Hartford Welcomes Immigrants and Refugees

Hartford Public Library's Toolkit for Welcoming and Supporting New Arrival Immigrants
(Hartford Public Library image)

Scared, scammed, stressed, and searching. That's how many of my immigrant and refugee friends feel. 

Scared because America's current political climate fosters fear of the stranger, and rejection of minorities.

Scammed because too often immigrants and refugees coming from authoritarian and repressive countries don't know whom to trust. They get ripped off by intimidating imposters posing as law enforcement agents, government officials, or legitimate businesses whose aim is to rob them of their money and possessions.  

Stressed because they feel alone, exposed, unprotected, and unwelcome, not knowing whom to turn to for assistance which ranges from where to shop, how to navigate transportation, where to receive medical treatment, how to find a job, or where to secure sound legal advice, among many others. 

Searching because they want answers, guidance, support, and much needed acceptance and encouragement from their local community.

So how do we answer these cries for help? 

Become a welcoming community, and follow Hartford Public Library's lead.

Hartford is a Welcoming City 

Having worked several years for the City of Hartford, as well as having worked with many non-profits in Hartford's neighborhoods, I've seen a lot, heard a lot, done a lot, and learned a lot about Hartford's new arrivals, especially in the city's Asylum Hill neighborhood. Hartford is a welcoming community. Mayor Luke Bronin and City of Hartford leadership have made that emphatically clear. Asylum Hill is representative of the city's many neighborhoods in extending its welcoming arms to immigrants and refugees. Most recently it opened its Asylum Hill Multicultural Resource Corner at Catholic Charities Asylum Hill Family Center to serve all neighborhood residents, particularly newcomers.

Yet, long before the current social and political turmoil one organization in particular, the Hartford Public Library, invested significant resources to become a leading light and steady hand in supporting Hartford's newcomers. Encouraged in recent years by innovative CEOs Louise Blalock, Matthew Poland, and currently Bridget Quinn-Carey, Hartford Public Library has achieved a national reputation for its immigration and citizenship programs. So much so that it enabled Homa Naficy, the library's Chief Adult Learning Officer and former Connecticut Immigrant of the Year Award recipient, and her team to implement Hartford Public Library's immigrant support initiatives. As a result of her leadership, she was chosen a 2013 Champion of Change by The White House.

Celebrating Immigrant Diversity and Cultural Contributions

Follow Hartford Public Library's Lead

As a guide to following Hartford Public Library's lead, the information offered below is excerpted from the Library's website. Please follow the links as cited for detailed information on the following points.

1. Build Networks of Trust (Link)

Strategy 1: Recruit and train volunteers to serve as Cultural Navigators. These mentors are integral to easing the transition of newly arrived immigrants into their home city, Hartford.

Strategy 2: Build coalitions among key stakeholders. The Immigrant Advisory Group (IAG) serves as a city-wide vehicle for stakeholders to communicate current immigration issues and share best practices with each other. It is also a forum for participants to learn about immigrant cultures and experiences. 

Strategy 3: Engage immigrants and the receiving community in Community Dialogues on topics of mutual concern. There are various approaches to this, but all lead to a plan of action. Hartford Public Library has piloted two approaches: City Wide and Neighborhood.

Strategy 4: Bridge cultures through facilitated book group discussions and films that portray the immigrant experience and its often complex cross-cultural dynamics. 

Strategy 5: Foster the value that regardless of where you come from, Hartford welcomes you. Follow the steps in We Belong Here, the library's toolkit for welcoming and supporting new arrival immigrants.

2. Raids & Enforcement Actions (Link)

1. ICE Detained Parent Rights English Spanish 

2. Nine Ways To Protect Yourself / Nueve maneras de protegerse

3. What to do if you are stopped by Police, Immigration Agents, or FBI Arabic English French Spanish

4. Know Your Rights English Spanish

5. American Library Association opposes new administration policies... Learn More

6. Hartford Public Schools Protect Immigrant Families Learn More

3. Legal Help (Link)

Hartford Public Library (HPL) Downtown Branch (500 Main Street) is recognized by the US Department of Justice, Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) to offer legal advice by its BIA accredited representatives. Only Attorneys or BIA Accredited Representatives can provide legal advice. Notary publics, businesses, immigration consultants are NOT able to give immigration legal advice. THE WRONG HELP CAN HURT!

