On Juneteenth, Dr. Peggy McIntosh of the Wellesley Centers for Women at
Wellesley College and Gwendolyn VanSant, CEO and Founding Director of
Multicultural Bridge, will join together to illustrate personal testimonies on white
privilege and its impact. They will explore the ways in which power can be used
for social change.

Their joint presentation is free and open to the public, Saturday, June 19, 2021,
1:00 p.m., at the Tyringham Firemen’s Pavilion, Main Road, Tyringham, MA

The event will follow Massachusetts state Covid-19 protocols in place at the time.
The presentation is sponsored by the Tyringham Hop Brook Community Club, an
organization committed to community service, and by Tyringham for Racial
Justice. 

To reserve a place, please send an email by June 14
to hopbrookcommunityclub@gmail.com. (Confirmation emails will be sent.)

Donations, most appreciated, will go to Multicultural BRIDGE, dedicated to
racial justice work and to promoting mutual respect and understanding
among diverse groups. It is minority and women run.

These free will offerings may be made on the day of the presentation in cash or
by personal check payable to Hop Brook Community Club, PO Box 354,
Tyringham MA, 01264, or through your PayPal account by clicking “Send &
Request,” then “Send money” and entering hopbrookcommunityclub@gmail.com.

MCLA Institute for the Arts and Humanities (MCLA-IAH), in collaboration with BRIDGE Inc., Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation (BTCF), the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), and the Berkshire Cultural Asset Network (BCAN), is launching the Art + Accountability Symposium this June. As part of this annual and signature event, MCLA-IAH will host and facilitate a series of Zoom workshops where invited guest speakers will present and engage participants in reflection and discussion. Workshops and discussions will be facilitated to develop tangible action items for participants and their institutions. Featured speakers will explore the topics of community care, public engagement, anti-racist theatre work, addressing regional culture, and experiential arts. This programming is designed to deepen our understanding of what accountability might look like in these spaces.

All programs are free and open to the public, but registration is required. For registration, or to learn more about the MCLA-IAH Summer Symposium, please visit our main event page on the IAH Canvas site: Programs and Events: MCLA Institute for the Arts and Humanities Link Here

Key Dates Include:

• June 1st from 2PM-4PM EST
  Community Care & Public Engagement: What does it mean to create brave spaces?
  Dr. Brea Heidelberg will lead a conversation about creating brave spaces and will engage participants in exploring what constitutes a brave space and discuss common mistakes made in facilitating these spaces.
• June 8th from 2PM-4PM EST
  Anti-Racist Theatre Work: Responding to “We See You White American Theatre”
  This panel discussion, moderated by Gwendolyn VanSant, will feature Dawn Meredith Simmons, Nicole Brewer, representatives from WAM Theatre and Shakespeare & Company, and featured guest Dr. Kimberly Richards from the People's Institute for Survival and Beyond. Panelists will discuss what is required in anti-racism work in theatre, arts and with their sponsors and partners.
• June 15th from 2PM-4PM EST
  Responding to Systemic and Collective Trauma with Community Partnerships: Addressing Culture and Community in a Regional Conversation
  Gwendolyn VanSant (BRIDGE), Quenna Barrett, and Rebecca Martinez (Center for Performance and Civic Practice) will facilitate this dialogue alongside representatives from area cultural organizations to explore the importance of listening and responding to the community as we notice the issues that have emerged within our organizations.
• June 17th from 2PM - 4PM EST
  INSCAPES: Offered by The Mastheads, Sarah Trudgeon, and Tessa Kelly, this workshop will launch a regional campaign inviting a “call and response” creative prompt about Berkshire County from participants. This experience will culminate in a presentational video and several poetry billboards to be featured around Berkshire County throughout the summer.

