An annual national day in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is one very great American accomplishment! Each year, MLK day invites us ALL to revisit the “big words” of Dr. King, and to spiral our humanity upward through DEED. This year, the opportunity for King contemplations, followed riots on Capitol Hill, and laid mindful ground for the inauguration of new American leadership.
In Justice January, may we strengthen our civic aspirations, ignited yet again by Dr. King’s inspirations, and invited forth by President Biden’s invitation toward unity. As we move toward a Friendly February of Fairness, let’s each hold ourselves and our leaders truly accountable to King-ly ideals.
Let’s commit to DEED together. YEE (Young Ethical Explorers) are busy in DEED. We would love to hear about your DEEDS in support of unity and justice for all! We’d also like to invite you to share and show up for the ETHICAL programs below. These are invitations to further the collective work of creating “beloved community” with racial justice at the heart of ethical life ~~~ so, please, mark your calendars and get involved with two of Ethical’s amazing 2021 partners:
Judy Tate and Dr. Bentley Gibson.
Ethical NYC is collaborating with the BIAS ADJUSTER, Dr. Bentley Gibson.
- Here is an invitation/flyer for upcoming events: Dr. Bentley Gibson-2.
- RSVP by contacting: YoungEthicalExplorers@gmail.com
- Sunday, JANUARY 24 at 11am, BIAS AWARENESS WORKSHOP for children and families ~~~ Young Ethical Explorers will be workshopping with Dr. Gibson! New participant-families are welcome, free. RSVP for zoom link.
- Sunday, FEBRUARY 7th at 1:30pm ~~~ FIRST SUNDAY SERIES: “BLACK INVENTORS AND CONTRIBUTORS.” People of every age, place, kind and faith are invited to attend this intergenerational event hosted by Dr. Gibson, featuring presentations by our Young Ethical Explorers. This is a gathering to foster POSITIVE BIAS ADJUSTMENT in support of Black Lives.
- Finally, on March 28 at 11am, ETHICAL BIAS ADJUSTMENT ~~~ our Sunday community platform will give our adult community a chance to hear more deeply about Dr. Bentley Gibson’s research on IMPLICIT BIAS … and in preparation, all are encouraged to take the Bias Assessment Quiz on her website!
Ethical NYC is collaborating with the BIAS ADJUSTER, Dr. Bentley Gibson.
- Ethical NYC partners with AMERICAN SLAVERY PROJECT’s 2021 Virtual Season: led by Producing Artistic Director Judy Tate. You may remember ASP’s audio-plays: “Black Women and the Ballot” which were shared with our Ethical community back in November 2020.
- Now, it’s time to dive into American Slavery Project’s 2021 virtual season: “THE REVERBERATION PLAYS” This will include “5 offerings that examine how Black beginnings in America have led to the very equity issues we experience today in psychology, family dynamics, education, and mental/physical health-care.”
- Tickets for monthly productions, February through May, will be available through ASP’s website, at www.americanslaveryproject.org. Tickets are free with reservations, but Ethical urges those who can, to make donations to ASP in support of this work offered to the world. In anticipation of the season, you may enjoy meeting some of the makers on Soul Lounge.
- To honor Black History Month, the season opens on February 5th, streaming a full production from The Kitchen Theatre in Ithaca, NY: “THROW PITCHFORK” written and performed by Alexander Thomas, and directed by Sara Lampert Hoover. Told with humor and pathos, this true story puts human faces on the fallout of America’s original sin. It portrays a search for self-definition, as told by one of four brothers, struggling with the Jim Crow legacy of their father ~~~ contending with the deep wounds of their father’s psyche, as it is passed forth to them.
- The production will be followed by a dialogue about the Legacies of Jim Crow and Black Family Dynamics between ASP’s Judy Tate and Dr. Mikal Rasheed, author of “Family Therapy with Ethnic Minorities.”
As we all dive deeper into civic engagement and deeds for justice, invigorating our humanity, here is a glimpse into a recent deed-project by Young Ethical Explorers. On MLK weekend, guest leader Deepali Srivastava of Writefully Ours
led the YEE group in the WRITE FOR RIGHTS letter writing campaign, to stand up for families detained and separated by ICE. Here is an Amnesty International fact sheet, so you may join us in this deed, if you have not already. USA-Families-in-Detention-Case-Sheet-w-report
“Can we make a cake to celebrate Dr. King’s birthday at our house?” asks a mature child at Young Ethical Explorer’s Sunday gathering.
“Yes, in-DEED! Make your King-Cake and eat it too, with friends, with family!” Honor Dr. King with a candle of celebration as well as a candle of mourning. If you want to cook more in his honor this week, here’s a fun read: a Peace Pie of his favorite flavor: Pecan!
Most important, LISTEN to Dr. King, dear children, adults, ALL, Listen! You will find that Dr. King’s words to our world are as current, significant, relevant as they ever were!
And as a new chapter of American history begins, listen to the new voices emerging.
And be one, too!
In Peace, Audrey Kindred
P.S. All are welcome to YEE’s Justice January slide show and you may add a page too — featuring someone you admire, upon whose justice-shoulders we stand:
A slide show… with Civil Rights heroes…