Follow the Legal Help link above for more details.

4. Area Immigration Service Providers (Link)

5. Refugee Resettlement and Background Information (Link)

Foyer Mural Welcoming Hartford Public Library Patrons

Closing Thoughts

There are many agencies and organizations providing much needed support to immigrants and refugees, as well as support to advocates and volunteers who sponsor them. However, it is clear to me that America's current social and political environment makes it imperative to engage more people in understanding the plight of immigrants and refugees. It's critical to providing the necessary care essential to embrace them into our lives, our communities, and our country.

The inscription on the Statue of Liberty reads: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Let's live our American ideals. Let's welcome the stranger.  

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photos by Don Shaw, Jr. 

A Welcome Resource

Asylum Hill Multicultural Resource Corner Grand Opening January 26, 2017 at
Catholic Charities' Asylum Hill Family Center in Hartford, CT

"What a striking contrast between what we're doing in this city, and this neighborhood versus what's going on in Washington. Some people build walls. In this state and this community we embrace people," proclaimed Connecticut State Representative Matt Ritter at the Asylum Hill Multicultural Resource Corner ribbon cutting ceremony on January 26, 2017.

Ritter's comments captured the spirit behind the Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association (AHNA) Welcoming Committee's determined drive to establish a community resource to welcome and support all Asylum Hill residents, with a specific focus on new arrival immigrant and refugee families.

"The opening of the Resource Corner marks an important occasion for all neighborhood residents seeking information and assistance. By launching the Resource Corner, the Welcoming Committee has taken an important step toward establishing a multicultural center in Asylum Hill," said Jennifer Cassidy, Asylum Hill community leader and Multicultural Center Steering Committee chair.  Located at 60 Gillett Street in Hartford, the Resource Corner represents a true community collaboration between AHNA, the Library, Catholic Charities' Asylum Hill Family Center, and the UConn Graduate School of Social Work. 

 

       Jennifer Cassidy, Georges Annan-Kingsley, 

State Representative Matt Ritter and Moureen Bish (L-R) 

cut the ribbon opening the 

Asylum Hill Multicultural Resource Corner

In the summer of 2013, the Welcoming Committee was established through the combined efforts of AHNA and the Hartford Public Library to address the pressing need "to reach out to and welcome new arrival immigrant and refugee families living in Asylum Hill -- many of whom initially experience culture shock and feelings of isolation," according to Nancy Caddigan, Hartford Public Library's Intercultural Liaison, and Welcoming Committee chair. "This is vital because at least 30% of the Asylum Hill resident population is made up of immigrants and refugees hailing from such countries of origin as Nepal, Togo, Peru, Sri Lanka, the Ivory Coast, Iraq, the Republic of Congo, Burma, Somalia and Ethiopia." 

Caddigan further explained "One of the major unmet needs identified at early Welcoming Committee sponsored community activities and meetings was a lack of a designated meeting space for residents of Asylum Hill to come together to share and participate in civic, social, and cultural activities that would strengthen connections between neighbors, and make those new to the neighborhood feel welcome." 

Jennifer Cassidy (L), Georges Annan-Kingsley (third from right) and Liz Gustafson (R)
welcome Roger Rugina, James Rugina, and Benedict Muliro from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Benjamin Simpini from Togo.

In an immediate effort to more specifically identify Committee priorities, the Library sought and received a grant from the national organization Welcoming America. The grant  proved invaluable. It provided the opportunity to conduct a total of seven critical focus groups in fall 2014 in which almost 200 Asylum Hill residents and stakeholders participated, aided by interpreters. Participants shared their suggestions and ideas of what they envisioned taking place in a multicultural center which included such things as community meetings, weddings and celebrations, ethnic cooking classes,  foreign language instruction, and student tutoring, as well as a resource center for referrals to essential health, housing, legal and employment services. 

Recognizing that significant funding and sponsorship would be required to establish a full-scale multicultural center,  the committee set its sights on addressing the immediate needs of new arrivals. The idea of establishing a small resource facility to provide much needed support and referral services to assist families in acculturating to their new community germinated quickly. The immediate objective would be to ease families' struggles in getting their basic health, education and human services needs met. The agreed first step would be to pursue setting up a Multicultural Resource Corner staffed by an intern and volunteers from the Welcoming Committee. Soon the UConn Graduate School of Social Work, and Catholic Charities joined the effort as enthusiastic partners to make the Corner a reality.

