Hello RtR community!  A reminder that we will not have a community meeting or Storytime in January.  

We’ve been hard at work on 2023 programming, and look forward to our first community meeting of 2023 on Monday, February 6.  Meanwhile, there’s plenty of ways to combat racism in the new year!  — RTR planning team

Actions, Events and Resources - January 2023

                                   Happy New Year!

Storytime with Katharine Phelps: - no Storytime

RtR Community Meeting: - no meeting

Tue Jan 3 5:30pm & Tue Jan 17 3pm

LO City Council Meetings:  The agenda of each meeting is posted in advance and includes time for citizen comment.  Meeting agenda & materials.  More information: (503) 534-4225; cityrecorder@lakeoswego.city

Thu Jan 12 7pm at Mary’s Woods 17520 Mesnard Street

Women’s BIPOC Speaker Series:  Rep. Tawna Sanchez, Oregon State Representative District 43 - North and Northeast Portland.  Live streaming will also be available courtesy of the West Linn Public Library:  https://youtu.be/BtzIbByGTB8  Subsequent speakers Feb 9, Mar 23.

Multiple events January 2023 Portland State University

MLK Living the Legacy Series 

Sun Jan 15 2pm at Lake Oswego High School

Martin Luther King Jr Day Celebration and Car Rally:  We NEED 2 more volunteers to be on site 1:30-4pm to direct traffic and 2 volunteers to help with odd jobs. Please email info@respondtoracism.org and let us know how you can help.   

Sun Jan 15

Silent walk: no silent walk in January - attend MLK celebration and car rally!  

Learn About Oregon’s CROWN Act with State Representative Janelle Bynum Wednesday, Jan. 18  6:30-7:30 PM
Inspired by the character Opal Jewel’s expressive hairstyles, we invited Rep. Janelle Bynum to speak about Oregon’s CROWN Act, a bill that she sponsored in 2021. CROWN, which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” prohibits discrimination against “race-based hairstyles” in schools and workplaces. Join Rep. Bynum to learn more about the motivation behind the law and how it challenges Euro-centric beauty standards and expands peoples’ right to express themselves. https://www.beavertonlibrary.org/Calendar.aspx?EID=19090&month=1&year=2023&day=18&calType=0

Sat Jan 21 8:30am - 3:30pm 

City Council 2023 goal setting retreat:  This meeting is open to the public for in-person attendance as well as viewing electronically via Zoom.  For details on receiving a Zoom link, email CityRecorder@lakeoswego.city by Noon on Friday, January 20th.  

Exhibits & theaters

Through Sun Jan 29 Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education 

Harley Gaber, Die Plage (The Plague):  The exhibition features 390 collaged images, music, and objects from Harley’s life. It considers the role of individuals in the course of history and consequently challenges viewers to examine their responsibility to their nation and to one another in the plagues of our times. 

Jan 3 - 29, 2023 Artists Repertory Theater

American Fast by Kareem Fahmy centers on Khady Salama, a 21-year-old college basketball sensation, set to compete in March Madness, which this year falls during Ramadan.  BIPOC affinity night Sat Jan 21 at 7:30

Wednesdays Jan 11-Feb 15 at noon via Zoom

New Scholarship in Jewish History in Oregon and the American West. Stimulating series co-sponsored by Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education and the Oregon Historical Society.  Information and Registration  Of specific interest:  Rightlandia: Walter Huss and the long History of The Far Right in Oregon, 1955-2005. (Jan 16) Rightlandia tickets

Current exhibits Portland Art Museum

Multiple exhibits feature the works of Oscar Howe, Jeffrey Gibson, Isaka Shamsud-Din, and more!  Howe (1915–1983) committed his artistic career to the preservation, relevance, and ongoing expression of his Yanktonai Dakota culture.

Resources

Right to Be  Five different methods to support someone who’s being harassed. 

Unite Against Bookbans is a national initiative to empower readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship.

Banned Books Book Club:  A monthly book club, library and fund dedicated to reading and protecting the most important books for our generation.  January’s read:  Kindred by Octavia Butler

The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition was created to lead the pursuit of understanding and addressing the ongoing trauma created by the U.S. Indian Boarding School policy of 1869.  Bookmark this site to follow and support passage of legislation to establish a Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the US (HR 5444, S 2907) 

Suicide & Crisis Lifeline:  988 

If you’re thinking about suicide, are worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, the Lifeline network is available 24/7 across the United States.  

Sanctuary Promise Hotline: 1-844-0924-STAY [1-844-924-7829], 1-844-6-AMPARO [1-844-626-7276]

The system is designed to help Oregon DOJ investigate suspected violations to Oregon’s Sanctuary Promise Act and provide support where possible.  Advocates on the hotline are multilingual and identify as members of supported communities.  Interpretation services are available in 240+ languages.

Bias Response Hotline: 1-844-924-BIAS [1-844-924-2427],

Oregon Relay 711 

The Oregon DOJ Bias Response Hotline is a non-emergency reporting and referral service designed to support bias victims.  Any victim or witness of any age can report a bias incident or hate crime online or by phone.  If you believe a crime has occurred and want it investigated, contact your local law enforcement agency.  For emergency assistance, dial 911.

Stop AAPI Hate: The reporting center tracks and responds to incidents of hate, violence, harassment, discrimination, shunning, and child bullying against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.

Racial Equity Support Line (503) 575-3764 is a service led and staffed by people with lived experience of racism. They offer support to those who are feeling the emotional impact of racist violence and micro-aggressions, as well as the emotional impact of immigration struggles and other cross-cultural issues.