Be part of a teach-in organized by Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality with the help of today's guest-host Patricia Stansbury (AKA Sunny Gardener). The presentations included Sanaz Ghodsi telling about the US military's effects on Iran & the Middle East, Charles Brown regarding the US blockade of Cuba, Ana Edwards focused on Segoe, Mali and the effects of Western military policy, and Phil Wilayto with respect to Russia wars, including that in Ukraine.
Three artists share songs of compassion & connection, reaching across our borders. In this 1st installment, Randall Adams, Peter Alsop, & Anita Aysola sing of love for caged children, love of all children, and love of a new home, while facing off with fear, division, & disconnection.
Featured music:
Diya Abdo is the founder of Every Campus A Refuge, and author of American Refuge: True Stories of the Refugee Experience. Diya was herself of a Palestinian refugee family in Jordan. She then studied in the USA and settled in Greensboro, NC, at Guilford College as an English professor with specialties in teaching Arab & Muslim feminisms and Arab women writers. Diya's book shares both the stories of refugees who have come through the Guilford resettlement efforts, and an understanding of realities and processes that govern the lives of refugees.
A wide array of valuable climate-related guests & resources though guest-host Peterson Toscano of Citizen's Climate Radio. Randi Hacker is the author of the children’s book, Life on a Different Planet, A Climate Crisis Handbook.
In his book, The Rescue Effect: The Key to Saving Life on Earth, Michael Mehta Webster has both hopeful & challenging news about the possibilities & ways we might mitigate the damage of Earth's 6th mass extinction event. Michael knows how it both can and does work to bring species back from the edge of extinction - or even after - and he knows the nitty-gritty of getting this done. With decades of working on the ground studying & protecting diverse species, Michael is now a Professor of Practice in the Dept. of Environmental Studies at NYU.
Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Earth-based Spirituality
Idris Phillips left this world in July 2022, and we remember him today with my interview with him from December 2017, although I also interviewed him again in person, along with Katie O'Neill, the summer of 2018.
In order to restore harmony to our planet we need major changes in the relationships of people to the Earth & our neighboring species. This is especially vital for city people, as estranged as urban life can be from our neighbors, and so the vision of Arboretum Detroit, led by Birch Kemp & Kinga Osz-Kemp, is to knit together the community of trees & people in Detroit with “a quilt of protected forest that will safely mature in perpetuity for all Detroiters”.
Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Catholic, Hare Krishna, Buddhist, Earth-centered
Minnesota's Twin Cities are teeming with musical talents, among them Curtis and Loretta. They've been making & performing fine mostly-folkish music for more than 3 decades. Loretta Simonet writes the lion's share of their songs, and her primary instrument is either the guitar or the folk harp, accompanied by Curtis' deep voice & rich instrumental skills. You'll find yourself uplifted by Loretta's upbeat lyrics & voice, as you might expect from a life-long singer & theater major.
Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Catholic, Self-realization Fellowship, Meditation, Eastern
In his book, The Prophetic Lens: The Camera and Black Moral Agency from MLK to Darnella Frazier, Phil Allen Jr. examines the history & the future of Black wholeness in the USA, especially the ways in which people of color have been made invisible, & how their power is being reclaimed through open eyes & lenses. Phil's first book was Open Wounds, also rendered as a documentary film.