The School of Social Work jumped at the opportunity when approached by Cassidy with the idea for a hands-on internship to help at the Resource Corner. Graduate student Liz Gustafson came on board immediately. Next, Cassidy and Welcoming Committee member Georges Annan-Kingsley scoured the neighborhood for another partner with a suitable location to house the Resource Corner. A willing and generous champion shortly emerged in Moureen Bish, director of Catholic Charities' Asylum Hill Family Center. Bish took the idea to her corporate leadership who fully embraced the proposal. The Family Center's location in the heart of Asylum Hill at 60 Gillett Street was an ideal fit.

Moureen Bish (R) welcoming the AHNA Multicultural Resource Corner to
its new office at Catholic Charities' Asylum Hill Family Center

At the Resource Corner dedication, Bish expressed a warm welcome to the AHNA initiative. "We are happy to have you. What we do here [at the Family Center] is work with families, enrich families' lives, and strengthen families; so to be able to provide this [additional] service to the newest families in the neighborhood, we are super, super happy." Bish continued saying she was "pleased with the effort that's gone into making this a reality. Our multiplicity of Family Center services are open to the Multicultural Resource Corner -- all our services are at their disposal."  

Georges Annan-Kingsley speaking at the Resource Corner dedication

Welcoming Committee member and Asylum Hill resident Georges Annan-Kingsley (a medical refugee from Côte d'Ivoire) spoke about the long-term need for a full fledged multicultural center. "When I came here, alone at first without my family, this neighborhood became my family. Through the work of the Welcoming Committee, we found out it [would be] good if we can have a place where those people coming from some place else can meet together as a family and keep [their] culture. This is what the framework is for creating a multicultural center where people can preserve and share their culture, and be proud of their culture -- and broaden American culture."

Jennifer Cassidy chats with Fouad Abbood a 2014 refugee from Iraq
and former security services interpreter

Lar Pwe Paw (Burma) and Nayomi Dasanayke (Sri Lanka)
share a moment at the Resource Corner Dedication   

With the launch of the Multicultural Resource Corner, the Asylum Hill Neighborhood Associations' Welcoming Committee has taken the vital first step toward its longterm goal of establishing a multicultural center open to all residents. Right now the focus is rightly where it should be -- providing residents with a guiding hand toward critical basic health, education and human services needed to succeed.    

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com


Don Shaw, Jr. photos

Marching on Washington: A Voice from the Crowd

"Lifting up others as we rise."

An estimated 3.3 million people in cities across the United States marched on January 21, 2017 - - an impressive number to be sure. So it's a high probability you know of at least someone who did. I know many.

Kate Mason marched on Washington. Here's Kate's reflection about the Women's March on Washington.

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Marching on Washington: A Voice from the Crowd

By Kate Mason

I've really enjoyed hearing and seeing about people's experiences at the Women's March yesterday, and wanted to share some of what I saw in Washington, DC.

My mom and I joined a group of people from Connecticut and took buses down to DC for the day; we left at 1 a.m. early Saturday and got back around 3 a.m. Sunday morning. Our bus parked at RFK Stadium…because Metro stations were already overwhelmed …we walked the three miles to the rally site.

L-R: Liz, Ginny (my mom), me

Most yards that we walked past had signs with MLK, Jr. quotations prominently displayed. We never got close enough to see the rally speakers—or even one of the Jumbotrons farther away from the stage—but we got to be part of the crowd.

Being in that crowd, I was touched by the multiple feminisms and messages I saw on display. Many signs were anti-Trump, but I didn't see one sign or hear one chant disparaging Trump voters. People's signs talked about immigrant rights, Black Lives Matter and anti-racism, reproductive rights, transgender rights, healthcare, environmental justice, and more. A huge number of signs explicitly referenced intersectionality. This wasn't only about self-empowerment; these signs and chants exemplified one of the core values of feminism: lifting up others as we rise. I can't think of a more loving message to share, or a more perfect rebuke to the spiteful, self-promoting rhetoric that the current president often uses.

I was touched by the patience and peacefulness of the protest. Conditions were often uncomfortable, and it was frustrating not to always know where we were going or who was speaking, but people handled it with grace. The most tension I ever saw was in the line for port-o-potties—people waiting an hour or more to pee can get a little grouchy—but even there was camaraderie and cooperation (people offering to hold each other's signs & bags so that they could get in and out of the bathroom as quickly as possible).

