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Ruminations of Things From Last Week

Collage of black actors

Jeff Chang Reminds Flexner Hip Hop was the thing he liked.

I was informed an important book was being re-released while I was planning to watch the new Fred Hampton movie.

Can’t Stop Won’t Stopcan function as the encyclopedia of rap.

Can’t Stop Won’t Stoprelease date was March 16th.

I attended a virtual meeting with community radio producers in which Jeff Chang, who wrote Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, was discussing the 2021 edition of his 2005 book.

BSA Hip Hop 7pm 92.7 / 98.3 wcrsfm.org is my radio show.
http://wesflexner.com/2021/03/12/bsa-hip-hop-3-11-21/

The Ongoing Calamity: US Collective Punishment of the Venezuelan People Must End

Recent statements made by US officials suggest that Washington will continue to pursue a hardline policy on Venezuela. The new Biden Administration, however, needs to urgently rethink its approach.

 

US State Department spokesperson, Ned Price, remarked on February 3 that he “certainly” does not “expect this administration to be engaging directly with (President) Maduro.” Namely, Price expects that the Biden Administration will adhere to the strategy of its predecessor, which is predicated on completely ignoring the current government in Caracas. 

 

Black First? An Intergenerational Dialogue Around Race, Gender Identity, and Sexuality

Details about event

Tuesday, March 16, 5pm, this event will be live-streamed on “Facebook Live”

Join Kaleidoscope Youth Center’s “Speaking Queerly Podcast” for a live discussion on March 16 at 5pm!

“Speaking Queerly” presents “Black First? An Intergenerational Dialogue Around Race, Gender Identity, and Sexuality.”

This event will be hosted by Kaleidoscope Youth Center Deputy Director Karen Hewitt (Ze/Hir/She/Her).

Special Guest:Dr. Terrance Dean (He/Him), Assistant Professor in Black

Studies at Denison University

Special Guest:Dae Dae (Any/All), KYC Youth

We’ll broadcast live right here on Facebook. Follow this event and @KYCOhio!

Hosted by Kaleidoscope Youth Center.

Facebook Event

My recollections of Babachu Spriggs

Two men sitting at a table

I learned yesterday that Babachu Spriggs, a friend of mine with whom I had frequently performed music on Wednesdays at noon at a church in downtown Columbus, has died.

Ohio Sunshine Week: Transparency Team Training

Logo

Tuesday, March 16, 12noon, this on-line event requires advance registration

Join us during Sunshine Week for a training focused on Ohio’s Sunshine Law and how to do a public records request.

This training will be presented by Gary Daniels, ACLU of Ohio.

RSVP for this event by using this link.

Hosted by Common Cause Ohio and League of Women Voters of Ohio.

Facebook Event

Find out what happened at the March Free Press Cyber-Salon

Collage of pictures from salon

The March Free Press Second Saturday Cyber-Salon was hosted by Simply Living, with Chuck Lynd, director of Support Ohio Local Economies (SOLE) as the moderator. Simply Living is a local membership organization that offers the community a way to live simply and sustainably in cooperation with others and with nature. They offer workshops,events, a marketplace and partnerships with businesses and organizations.

See the salon video here.

Anti-Racism Course: Race Matters in the Supreme Court

Supreme Court building

Tuesday, March 9; Tuesday, March 16; Tuesday, March 23; 7-8:30pm; this on-line event requires advance registration

As people of faith, we recognize the existence of many realities and even more so, how those realities are interwoven. The connection between law and race is one of these ever-present truths. Join Political Science Professor and Unitarian Universalist, Howard Tolley, for three 90-minute sessions examining Supreme Court caselaw involving slavery, native American rights, racial discrimination, segregation, mass incarceration, the death penalty, affirmative action, rights of protesters, and qualified immunity for law enforcement personnel.

In this course, taught through UUJAZ [UU Justice Arizona] and UUJO [Unitarian Universalist Justice Ohio], Tolley considers the impact of race, political ideology, legal principles, and personal preference on the selection of Justices and the decisions they reach.

This course is free to all UUJO monthly sustaining donors. If you wish to join but aren’t a donor, you can contribute a suggested donation on a sliding scale. If you aren’t financially able to donate, join us anyway!

No Fair Food Program? “No Wendy’s!” demands OSU student government after unanimously passing resolution

No sign through Wendy's logo

The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) earlier this week unanimously voted to urge the Ohio State University administration not to renew its lease agreement for an on-campus Wendy’s due to the company’s failure to commit to the Fair Food Program, which provides verifiable human rights protections to farmworkers in its supply chain.

The Fair Food Program is “the gold standard for enforcing human rights in the U.S. agricultural system,” declared the USG.

Pioneered by the Florida-based Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), the social responsibility program has been adopted by some of the biggest fast-food chains and supermarkets in the world, including McDonald’s and Walmart, and has a track record second-to-none for eliminating longstanding farm labor abuses ranging from forced labor to sexual assault. 

Wendy’s is the last fast-food giant to reject the Fair Food Program. during a pandemic no less. According to the CIW nearly 90,000 meatpacking workers, food processing workers, and farmworkers have tested positive for COVID-19, as food and agricultural workers have suffered the highest COVID-19 death rates of workers in any occupation. 

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