I have just learned from Rasonia that this event is POSTPONED to Sunday, July 5, same time and same place.
On Sunday, June 28, 2020 at 7:31:42 PM UTC-4, Bill Rubin wrote:
On Sunday, June 28, 2020 at 7:31:42 PM UTC-4, Bill Rubin wrote:
Tracy sent the following announcement from Black Lives Matter -- Hudson Valley seeking leaders to take an active role in facilitating community conversations. Anyone who is interested should email Tracy at thgivens@gmail.com to get training information.
Peace family,
As many of you might know, Dutchess County issued a $200 million bond back in 2016 for building a new jail. At this moment, as we have the momentum to fight for Black lives, we recognize that this is a gross misuse of funds in Dutchess County.
The national call for defunding the police is about addressing the prison-industrial complex as a whole. Police are just one tier of this multi-tier, multi-million dollar industry that disproportionately targets Black and Brown communities for incarceration. This industry has deep roots in education, setting our youth up by taking away crucial funding in schools, after-school programs, and youth employment opportunities.
On July 9th the DC legislature will be voting on how they are going to spend this money. We are at a crucial moment when we need to lift our voices and show that we, collectively, do not want another prison in our community but we want that money reinvested into the community.
We are gathering again. We are congregating again, this time to talk about how this money SHOULD be invested into the community and planning actions to take to ensure that our voices and demands are heard.
We will be gathering Sunday, July 5th, 6pm back at Mansion Square Park. We NEED YOUR HELP to facilitate small group conversations on that day. We will be hosting a prep call on July 2nd from 7pm-8pm so that everyone is prepared to dig in and facilitate the conversation.
Thank you for your time and energy – in solidarity.