With my friend Caitlin (left)

Skeptics may look at the march and ask, "How do you expect this to accomplish anything? You need to come together around a single issue." I agree that targeting specific issues will be important in the months and years to come, but there was something incredibly powerful in seeing such a diverse coalition of people and goals come together in this one space. And I'd also like folks to remember that moments when social movements make progress—like the 1960s—often see progress on multiple fronts, made possible by different movement groups learning from and supporting one another (think of Civil Rights, Women's Liberation, Gay Liberation, and other movements of the 1960s and surrounding years). Being strategic and organized about our demands for social change is important, but the claim that we must coalesce around a single goal is a false choice.

Lastly, I was impressed by the work I saw people doing to build coalitions and be better allies. I saw men amplifying and deferring to women's voices; I saw white people carrying signs for racial justice; I saw citizens marching on behalf of immigrants and undocumented residents; etc. This isn't to say that everyone did this well, and it isn't to give privileged folks a "cookie" for being decent. And I've heard stories through my social networks about some people who really weren't good allies, and some folks of color who were excluded and/or talked over. I didn't personally witness that happening, but I absolutely believe that it did.

Feminism is a work in progress. Social justice is a work in progress. Allyship is a work in progress. Let's appreciate the good from yesterday, name and improve on what wasn't good, and remember that our work isn't done. The marches yesterday demonstrated some very fertile ground for social justice work, and I can't wait to see what we grow in it."

Kate Mason is an assistant professor of Sociology and Women's & Gender Studies at Wheaton College in Massachusetts. Her areas of scholarly teaching and research are gender, social inequality, health, and the body.

Walking the Interfaith Path with Sami Aziz

Imam Sami Abdul Aziz presenting his sermon at the
First Congregational Church of Granby CT Sunday service.

What's the difference between a Sunni and a Shia? What are Islam's principle beliefs and practices? Is it really a religion of peace? What is Ramadan, and why do Muslims fast? Is there really a chapter in the Quran about Mary? Is it true that Islam recognizes Jesus, Adam, Noah, Moses and Abraham as prophets?  

Want to know the answers to these and the multitude of other questions you may have about Islam? Imam Sami Abdul Aziz, founder of the Islamic consulting firm Common Ground Services, would welcome the opportunity to explain Islam, and answer any and all queries you have.

Passionate about educating others to fight ignorance, hatred, and fear of Muslims, Sami and his consulting team speak throughout Connecticut spreading the message of peace, which is at the core of Islam. Sami spread his message Sunday, January 22, 2017, partnering with his wife Vjosa Qerimi-Aziz, vice president of Common Services Consulting, when they participated in First Congregational Church of Granby CT's church service, and presented their introductory Islam 101 during the after service lunch.  Church members enthusiastically welcomed them.

Sami and Vjosa are on a mission -- a mission to ensure Muslims and Islam are understood and accepted, not merely tolerated (and certainly not rejected outright), as part of our diverse, multicultural United States.

Vjosa Qerimi-Aziz reading from the Quran 19:16-34.

Sami is an American. His background is extensive. He serves as Imam for three organizations: PrayerSpark.com, a global interfaith service, Lighthouse for Humanity, and the Bloomfield Muslim Community Center. Additionally, he is Muslim chaplain at Wesleyan and Quinnipiac universities. And to make sure he has no spare time, Sami is a Doctor of Ministry candidate in Islamic Studies at Hartford Seminary.

Rev. Ginny McDaniel  and Vjosa Qerimi-Aziz, with Imam Sami Aziz in the
background presenting Islam 101, at First Congregational Church of Granby CT

Their messages about Muslims and Islam, along with the their plea that "we are just like you, patriotic Americans wanting to live in peace and harmony," left us with greater understanding of our uniting similarities. 

Communication, collaboration and co-operation are the pillars of a strong, sustainable, peaceful community. Reach out to Sami. He'll answer your call.

Assalamu alaikum; peace be upon you.