BRIDGE Membership:
Stay connected, host lunch ‘n learns, receive discounts to trainings, sponsor meaningful work with direct impact on the most vulnerable and marginalized & more! Open subscription

Thank you to all of our Members of 2021-2022! It has been such a pleasure to partner with you to keep our communities & workplaces thriving! Thank you to all of our member organizations!
​
Please think about joining or renewing! Our membership packages are explained here: https://www.multiculturalbridge.org/members.html

10:00-11:30 MLK Day of Service, “Safety & Justice in our Beloved Community”

10:00 Zoom Session: Gather and Welcome;
“Discover the element of good in your enemy. And as you seek to hate him, find the center of goodness and place your attention there and you will take a new attitude.” – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Hate destroys the hater as well as the hated … Because if you hate your enemies, you have no way to redeem and to transform your enemies. But if you love your enemies, you will discover that at the very root of love is the power of redemption. … And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

10:10-10:40 Listen to MLK Speech of I Have A Dream in community

10:45-11:15 Zoom Rooms:

• The Not in Our County pledge- join Gwendolyn for history of the pledge and learn about next steps and ways to hold accountability. Supplies will be available at the Church for pickup- signs, cards and stickers. Send emails asking folks to sign and make plans to deliver their business card, sticker and yard sign. Make social media posts #allhandsin #niot #NiotBerkshires #BRIDGE413 #bridge413
• Valentine Making for Elders - Make Valentine’s for Elders and deliver them to BRIDGE for distribution to Elders by Feb. 14th. Bring Supplies to your Zoom session to make Valentines’ for our local elders.
• Dream Corner - Do the Clouds together. Or post to make Social Media posts for Dream Challenge.
  • **Community challenge: Tell us your dream for 2021. What will you do to get us there in community? Take pictures and post on social media and tag BRIDGE. Find us at BRIDGE413 ,on IG multicultural-bridge and friends of BRIDGE, on Twitter at BRIDGE413, tag us on Facebook. Use hashtags #bridge413 #revdrmlkjr #ihaveadream #allhandsin. Tag us and let us know at BRIDGE your dream ~families and children welcome!
• Tech Support - Tech Support with BRIDGE - BRIDGE Volunteer Jeff Lowenstein will be available in a Zoom room for bilingual tech support in English and Spanish. Come get help with questions like:
  • Help with Zoom (signing on, learning all the features/options)
  • Broadband issues
  • Options for free software
  • General tech support and any other questions!
  • We will work to answer all your questions and will follow up on any issues we can't help with in the moment after the Day of Service.
• Food Drive - First Congregational Church in Great Barrington. Please drop off reusable grocery bags, supplies for COVID safety, hygiene, household items, and culturally relevant & staple foods for diverse communities (increments of 25 is useful to us). We serve 100 families biweekly. You can also donate here to support our mutual aid efforts (please write in "mutual aid support" in the Paypal form), and find more ways to support BRIDGE here.

11:15 Closing (15 min)

12:00-1:00 MLK Program “Safety & Justice in our Beloved Community” - Rev. Forte, Rev. Allman Morton and Rev Letman IV with Gwendolyn VanSant, Stephanie Wright & more:

• Welcome, Safety & Justice in our Beloved Community
• Prayer, Rev Forte
• Song, “Lift Ev’ry Voice”
• Reading from Dr. King, Stephanie Wright
• Perspectives: Rev Allman Morton (5 Min), Rev. Forte (10 Min) and Rev. Letman IV (10 min from Isaiah and Amos), Leigh Davis (5 min-T)
• Silent Meditation, “This Little Light of Mine”
• Community Reflections and Sharing, Stephanie Wright
• Reading of Dr. King, “Loving Your Enemies”, Gwendolyn VanSant
• Generosity & Gratitude, Food Drive
• Song - Benediction, “We Shall Overcome”, Rev Forte
• Closing

2:15-3:00 New Pathways Lab: Listening Session and Community Forum on Safety in Community: Talking through Concerns regarding Hate Crimes and How to Protect our Community
In this New Pathways Lab, we will talk about our rising concerns around safety and justice in our community with District Attorney Andrea Harrington, Director of Community Engagement Bryan House, Assistant US Attorney Scott Garland (Hate Crimes Specialist), Assistant US Attorney Deepika Shukla (Chief of Springfield Office) and Community Outreach Specialist Cara Henderson to discuss safety in our community, what has been threatening it and what we want to do about it? These representatives from our local and regional justice offices will come to listen to community voices and plan for future work alongside our communities and houses of worship.

