We're moving indoors. Last in-person meeting for 2021 will be this Sunday, November 21. Please use this Zoom link this Sunday and moving forward.
Many of you are interested in the next steps associated with the incident that happened at the Chilmark Community Center summer camp last summer. In response to the October Chilmark select person's meeting on this issue and the Chilmark Town Affairs Council's (CTAC) proposed plan, MV BLM's position was shared in an email and via letters to the editor in both the Vineyard Gazette and MV Times. You can read the statement here.
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Vigil Update
As seasonal folks leave the island, and the days get colder, MV BLM will move to virtual vigils. Our last in-person vigil this year will be on Sunday, November 21.
Moving forward, we will meet the first Sunday of the month at 10:30 through the winter and into early Spring. Please use this Zoom link.
In-person meetings will resume in mid-to late Spring. Look for updates in future newsletters for exact dates.
Thank you to the Chilmark Library for hosting MV BLM each Sunday. Let's send them some love. Please send a donation to the Chilmark Public Library at P.O. Box 180, Chilmark, MA 02535.
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Bring Under-served Black and Brown Youth to the Island
Many ideas were shared at our planning meetings in September. One of them, bringing Black and Brown youth from under-served communities in Pennsylvania to the island is off and running.
Several years ago, Neighborhood First brought Black and Brown youth to the island for a 5-day visit from under-served communities in Bucks County outside of Philadelphia, PA. Participants were mesmerized by the island, as many of us were when we first arrived. They shared their impressions in these two stories in the Vineyard Gazette and the MV Times. Several of the youth were transformed by the experience, helping them visualize a new path forward.
Neighborhood First is a mentoring, monitoring, and guidance program. They promote positive goals and the means to achieve them by teaching the skills necessary to become productive adults. Their deputy director, Walton Mims, continues to lead hundreds of youth involved with the program since the first group visited Martha's Vienyard. "We see a difference in their lives when they are exposed to new life possibilities, new ways of living," said, Mr. Mims.
Changing the trajectory of someone's life is powerful. MV BLM is working to bring Black and Brown youth to the island this summer, but we need your help. Please contact Eric Adams if you'd like to support this program. More details will be shared in upcoming newsletters.
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October 31: John Freedman honored Luke Steward, killed on March 13, 2017 by Euclid police officers outside of Cleveland, Ohio. Watch the vigil video here.
November 7: Dana Nunes honored Iremamber Sykap, killed on April 5, 2021 by Honolulu police officers. Watch the vigil video here.
November 14: Thorpe Karabees honored Fanta Bility, an 8-year old killed by Sharon Hill police on August 27, 2021. Watch the vigil video here.
WE NEED SPEAKERS! Use this resource to find stories of Black women who were killed and amplify their stories.
Your participation in the Sunday vigil keeps it going. Please sign up to present.
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Twelve years ago, DJ Henry's life was tragically cut short by a Pleasantville, NY police officer on October 17, 2010. The DJ Henry Dream Fund, established to honor his legacy, continues to memorialize his life by supporting athletic programming across the country. A ngela and Danroy Henry, DJ's parents and current island residents, are supporting island youth services. Find out more in this recent article.
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Housing Crisis
Housing is one of the most powerful systems used to maintain inequity. Watch this NPR short for an introduction to how it works (or doesn't for many) and read "The Color of Law" by Richard Rothstein for more details.
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Steven Barrier @justiceforstevenbarrier was turning 23 years old on October 23, 2019. He suffered a mental health crisis and was killed by a Stamford, CT police officer.
His mother, Valerie Jaddo, honored her son at "Steven Barrier Day" in Lione Park, Stanford, CT two years after his death. Please support her efforts to find justice.
LEARN: Steven’s family and the Connecticut Legal Rights Project, Inc., brought a case before the CT Federal Courts seeking injunctive relief demanding laws be codified that would require law enforcement respond to psychiatric emergencies with a community-based, non-police mental health response team as the primary responder. The complaint also seeks Justice in accountability for Steven’s death.
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Listen to Shed, a podcast series featuring interviews with islanders working to end systemic racism. Eric Adams leads each discussion using the unique lens of a therapist. Listeners are invited to "shed their old beliefs about race and make room for a new understanding of it's impact and implications."
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