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RdTruckStonecatcher.com

My Friend Needs a Kidney Transplant

Georges Annan-Kingsley with one of his art works displayed at an Asylum Hill art show

Georges Annan-Kingsley is my friend. As a long persecuted political refugee from Côte d'Ivoire, Georges suffered chronic, stress-induced hypertension causing his kidneys to fail. After a long, courageous bureaucratic struggle to escape western Africa via Ghana, aided by the French consulate, Georges received medical refugee status in the United States. He arrived in near fatal condition. He was saved by immediate access to medical attention. 

His life is interrupted three times a week with grueling dialysis sessions necessary to keep him alive. With his disability he's barely able to muster the strength to help raise his family. Because his abilities are diminished he is limited in following career pursuits and engaging in community life. He's an accomplished artist (he has a painting on display at the White House), teacher, radio host, and Asylum Hill community leader championing the acculturation of arriving refugees and immigrants into this thriving Hartford, CT neighborhood. But for long-term survival Georges needs a kidney transplant. Despite his struggles, he keeps a positive, constantly smiling attitude. George has hope.

Georges Annan-Kingsley hosting his show on GhanaBeats Radio

Georges' way of life is the norm for all in need of a kidney transplant. Like many of our friends, family, colleagues, and the millions of people we will never know, kidney disease has a fierce grip on their lives. Its causes are many, ranging from genetic predisposition, diabetes, hypertension, and insulin resistance to lifestyle causes such as physical inactivity, poor diets, and obesity.

So what can we do about it?

We can follow Georges' lead. Georges is championing another cause, the urgent need for the healthy people among us to become Living Donor Champions.

"A Living Donor Champion is someone who helps spread the story of a loved one in need of a living kidney donor. The Champion helps share their story and raise awareness about kidney disease, transplantation, and living kidney donation. The goal is to find a potential living donor for their loved one." 

Please read the brochure below and consider making a life changing difference by becoming a Living Donor Champion. 

If you would like to talk with Georges directly, which he is willing to do, please reply to my blog with your contact information. I will forward it to him.

Thank you.

The Living Donor Champion Program

Photos by Don Shaw, Jr.
"Champions Needed" flyer provided by Georges Annan-Kingsley

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

"What Shall I Do With These Hands Of Mine?"

Dave Gunning performing at the Salmon Brook Music Series
November 4, 2016

"What shall I do with these hands of mine?" It's a universal question each one of us must answer.  

Some hands have held the world together
Some hands have fought wars forever
Tell me what shall I do with these hands of mine 

Some hands have blessed a million people
Some hands have helped free the world from evil
So tell me what shall I do with these hands of mine

So sang Nova Scotian troubadour Dave Gunning as he began his inspiring rendition of These Hands to an already mesmerized audience, which later joined in as he led us through the chorus:

What shall I do with these hands of mine
What shall I do with these hands of mine
The world could use a hero of the human kind
So tell me what shall I do with these hands of mine

Gunning performed at the Salmon Brook Music Series in Granby, CT on November 4, 2016, and to the series' loyal fans he made a lasting impression. "It's been a month and I've listened to his CDs every day since his concert!" exclaimed a friend. I have, too. Every day!

"Gunning is the next big thing in the True North of Song, an artist as compelling, as assured and attentive to every nuance of the writing process, as Lightfoot, Cockburn and Stan Rogers before him,” acclaimed the Toronto Star.

He's fun, he's uplifting, he's full of hope. Gunning's music offers a compelling voice of conscience with a call to action, accompanied by infectious, humor-laced heart-warming stories of his life growing up in Nova Scotia.

"As a fervent hockey fan, Gunning was also thrilled to win the CBC’s hotly-contested Hockey Night In Canada Song Quest in 2014 with A Game Goin’ On, a co-write with David Francey," as highlighted on his website.

Gunning's Sing It Louder, "a tribute to Pete Seeger," is a song with lyrics as compelling as These Hands:

Across the valleys and up through these hills 
There's a feeling all over this land   
That if we stand and rise together 
There is change within our power   
I am preaching to the choir to sing it louder  
I am preaching to the choir to sing it louder

We need his voice. We need his inspiration. We need his hope.

Listen again to another impassioned version of These Hands sung at a fund raiser for the IWK Children's Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

We must answer his question -- what shall we do with these hands of ours? And while we do, we want Dave to return to Granby. And soon!

What shall we do when he returns?

We shall pack the house, and sing it louder!


Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photograph by Don Shaw, Jr.

