June 2021 – NAACP New Bedford

Juneteenth 2021 at the NAACP New Bedford

On Saturday, June 19th, 2021 the NAACP New Bedford branch, in cooperation with Collective 4 Change, celebrated Juneteenth from Noon until 5:00pm at the branch office, 95 Cedar Street in New Bedford. The celebration was sponsored by Senator Mark Montigny's Children's Equality and Empowerment Fund and Saturday marked the second official Juneteenth observance in the Commonwealth, having been signed into law by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker on Juneteenth of last year. The celebration included complementary cultural and ethnic food, beverages, and frozen treats. Attendees enjoyed community performances, African libations, and a children's corner. Give-a-ways were a staple of the events....

Summer pause

The NAACP New Bedford branch will be on Summer break from July 1st through August 31st. No branch or executive committee meetings will take place over the Summer, although committee meetings may be called as chairs deem necessary.

Dartmouth, it’s time to retire the mascot and logo

[caption id="attachment_2328" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Maulian Dana speaking at Skowhegan, Maine school board meeting, March 8, 2019. Photo by Amelia Tuplin, Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0.[/caption] With the author's permission, this post combines two separate articles in the Dartmouth High Spectrum written by Assistant Editor Avary Amaral. Ms. Amaral is also a member of the NAACP New Bedford Youth Council. The views in this essay are Ms. Amaral's alone and do not represent those of the DHS Spectrum. Introduction This past year, despite COVID, multiple active shooters across the country, Asian hate, and the death of 212 people by police issued...

Reading Douglass Together

The New Bedford Historical Society is hosting a reading of Frederick Douglass' powerful speech, "What, to the slave, is your Fourth of July?" The reading will take place on July 1st from 6-8pm at the Seamen's Bethel at 15 Johnny Cake Hill. If you would like to join the reading, contact the Historical Society at 508-979-8828 or email info@historicalsociety.org. The text of Douglass' speech follows the flyer. On July 5,1852, Frederick Douglass delivered the following speech in Rochester, New York. It is a fiery reproach of American independence — "your 4th of July" not "ours" — demanding that White America...

NAACP

American book-burners

1933 - a member of the SA throws confiscated books into the bonfire during the public burning of "un-German" books on the Opernplatz in Berlin. The New England Area Conference of the NAACP (NEAC) is alarmed by recent attempts to censor the teaching of American history and punish those who teach it. Whitewashing history, pushing a revisionist national-patriotic curriculum that refuses to acknowledge the crimes of history, book banning, book burning, and punishing truth-tellers and teachers — the world has seen this too many times before. NEAC issued the following statement: "Many states throughout the country with political leanings to...

Police

Too Blue

Citizens for Juvenile Justice (CfJJ) has released its new report: Too Blue: A Vision for Non-Police Responses to Community Incidents in Boston The report aims to answer two questions: What incidents do the BPD respond to; and What types of incidents could be handled more efficiently and effectively by non-police alternatives to meet community need? The Boston Police Department (BPD) is tasked with responding to a wide variety of incidents and situations, many of which fall well beyond core law enforcement responsibilities. The report divides these incidents into six broad categories, each of which represents a different type of community...

New Bedford celebrates Juneteenth

[caption id="attachment_2269" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Houston, 1880 - the first Juneteenth celebration[/caption] What is Juneteenth? Historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. has written an excellent overview of the history of Juneteenth, first celebrated in 1880 by thirty-one people in Houston's Fourth Ward. Sometimes called "Black Independence Day," Juneteenth commemorates the belated emancipation of slaves who were freed only two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln's proclamation — an emancipation denied until federal troops actually liberated the slave state of Texas on June 19, 1865. Juneteenth is now a state holiday in Massachusetts and a contender for a future federal holiday. Juneteenth...

UIA Community Education Forum Survey

Our friends at United Interfaith Action of Southeastern MA have been conducting Education Community Forums involving the New Bedford Public Schools. If you have not done so already, please offer your feedback on the Forums and share your interest in next steps of action at the following link: Community Forum Feedback & Next Steps Form: https://forms.gle/9caCHdubcMEjbofy5 If you have not completed their Funding Survey for NBPS, please do so. Feel free to share this funding survey with other New Bedford parents, students, educators, and community members, in order to hear back from as many people as possible on how the...

NAACP New Bedford General Body Meeting June 17 @ 7pm

NAACP New Bedford General Body Meeting Thursday, June 17th, 7-8:00pm Join Zoom Meeting https://umassd.zoom.us/j/96392796366?pwd=SzA5ZzY0T3pLTmE4VU82WmRaM0FOUT09 Meeting ID: 963 9279 6366 Passcode: 1908 One tap mobile +13017158592,,96392796366#,,,,*1908# US (Washington DC) +13126266799,,96392796366#,,,,*1908# US (Chicago) Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 876 9923 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 963 9279 6366 Passcode: 1908 Find your local number: https://umassd.zoom.us/u/aLRihQeYm

Legislation

Fair Share Amendment to be on 2022 ballot

On Wednesday night the Massachusetts legislature voted 159 to 41 to put the Fair Share Amendment on the 2022 ballot. The initiative was shepherded through the legislature by state Representative Jim O'Day and Senator Jason Lewis. The initiative would impose a 4% surtax on household income of more than $1 million dollars. This is income — not assets. So even owning a million dollar house would not trigger the additional tax. It is estimated that only a sixth of one percent of all Massachusetts residents would be affected by the amendment. Massachusetts currently has a flat tax of 5%. The...