January 7 | 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm EST

​For more info, click here.

Please check out our Moonlight Mile auction to raise funds to keep our Building Bridges campaigns active and responsive to community needs! 

To start your bidding: click here: https://www.32auctions.com/MoonlightMileBRIDGE2020

​Support us at the auction and let your artsy friends know!

Be a Positive Bystander. Join our #allhandsin campaign! 

9:30 AM - 12:00 PM Saturday #AllHandsIn 

We are asking residents of Great Barrington to join us in speaking to businesses and your neighbors about the hate crimes and other acts of bias and intolerance and to take the pledge with us! It is also a good time to renew your pledge!

Email rsvp@multiculturalbridge.org if you can join us! 9:30 Sign up, receive supplies and Not in our County training. 10:00 AM -12 noon Engagement.

At 9:30AM, there will be a Not in Our County pledge orientation at Town Hall in Great Barrington by Gwendolyn and then from 10AM-12PM, we will be door knocking and asking folks to sign the pledge for business allyship. We also ask for individual pledges for positive bystander commitments in solidarity for the victims affected by the recent hate incidents at the Church.

In the meantime please read up and study our NIOC campaign: here
Please also study up on the national campaign that NIOC is a part of: here

Not In Our Town is a movement to stop hate, racism and bullying, and build safe, inclusive communities for all.  
​
Please make sure you will be following all Covid-19 protocols:

• Please wear a mask
• Please bring your hand sanitizers
• Please follow social distancing by staying 6 feet apart from each other

I hope you all can show up and show out for our communities this weekend! We are all that we have! #Allhandsin #BRIDGE413 #BlackLivesMatter

Please rsvp@multiculturalbridge.org if you plan on attending this Saturday.

This Saturday there is a 2nd annual fundraiser at Mulberry Salon for BRIDGE!

WHAT: Beauty editor sells accumulated inventory at a fraction of retail prices.

WHO: Nars, Dior, Fenty, Chanel, Milk, Kerastase, Bobbi Brown, TONS OF CBD PRODUCTS and more!

WHERE: Mulberry Hair Company, 27 1/2 Rosseter Street, Great Barrington (side street just south of Prairie Whale restaurant)

WHEN: Saturday, October 10th, 12-5pm. ***The sale will take place OUTSIDE, under a tent. To maintain safety precautions, only 3-4 people will be allowed in at a time, but inventory will be restocked throughout the afternoon.

WHY: Because charity has never been more important. All proceeds are going to Multicultural Bridge, a grassroots organization dedicated to advancing equity and justice by promoting cultural competence, positive psychology, and mutual understanding and acceptance.

Cash and credit cards accepted!
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ONE MORE THING: NO MASK, NO ENTRY. If there is a line outside, please practice distancing while you wait. (Or just come back a little later!) WE'LL HAVE HAND SANITIZER ON HAND, TOO.

JUST IN: October 19-23rd. Third annual community collaboration on Statewide Cultural Appreciation Week with the Cultural Proficiency Team of the Massachusetts Court System.
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Our Southern Berkshire District Court Cultural Proficiency Liaison is joining with BRIDGE to run a food drive for our mutual aid Food Sovereignty program as we enter the colder season and the final harvests draw near with less work and still facing a pandemic. We are in week 30 and need all of the support our community can share to continue to serve the 90 families we do.

BRIDGE, BRIDGE Race Task Force and the Southern Berkshire Regional District Court will hold a zoom session to meet members of the justice system and have an introduction, education and dialogue, “A Conversation about Justice & Equity in Berkshire County.”

Tentative Dates/Time Oct. 20th or 23rd 2:30-4 (hold these dates). Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUld-yqqj0jHd26WX2UNcDb9pE_YyidQpXr ​