A Pathway Opens

Immigrant Career Pathways graduates celebrate with ESL instructor Gail Rosin (far left)
and Pathways Program Coordinator Jayna Velez-Molina (far right back row).

November 10, 2016.

It's graduation day.

Graduation day for the inaugural class of Hartford Public Library's Immigrant Career Pathways introductory food service program, a collaboration with Hartford Public Schools' Food & Child Nutrition Services.

Nine Hartford immigrants celebrated completion of sixty hours of ESL (English as a Second Language) classes and thirty-six hours of a hands-on internship in a Hartford public school cafeteria preparing them for food service careers. The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving (HFPG) funded program offers Hartford's recent arrivals an opportunity to successfully enter the workforce with knowledge, experience and skills.

Managed by Jayna Velez-Molina, Pathways Program Coordinator, this collaboration extends Hartford's welcoming hand to immigrants seeking a career opportunity. ESL instructor Gail Rosin's classes introduce students to food service terminology and the basics of what constitutes good food service practice. But it requires more than classroom instruction. Practical application is critical.

An excited  Maria Vasquez displays her 

Immigrant Career Pathways Certificate of Program Completion 

presented by Gail Rosin (left) and Jayna Velez-Molina (right)

Lonnie Burt, the Hartford Public Schools' Food & Child Nutrition Services Director, provides each student with a thirty-six hour on-the-job-training internship in one of the school system's fifty-two school cafeterias. "It's a great way to provide training to help immigrants get ahead. Additionally, it introduces diversity into the school system's cafeterias, and offers the potential to provide cultural food options reflective of the community," Burt said. "It's also a winning way for the school system's food services program to identify potential employees for job openings which occur routinely," she added.

In the future, today's graduates can further their careers by taking an advanced class, also funded by HFPG, for experienced food service workers. Taught by Trish Lawson, the school system's Field Manager for Food & Child Nutrition Services, students learn the National Restaurant Association's ServSafe sanitation standards, and apply them through school cafeteria internships, as well. It's required training for the national food protection exam to become a QFO - a qualified food operator. In Connecticut at least one person per food service establishment that prepares and serves food must have this important certification. Thirteen other students who just completed this advanced class, which requires another thirty-six hour internship, took the ServSafe exam on November 8th and are awaiting their results.

Left to right Trish Lawson, Lonnie Burt and Gustavo Sanchez 

celebrate Mr. Sanchez's graduation.

A combined total of twenty-two immigrants, nine in the introductory course and thirteen in the advanced course, who arrived in Hartford from Mexico, Peru, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Thailand, and Colombia, participated in the Immigrant Career Pathways food service program.

As a measure of the program's success, four of today's nine graduates have been hired for entry level positions in the school food system according to Wanda Dunaway, the Food & Child Nutrition Services Organization Manager. Capital Workforce Partners also participates in this initiative by providing resume preparation assistance, and job search support to facilitate entry into the local workforce.

Community collaborations work. This innovative community collaboration has opened a career pathway affording Hartford's new arrivals an opportunity to secure their first job in the United States. 

The next cycle of classes begins in January 2017. Contact Jayna Velez-Molina (jvelezmolina@hplct.org) at the Hartford Public Library for details.

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Photos by Don Shaw, Jr.

Post-Racist vs. Post-Racial America: A Big Difference

Aasif Mandvi
Photograph by Christian Oth for the New York Times

Reading Ana Marie Cox's interview of actor, comedian and writer Aasif Mandvi (October 9, 2016 New York Times Magazine) reminded me of Wes Moore's comments at The Connecticut Forum about wanting a post-racist, not a post-racial America. There is a difference. A big difference.

Mandvi argued in his Cox interview that "We’re not postracial [sic]. Years ago, people would say, “I don’t see race.” But you do see race, and if you tell yourself you don’t see race, you’re never going to address your racism [emphasis mine]. I’m not interested in being beyond race anymore. I’m more interested in leaning into race and saying that we need to accept that other people are different. That is the multiplicity of the human experience and also what potentially makes America great —" 

Wes Moore at The Connecticut Forum
Screen shot from Forum video

Wes Moore made similar points at The Connecticut Forum's Racism program (December 3, 2015) when he said in the Forum's posted video "I don't want to exist in a post-racial America because I'm not ashamed of my race, and nobody should be ashamed of theirs. I don't want to exist in a post-racial America. I want to exist in a post-racist America. And so there's a difference."

