OVEC Action Alert - September 1, 2004

 

Reminder: Multicultural Festival This Saturday (Sept. 4)

If you are in Huntington Saturday, come have fun at the Multicultural Festival !. As the Huntington Herald Dispatch says, "Take a contagious salsa beat, mix it with some bluegrass, throw in a bit of Mexican dancing -- not to mention ethnic food galore -- and you have a recipe guaranteeing a good time." OVEC volunteers and staff intend to have  that good time.  We still need volunteers to help at our table for this event. Call the office at 304-522-0246 to volunteer. Click here for the Multicultural Festival's music schedule.

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What? Me Racist?

From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept.18, please join the Commission on Religion in Appalachia for "The Race to Dismantle Racism." The Huntington Cabell branch of the NAACP and OVEC are co-sponsors of this free workshop, to be held at Futures, Unlimited, Inc., 1650 8th Ave., Huntington. Light refreshments will be served.  Pre-registration is not required, but is very helpful in our planning. If you plan to attend, please e-mail OVEC's co-director, Janet Fout at ohvec@ezwv.com.

 

For much of white America, the word "racism" conjures pictures of opposition to the Civil Rights movement or thoughts of the Klan and other contemporary, white supremacist groups. For people of color in America, however, racism is not just history, and it's not just at the extremes. Racism is part of everyday life. Sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle, it affects every interaction, every choice, every opportunity, every conversation. Why? Because American society is not, and never has been, blind or neutral when it comes to racial identity. And as we have built our institutions--our churches, our government, our businesses, our community organizations--many of those forms of bias and discrimination get built right in.

 

"The racism in society is like the pollution in the air and the water. There is a poison all around you, every minute of every day. No matter how careful you are, no matter how much you try to ignore it, that poison will creep inside you, and it will put a stain on your heart and your mind."

One Dismantling Racism workshop participant wrote, "The workshop also allowed us to more clearly understand that racism is a white person’s problem. Whether we like it or not, we are born into a place of privilege. Because of the color of our skin, we are afforded privilege. White privilege is built into our culture and societal structures. It is a fact and we participate in it whether we want to or not. Structural racism is not just a matter of individuals being prejudiced against people with black skin, it is a disease embedded and built into our culture, structures and institutions. Awareness is the beginning of change. "

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News Nuggets--Mountaintop Removal in the News at Home and Abroad

The London Guardian: The destroyer

The Charleston Gazette:  Goodwin declines to clarify mountaintop removal ruling

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Help Citizens for Clean Elections Change the FACE of West Virginia Politics
If you support the establishment of Fair and Clean Elections in West Virginia, then please come to a 2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 20 press conference, outside the State Capitol, by the door closest to Governor's Office (we'll head inside if it rains). Join the Citizens for Clean Elections as we kickoff a new campaign urging legislators to support Fair and Clean Elections (FACE) in West Virginia.  It's time to chance the FACE of West Virginia politics! Citizens for Clean Elections  is also looking for at least one person in each county to help coordinate the post card campaign to urge legislators to support publicly financed elections in West Virginia.  If you would like to help with this effort e-mail contact Citizens for Clean Elections, coordinator Janet Fout at ohvec@ezwv.com.

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Volunteers Needed for October 23 OVEC Fundraiser

From 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 23 ,  OVEC will present Walkin' Jim Stoltz. Jim has walked over 24,000 miles, exploring America's wilderness. His presentations--including original songs--on his travels have been acclaimed by audiences nationwide. Click here to hear samples of Jim's music. The show costs $10 and is at at the South Charleston Museum's La Belle Theater,  311 D Street, South Charleston, WV.

 

The event is a fundraiser for OVEC, and we need many volunteers to make the evening successful.  We need folks to help sell tickets and to put up posters in Charleston, South Charleston and Huntington. We'll need people to help unload and load Jim's equipment, ticket takers, and folks to person tables at the event.  Call the office at 304-522-0246 to volunteer. The LaBelle Theatre holds 300 people. Please help us fill the theatre!  

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Vote Vote Vote

Correction: In the last OVEC Action Alert!, I wrote that early voting runs from October 13 to November 30. Duh! Early voting ends October 30. That's still plenty of time to get out an vote early! And remember, OVEC is conducting a voter registration drive. After training, you can get paid to register voters! Call Scott at the OVEC office for details, 304-522-0246.  

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The True Costs of Our Energy Appetite

September 24: The West Virginia premiere of "Kilowatt Hours" at the South Charleston Museum's La Belle Theater,  311 D Street ,  
South Charleston, WV.  "Kilowatt Hours" tells the stories of the victims of our nation's huge energy appetite--Coalfield residents, infants whose mothers are full of mercury, children with asthma, and untold future generations who face the effects of global warming and nuclear waste. Sponsored by the West Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club and others.