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1st Annual Sobriety Pow Wow Hosted by Five Rivers Chataugua

Psychedelic bright hot pink, yellow and blue swirly colors and a Native man dancing with word New Year's Eve Sobriety Pow Wow

Sunday, December 31, 2017, 3:00 PM – 12:30 AM
St. John’s Church, 59 E. Main St., Columbus 43215
Come ring in the New Year old skool style and help support those opposing the Keystone XL Pipeline!!  The proceeds from the 1st Annual Sobriety Powwow Hosted by Five Rivers Chatauqua partnered with Sierra Club Central Ohio will be going to Wakpa Was'te Camp located on Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in Eagle Butte South Dakota.  Grand Entry at 3:00 p.m. Intermission at 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Grand Entry at 8:00 p.m.  

“Call Me Sluggo”: A Life-long Activist Sheds His Slave Name

Black and white photo of a young man with long flowing brown hair with a headband across his forehead holding a baseball bat as if he's about to swing

Enough is enough. Especially when it comes to a name.

Many of you have undoubtedly faced a crisis or two about your own. It can come from anywhere, like changing (or NOT) your family name when getting married. Or dumping the curse of one you never liked.

Famous examples abound. The great Texas-born classical pianist Van Cliburn was in fact Harvey Lavan Cliburn. Lady Gaga is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. Kirk Douglas was Issur Danielovitch. Marilyn Monroe came from Norma Jean Mortenson. Tony Curtis had been Bernard Schwartz. John Wayne was Marion Mitchell Morrison.

You get the picture.

When I was born in Boston 72 years ago this New Year’s Eve, my mom made my father promise not to name me “Harvey.” Dad’s father, who’d just passed away, was Herschel. So the “H” was unavoidable. But there were certainly better choices. She never forgave him. Me either.

My middle name is Franklin, as my parents were big FDR fans. As an historian, I like it for Ben.

Wasserman means “Aquarius” or Water Man in German. I’m good with that.

But “Harvey”?

The rabbit in the Jimmy Stewart movie was in fact a real-life “Pooka”, a Celtic spirit.

Rise Up! Shoulder to Shoulder for the Equal Rights Amendment Cyber-Event

The words Rise Up! Should-to-shoulder equal rights amendment against a purple background and a silhouette of people below raising their hands and fists in the air

Dec 30, 2017 at 7 PM to Jan 12, 2018 at 10 PM
On your phone or computer
THIS IN AN ONGOING EVENT! In honor of Dr. Alice Paul, ERA Action has launched "RISE UP! SHOULDER-TO-SHOULDER FOR THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT". This virtual Social Media event will be an ***ONGOING EVENT UNTIL WOMEN HAVE ACHIEVED CONSTITUTIONAL EQUALITY***. On July 21, 1923, Dr. Paul unveiled the amendment at the 75th Anniversary of the first Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York.

It was quite fitting that Alice chose this day to introduce her amendment as she realized the event was not only a day to celebrate the victory of the long, hard fought battle to gain the vote for women, but the beginning of the next phase for the movement - to obtain full Constitutional equality.

As Alice famously said: "We shall not be safe until the principle of equal rights is written into the framework of our government.”

U.S. corporations cash in on tax bill, throw employees a bone

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has inspired a wave of corporate largesse. When Congress passed the tax bill on December 20, AT&T announced that it would give $1,000 bonuses over the holidays to 200,000 of its U.S. employees. The largest telecommunications company in the world by revenue, AT&T was a vocal supporter of the tax bill, which lowers the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%.

Other companies were quick to jump on the PR bandwagon. Comcast gave $1,000 bonuses to over 100,000 employees. Fifth Third announced a $15 minimum hourly wage across the company and gave out $1,000 bonuses to more than 13,500 of its employees.

2017 Citywide Kwanzaa Celebration

The words Kwanzaa 2017, December 26th - January 1 Columbus Ohio

December 26, 2017 - January 1, 2018
King Arts Complex. 867 Mt. Vernon Ave.
We are excited to announce the 2017 Citywide Kwanzaa Celebration. There will be seven days of activites for everyone to enjoy. It's that time of year when we come together to celebrate the principles of Kwanzaa and our accomplishments this year!

Please visit our website at https://columbuskwanzaa365.com/ to learn about the Pre-Kwanzaa and Kwanzaa events that will be taking place for our children and families. 

Stand Up for Palestinian Children's Human Rights - Ask Your Rep. to Support HR 4931

Foreground has a dark skinned man holding as assault rifle in the background two military men with rifles walking toward a building

From the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness:  Stand Up for Palestinian Children's Human Rights - Ask Your Rep. to Support HR 4931.  On November 14, 2017, Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) introduced a bill to prevent U.S. tax dollars from paying for human rights violations against Palestinian children in Israeli military detention.  The Promoting Human Rights by Ending Israeli Military Detention of Palestinian Children Act (H.R.

Get involved in Central Ohio Worker Center in 2018!

Several people smiling and standing in rows facing the camera with their fists in the air

The COWC has a bold vision for 2018 that includes: placing immigrant workers in good jobs, stopping deportations, advancing a wage theft ordinance, and much more. If you share our vision for social justice in Columbus, we would love for you to join one of our three working groups.

·         The Immigrant Justice Committee (IJC) advances immigrant rights values, and is involved in providing trainings, creating deportation defense campaigns, and supporting coalition building throughout Ohio.

·         The Worker Justice Committee (WJC) advances worker rights values, and is involved in building a relationship with the labor movement, processing wage theft cases, connecting immigrants and non-unionized workers to fair jobs, and more.

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