So we, the citizens of the United States of America, if true to our belief in the Constitutional rights of all Americans, should recognize, understand and celebrate what Moore said in his Forum comments, and what Mandvi concluded in his interview when he said "we need to accept that other people are different. That is the multiplicity of the human experience and also what potentially makes America great —"

Take just five minutes to follow the the links in my text to read the Mandvi interview, and hear Moore's video comments. They are important points of view.

Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Happy Birthday to President Carter, an Inspiring Stonecatcher!

President Carter greeting the congregation before teaching Sunday School
Maranatha Baptist Church, Plains, GA, May 22, 2016

President Carter speaking at the Carter Weekend
luncheon on his boyhood farm, May 21, 2016

In celebration of President Jimmy Carter's 92nd birthday on October 1, 2016, Peggy and I, and Tom and Dougie Trumble, share our heartfelt thoughts about the impact he and Rosalynn have made on our lives, and the lives of millions of people around the world. They are inspiring stonecatchers!

The following is an updated version of the August 26, 2015 letter (and Hartford Courant Op-Ed) my good friend Tom Trumble and I sent to President Carter while he was being treated for cancer. It says it all.

Don Shaw, Jr

Writer and Editor

RedTruckStonecatcher.com

***********
The Carter Center

One Copenhill

453 Freedom Parkway

Atlanta, GA 30307

Dear President Carter,

“No photos! Keep working! We’ve got homes to build!” Your impassioned work site charge, as our benevolent taskmaster, always kept us focused on what was important – getting the job done.

Constructing at least one hundred Habitat for Humanity homes in one week at your annual Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project is an incredible challenge. Shepherding three thousand volunteers from around the world, from different cultures and ethnicities with diverse languages, you and Rosalynn have shown us it can be done anywhere in the world through hard work and unwavering resolve. Building one hundred simple, affordable homes, working side by side with new homeowners to be, is a miracle of deep faith, selfless teamwork, long sweaty hours, and untiring commitment to Habitat’s mission. Thank you for leading by example – hammering and sawing as vigorously as anyone.

South Africa was our first Carter Work Project, a project centered on reconciliation from years of apartheid. The initial one hundred homes we built in 2002 outside of Durban, in a community aptly renamed “Ethembeni” (a place of hope), is now a thriving village of many more homes and local services. After witnessing the tremendous power of international collaboration to help families build new safe and healthy homes, we unhesitatingly volunteered for your projects in Mexico, India, Thailand, and twice in Haiti after its devastating earthquake. 

Openly engaging us through your daily briefings and lessons, especially your amazing Sunday school lesson in Haiti, made us feel part of your inner circle. It’s a mighty big circle, indeed! Your after-hours discussions on world events, and the Carter Center’s tireless work, ranging from the soon to be complete eradication of Guinea worm disease to monitoring elections to brokering peace relations around the world, made us realize our Habitat work is diplomacy at its best – moving from advocacy to action to achievement. 

With each project we returned to our home affiliate, Hartford Area Habitat for Humanity, with new experiences to share about Habitat’s great work and impact in eliminating poverty housing in other countries. It reinforced the importance to Hartford Habitat donors to share our abundance by faithfully continuing to tithe 10% of our unrestricted funds to Habitat affiliates outside the United States. It is critical to sustaining Habitat‘s worldwide mission. As you have taught us so well, adequate shelter should be a basic human right throughout the world.

This past May we were thrilled, honored, and grateful to be invited to meet with you and Mrs. Carter during Habitat for Humanity International's Carter Weekend in Georgia. You can count on us to “Keep working!" at home and abroad because "We’ve got homes to build!”

Happy Birthday!!

Don & Peggy Shaw
Tom & Dougie Trumble


The following photos were taken on the back porch of President Carter's boyhood farmhouse on May 21, 2016, in Plains, GA, during Habitat for Humanity International's Carter Weekend.

Peggy and Don Shaw with President and Mrs. Carter

Dougie and Tom Trumble with President and Mrs. Carter

Photos of President Carter at Marantha Baptist Church and Carter Weekend luncheon by Don Shaw, Jr.
Photos of the Shaws and Trumbles courtesy of Habitat for Humanity International.

Plant More Milkweed!

