about what they have learned about community organizing in the Twin Cities suburbs. Resource I New Conversations About White Privilege The New Conversations About White Privilege tool is designed for individuals and groups who have begun to explore racism and want to learn more about the various facets of the issue. The tool draws on the work of author Dr. Peggy McIntosh, who defines privilege as unearned advantage. Dr. McIntosh writes, “I feel that seeing privilege is the missing link between understanding discrimination of any kind and how to end it. I now believe that white privilege, rather than discrimination, is the central actor in racism.” Resource I Scholarships Available to Central Corridor Stakeholders for Railvolution Conference The Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, with support from the Central Corridor Video I Railvolution of a Community in Transit Check out this video created by Community Stabilization Project about equity issues along the Central Corridor LRT line: Railvolution of a Community in Transit.
Article I Right Turns Left: The Adoption of Alinsky's Rules by the Right Saul Alinsky, the Chicago activist and writer whose street-smart tactics influenced generations of community organizers, most famously the current president, could not have been more clear about which side he was on. In his 1971 text, “Rules for Radicals,” Mr. Alinsky, who died in 1972, explains his purpose: “What follows is for those who want to change the world from what it is to what they believe it should be. ‘The Prince’ was written by Machiavelli for the Haves on how to hold power. ‘Rules for Radicals’ is written for the Have-Nots on how to take it away.” Article I "Government" is Not a Dirty Word Americans’ suspicion toward government waxes and wanes over time. During some of the darkest moments in U.S. history, government was highly esteemed. For example, in the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln spoke reverentially of “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” During the 1930s “the word government could inspire admiration and even awe” as government agents battled infamous criminals and new deal programs provided a ray of hope for impoverished millions. There was a sharp shift in rhetoric regarding government in the 1970s when “public confidence in government dropped precipitously — a phenomenon that people have blamed on everything from Vietnam and Watergate to declining party loyalty to negative campaigning and media sensationalism.” Read more from Jeff Van Wychen at Minnesota 2020. Job Opportunity I REAMP - Federal Policy Associate REAMP is a network of 100+ nonprofit organizations and foundations collaborating to achieve 80 percent reductions of greenhouse gas emissions in the Midwest by 2030. The network is seeking to establish a federal arm to its state and regional work. The federal policy associate will staff REAMP's Federal Connections Task force and be housed at National Wildlife Federation, but will serve the interests of the whole network. Job Opportunity I CERTS - Events Programming Coordinator The Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) are seeking a full-time events programming coordinator (PDF) to help further our mission to catalyze community-scale clean energy projects. CERTs have brought together regional teams and technical resources to assess key opportunities for energy efficiency and renewable energy and are now working to foster local energy projects through networking, education and outreach forums, project planning resources and limited seed grant funding. Opportunity I Vote for your favorite photos in the in/stability photo contest In honor of our 15th anniversary, the Alliance for Metropolitan Stability asked residents of the Twin Cities to send us photos that depict the Twin Cities region through their own eyes. We asked: As a community, what progress have we made? And what work do we have left to do? We received 54 entries into the two contest categories: Metropolitan Stability and Metropolitan Instability. The community will determine the winners of the contest! Please view the photos and vote for your three favorites in each category. Voting closes on September 30. Opportunity I Surplus Office Furniture Available MICAH has surplus office furniture available: desks, chairs, etc. Please contact Jodi Nelson for details at jodi@micah.org or 612-871-8980 x107. To contribute a news item for the next Metro Organizer, please contact Tracy Nordquist Babler at tracy@metrostability.org. Like the Metro Organizer? Donate to the Alliance. Get this from a friend? Subscribe to the Metro Organizer. Alliance for Metropolitan Stability I 2525 Franklin Ave E, Suite 200 I Minneapolis, MN 55406 I 612-332-4471 | |
