"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, "What are you doing for others?'" - MLK Jr.

The Great Barrington Du Bois Legacy Committee and Multicultural BRIDGE invite Berkshire residents of all ages* to join together in a morning of service to honor of the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Register here to volunteer for service activities:
https://goo.gl/forms/7ADflWRE47R5tCgx2

We will meet at the First Congregational Church in Great Barrington by 9:00 am and head out to volunteer activities.

Afterward, we will convene for a traditional interfaith celebration at 12:00 pm, followed by refreshments & community conversation at 1:00pm. (The MLK celebration service is open to all, not just volunteers, so please come for whatever portion of the day you can!)

*Please note that this is a family-friendly event, but children should be accompanied by an adult.

Monday, January 21, 2019
8:30 AM – 11 AM
First Congregational Church
34 Main St, Great Barrington, Massachusetts 01230

Special thanks to Du Bois Legacy Festival sponsors Greylock Federal Credit Union and Berkshire Bank.

 In Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments, Saidiya Hartman examines the social revolution of black intimate life that occurred in the black quarters of New York at the beginning of the twentieth century. Free love, common-law and transient marriages, serial partners, queer relations, cohabitation outside of wedlock and single motherhood were among the sweeping changes that altered the character of everyday life.  In wrestling with the question, “What is a free life?” young black women created forms of intimacy and kinship indifferent to the dictates of respectability, and outside the bounds of law. They cleaved to and cast off lovers, exchanged sex to subsist, and revised the meaning of marriage. Longing and desire fueled their experiments in how-to-live. They refused to labor like slaves or to accept degrading conditions of work. Beautifully written, Wayward Lives narrates the story of this radical transformation of black intimate and social life. It recreates the experience of young black women who wanted an existence qualitatively different than the one that had been scripted for them, and, for the first time, credits them with shaping a cultural movement that transformed the urban landscape.  Through a melding of history and literary imagination, Wayward Lives recovers their radical aspirations and insurgent desires.   [Hartman narrates the story of this radical transformation of black intimate and social life against the grain of the prevailing century-old argument about the crisis of the black family.]

Thank you Stockbridge Tea & Coffee for highlighting BRIDGE's work and supporting our mission! We are proud neighbors and allies with you in equity and justice for all!

Join us for an intensive and interactive cultural competence training,
designed especially for first responders, mental health providers,
safety officials and others working with diverse populations.

We will explore aspects of diversity and culture, discuss bias, unpack barriers and develop empathy for members of our community.

Come and develop judgement free solutions, strategies that you can take back to your workplace and implement in the field.

Training provided by BRIDGE trainers,
Gwendolyn VanSant and Stephanie Wright

​For registration, email adminsupport@multiculturalbridge.org
Registration fee is $25.00 per person, lunch is provided
For questions, call Gwendolyn VanSant 413-394-4305

Join us this summer for a unique opportunity to celebrate the work of a transformative social justice organization creating new connections across the Berkshires and beyond everyday, Multicultural BRIDGE. Please come and show your support for long-standing local Berkshire leaders John Bissell of Greylock Federal Credit Union and Gwendolyn VanSant, Co-Founder of BRIDGE, as they celebrate the legacy and impact of BRIDGE’s first 10 years and map out the next 10 years of our community’s future.
 

Photos by Christina Lane.

Race Amity Day Mini-Conference
Sunday, June 10th BRIDGE office 8:30 AM-5 PM 
Dinner & Movie at 6 PM

We are observing the Statewide Race Amity Day! 
Please come if you care about racial justice and healing, locally and nationally, if you are a Real Talk on Race Graduate; a BRIDGE Race Task Force or TRJ participant!
Talks/workshops will include themes of Uncovering A Path to Race Amity & Healing; Facing Race and Power in the Berkshires; Racial Healing; Poverty and Race; and Keystone Workshop on “The Asian American Perspective on US Racism” with Setsuko Winchester.
Film Screenings, videos, and breaking bread together.
 
RSVP Recommended, Adminsupport@multiculturalbridge.org. 413-394-4305
Please bring floor pillow or folding chairs if you have it!
Free and SJIA Donations welcome: $50 full day; $30 per session; $10 per workshop

Drop in when you can but we will not interrupt sessions. So please be prepared to wait and arrive early for registration.

Session 1
8:30 Registration
9 AM Opening to Amity Day. Centering . Culture Sharing
9:30 AM -10:00 What is Amity Day? What have we gotten right with collective racial justice healing reconciliation and reparations? And where do we need to go?
10:00-10:30 Writing towards Healing with Ari Cameron & Anaelisa
10:30-11:00 Empathy Training in Racial Justice
11:00-12 Noon Guest Speaker: Setsuko Winchester: what can we learn about race/racism from the Asian American Experience? Reading: Counting Asians
12:00-1:00 PM Lunch Hour (open)- meditative Walk
1:00 Registration PM- Session 2
1:15-2:00 silence. Centering. Movement. Culture Sharing. Healing circle
2:00-3:00 Poverty & Race in the Berkshires with Du Bois: tools to address the intersection of poverty and race for a Berkshire Specific (place/culture specific) conversation
3:00-4:00 RealTalk on Race Harmony, Healing and Justice: Questions with Gwendolyn, Christy, Anaelisa Setsuko and Stephanie. Collected questions throughout the day.
4:30-5:30 Accountability and Mobilizing for Justice : Squad Care, Self-Care,
Empathy, assess risk, Alina’s Wrench conversation, & accountability cards.
5:30-6:30 Closing Amity Circle- Music/Drumming with Otha Day

Amity Day finale and Real Talk on Race Reunion
6:30 -7:30 Not in Our County film Discussion and Dinner
Organizers to date: Gwendolyn VanSant, Setsuko Winchester, Stephanie Wright, Christina Daignault, Anaelisa Vanegas with support from Olivia VanSant, Alina Hsu and Anna White. Special guests & Facilitators to be announced including Otha Day!.