Monarch Butterfly in My Backyard September 12, 2016

After a two year absence, a Monarch Butterfly set down to feed in our backyard! We watched as it entertained us throughout the afternoon.

"In the spring, summer and early fall, they can be found wherever there are milkweeds. Monarchs lay their eggs on milkweeds and they're always searching for them in fields, meadows and parks. Many people plant milkweeds in their gardens. Females will look for available milkweed plants to lay eggs. 

The eggs hatch after approximately four days. The caterpillars are small and they grow many times their initial size over a two-week period. The caterpillars feed [exclusively] on the available milkweed plant. When they get big enough, each caterpillar forms a chrysalis and goes through metamorphosis.

The chrysalis protects the monarch as it is going through the major developmental change of turning from a caterpillar to a butterfly. The chrysalis is green with yellow spots. After another 2-week period, an adult butterfly will emerge from the chrysalis."*

Please create a welcoming environment for the Monarch wherever you can. We need to do as much as we can to protect and save this beautiful species.


Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

* Source: National Wildlife Federation

Photograph by Don Shaw, Jr.

Welcoming Refugees and Immigrants

Hartford Karen Community New Year Celebration January 16, 2016

Georges Annan-Kingsley, Hartford Artist

In recent years I've been fortunate to work with many refugees and immigrants in Hartford through my work with the South Marshall Interfaith Coalition and the Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association's Welcoming Committee. Want to help address refugee and immigrant assimilation and civic engagement? Here's a great opportunity. 

The City of Hartford is looking for eight to nine volunteers to serve on its Commission on Refugee and Immigrant Affairs.   I encourage Hartford area residents to apply for a position on Commission. Make a difference. Be a stonecatcher!

Below is the Commission's media release in English and Spanish with the particulars.

Commission on Refugee an Immigrant Affairs

In 2013, the City of Hartford created the Commission on Refugee and Immigrant Affairs (CRIA) to advise the mayor and city council on issues and concerns affecting the city’s refugee and immigrant residents and to promote refugee and immigrant civic engagement.

In its first year the commission worked on municipal identity cards, supported an ordinance revision that strengthened Hartford’s status as a sanctuary city, and urged the city to do a better job of communicating essential information (including health information) through community media outlets in different languages.

CRIA meets the second Tuesday of every month at 6 pm in the Hartford Public Library, 500 Main Street, and meetings are open to the public.

Commissioners are volunteers appointed by the mayor to serve renewable terms of one or 2 years. Any area resident may apply for a position on the commission (if they are immigrants or refugees or their work serves immigrant incorporation).

To bring refugee and immigrant issues to the attention of the Commission or for information about applying to serve on the commission, email hartfordcria@gmail.com. Find out more about Hartford commissions and the CRIA website (in progress) at  http://www.hartford.gov/boards-and-comissions/active-boards.

Comisión de Asuntos de Refugiados e Inmigrantes

En el 2013, la ciudad de Hartford creó la Comisión de Asuntos de Refugiados e Inmigrantes (CRIA) para aconsejar al alcalde y el concejal de la ciudad sobre las cuestiones y preocupaciones que afectan a los residentes de la ciudad que son refugiados e inmigrantes y promover el compromiso cívico de los refugiados e inmigrantes.

En su primer año, la Comisión trabajó en las tarjetas de identidad municipales, apoyó una revisión de una ordenanza que fortalece la ciudad de Hartford como una ciudad santuario, e ínsito que la ciudad hiciera un mejor trabajo de comunicar información esencial (incluyendo información de salud) a través de los medios de comunicación en diferentes idiomas.

CRIA se reúne el segundo martes de cada mes a las 6 pm en la Biblioteca Pública de Hartford, 500 Main Street, y las reuniones están abiertas al público.

Los Comisionados son voluntarios y designados por el alcalde para servir un período renovable de uno o 2 años. Cualquier residente puede aplicar para una posición en la comisión (si son inmigrantes o refugiados o su trabajo sirve la incorporación de los inmigrantes).

Para traer asuntos de los refugiados e inmigrantes a la atención de la Comisión o para información sobre cómo aplicar para formar parte de la comisión, envíe un correo electrónico a hartfordcria@gmail.com . Conozca más acerca de las comisiones de Hartford y el sitio web de CRIA (en proceso) en http://www.hartford.gov/boards-and-comissions/active-boards .


Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com