|
4-Week Anti-Racism Challenge (ARC)
Welcome to WEEK 1: October 6 - 12, 2023
This is your own personal journey. To participate, we ask that you complete at least 3 activities this week. You can use the ARC Tracking tool below to monitor your progress. Choose from the following:
ATTEND: Sign up for our free, 6-week course, “And Justice for All?” on race and the criminal justice system. The class meets in person and over zoom on Tuesday mornings from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. The first class is past but a recording is available. Learn more and register here: "And Justice for All"
WATCH: Brittany Barker, educator, poet and the creative director of Creative Soul House deliver her poem, “The Classroom Before the Revolution”
Watch here: Poem
JOURNAL: Write your personal thoughts on this poem.
VISIT: the statue of YORK on the Louisville’s Belvedere, created by Ed Hamilton
–Read about York, the enslaved man who accompanied Lewis and Clark’s expedition, and his later conflict with William Clark, his enslaver. York, who’d been a huge factor in the success of the odyssey, asked for his freedom upon their return home–so he could join his wife. Learn the story here: York
–Learn about “York” sculptor, Ed Hamilton, who also created the Abraham Lincoln Memorial in Waterfront Park here: Ed Hamilton
READ: Stable, middle-class Black neighborhoods were razed to make room for a white university’s growth. They weren’t the only ones. Although Black people made up about 10% of the US population, “...two-thirds of the 1 million people displaced by eminent domain and urban renewal projects between 1949 and 1973 were Black.”
Displaced Black Citizens
VISIT / SUPPORT: This week, October 1-8, is Louisville Black Restaurant Week. Learn about Black-owned restaurants in Louisville here and check out a business you haven’t tried before!
Black Restaurant Week
WATCH: “The Prosecution of the 16th St. Baptist Church Bombing,” a documentary detailing the events leading up to the Birmingham bombing in 1963 that killed 4 young Black girls in and the long (40-year!), fascinating process of prosecuting the men responsible. 16th St. Baptist Church Bombing
READ: State-run, land grant HBCU’s are owed $13B from their respective states, and the White House is encouraging governors, including Kentucky, to pay up.
Land Grant HBCUs
WRITE: Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack have sent letters to the governors of each state asking them to increase funding to HBCU’s. Join them and send your own letter to Governor Beshear, asking him to address this shortchanging of HBCUs immediately. Here is Gov. Beshear’s contact link:
Gov. Beshear contact
ATTEND: LSURJ’s (Louisville Showing Up for Racial Justice) sponsored webinar
“Beyond Book Bans: Building Power in Public Schools and Libraries” Tuesday, October 10, 2023 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM ET
LSURJ Webinar
WATCH: In 1969, Black citizens weren’t allowed to swim in “white-only” pools. Fred Rogers invited a Black officer to join him in dipping his feet to cool down, breaking the color barrier on live TV. Civil unrest over U.S. pool segregation policies coincided with the airing of the first scene, and many viewers saw it as Rogers speaking out against racism. Rogers is shown in the scene inviting Officer Clemmons to join him in a wading pool for a refreshing foot soak. Rogers offers Clemmons his towel after Clemmons says he doesn’t have one.
Mr. Rogers Pool
CREATE: your own anti-racism activity. If you like, please share it with us at dikerrigan@listenlearnact.org so we can pass the idea on to others.
CONNECT: Invite a friend to the 4-week ARC. Just send them this link to sign up!
Sign up here
Thank you for your commitment.
Debbi and Di
Use the link below to copy or download this ARC Tool to track your progress:
ARC tracking tool.xlsx
| 
