They Call Me Muslim - Film Screening and Discussion

In popular Western imagination, a Muslim woman in a veil – or hijab – is a symbol of Islamic oppression. But what does it mean for women’s freedom when a democratic country forbids the wearing of the veil? In this provocative documentary, filmmaker Diana Ferrero portrays the struggle of two women – one in France and one in Iran – to express themselves freely.  The film highlights how women still must struggle for the right to control their own bodies -not only under theocratic regimes, but also in secular, democratic countries where increasing discrimination against Muslims and sexism intersect.  The film will be followed by a Q & A discussion.

Tuesday, March 8, 2016 ~ 5:00 - 6:30pm

Lesley University, Sherrill Library Room 251, Brattle Campus (89 Brattle St., Cambridge)

**Event is free and open to the public. Please join us and share your views.

**To RSVP and for more information, please visit:
www.eventbrite.com/e/they-call-me-muslim-film-screening-and-discussion-tickets-21728160513

Cultures of Resistance

March 27 2012 6-8:30pm, University Hall Amphitheater.

Does each gesture really make a difference? Can music and dance be weapons of peace? In 2003, on the eve of the Iraq war, director Iara Lee embarked on a journey to better understand a world increasingly embroiled in conflict and, as she saw it, heading for self-destruction. After several years, travelling over five continents, Iara encountered growing numbers of people who committed their lives to promoting change. This is their story. From IRAN, where graffiti and rap became tools in fighting government repression, to BURMA, where monks acting in the tradition of Gandhi take on a dictatorship, moving on to BRAZIL, where musicians reach out to slum kids and transform guns into guitars, and ending in PALESTINIAN refugee camps in LEBANON, where photography, music, and film have given a voice to those rarely heard, CULTURES OF RESISTANCE explores how art and creativity can be ammunition in the battle for peace and justice.

Featuring: Medellín poets for peace, Capoeira masters from Brazil, Niger Delta militants, Iranian graffiti artists, womens movement leaders in Rwanda, Lebanons refugee filmmakers, U.S. political pranksters, indigenous Kayapó activists from the Xingu River, Israeli dissidents, hip-hop artists from Palestine, and many more...

Language of America

February 20th 4-6:30pm University Hall Amphitheater (The Amphitheater is located on the second floor of University Hall.
 Near the Porter Square MBTA station)

Listen to the names of New England rivers, its towns and states: Sippewissett, Skowhegan, Connecticut, Penobscot... the sounds flow like forest streams carrying a hidden story—an Indian story of America from beginning to present. Language of America takes us deep into New England's last surviving Indian places and languages, revealing a 9,000-year-old success story that's been pushed to the edge of extinction by a government that proclaims "diversity" but doesn't want to practice it with Native peoples who resist being assimilated.

Meet Allen Sockabasin, singing his child into becoming a Passamaquoddy speaker; Jessie Littledoe, who against all odds, has brought back her Wampanoag language that had not been spoken for 200 years; and Ella Sekatau, who still refers to non-Indians as "the strangers" and has never forgotten the sacred Narragansett ceremonies.

Language of America explores Indian language, philosophy, and community as never before. It shows how Indian words reveal an inherent connectedness between people, nature and spirit. The film bears witness to America's history of Indian human rights abuse, yet it inspires hope by promoting an understanding of diversity that accepts Native peoples’ inextricably shared history and destiny with their neighbors.

9500 Liberty documents the first and possibly only time in U.S. history that an Arizona-style immigration law was actually implemented — then captures the grassroots opposition that led to its repeal.

Racial tension and threats of violence erupt when
Prince William County, Virginia adopts a law requiring the police to question people who appear to be undocumented immigrants. Supporters of the law ride a wave of hysteria to an election victory. But many reconsider when the local economy feels the impact of a sudden exodus of workers, consumers, and business owners. Despite fears of reprisal, a group of concerned citizens launches a “virtual resistance” using social media, setting up a final showdown with the law’s ferocious advocates.

The film will be shown on Monday November 14, 4-6:30pm at the University Hall Amphitheater.

Thy Will Be Done; Oct. 12th 2011

THY WILL BE DONE follows Male-to-Female Transsexual Sara Herwig in her path to ordination in the Presbyterian Church. Efforts have been made to block her ordination by the evangelical conservative groups who don't recognize her as female and question her fitness to be a Pastor..... but who also challenge her candidacy because she is in a same-sex relationship, with a woman. At issue is the organized Christian Church, with all its political and financial power, as one of the fiercest battlegrounds for LGBT rights and gender recognition. Sara's journey highlights the tensions that exist at the point where faith and gender intersect.

View From A Grain Of Sand - The Plight of Afghan Women

Please join us for our next very special film event, “View From A Grain Of Sand” on Wednesday, March 23, 2011, from 1:00 to 3:30PM in the University Hall Amphitheater.

“View From A Grain Of Sand” is a documentary that looks at the plight of Afghan women over the last 30 years—from the rule of King Zahir Shah to the current Hamid Karzai government. Women’s rights in Afghanistan received much international interest under the rule and then fall of the Taliban. But what has happened since 2001 when a “new era” of peace for women was declared and attention to these issues subsided?

Through the eyes of a doctor, a teacher and a rights activist, “View From A Grain Of Sand” examines issues around the current situation women face in Afghanistan. These three women use their personal stories to lead viewers through the country’s complex history and provide context for the ongoing battle women still face for their basic human rights. This film was shot over a four-year period in Pakistani refugee camps and war-torn Kabul and includes footage, interviews and archival materials.

This film’s timely questions include: What are lives of Afghan women really like now? Have they gained any real rights? How has the reign of a new government affected them? It also portrays women that continue to define strength and resilience in the face of war and oppression.

The film will be followed by a panel discussion. It is free and open to the public.

http://viewgrainofsand.com
Duration: 58 minutes
Wednesday, March 23, 2011, from 1:00 to 3:30PM
University Hall Amphitheater

Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North

Please join us for our next very special film event, ”Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North” on Tuesday, February 15, 2011, from 4:00 to 6:30 pm in the University Hall Amphitheater.

Traces of the Trade is a documentary based on the discovery by filmmaker Katrina Browne that her New England ancestors, the DeWolfs, were the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. Contrary to popular belief, viewers learn that Northern slavery existed for over 200 years.

This film retraces the DeWolf trade route. The Triangle Trade brought rum from the family’s distillery in Bristol, Rhode Island to buy African people from coastal Ghana slave forts to be sold in Havana and Charleston, and purchased Cuban sugar and molasses to be brought back to Bristol. While the DeWolfs made their fortune trading slaves, this film also looks at the financial gain by many Northerners through a network of commercial activities.

The film will be followed by a panel discussion that includes one the film’s directors. It is free and open to the public.

Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North
Film Duration: 86 minutes
Tuesday, February 15, 2011, 4:00 - 6:30 pm
University hall, Amphitheater

For More information, check out: http://www.tracesofthetrade.org/

OUTSIDER: The Life and Art of Judith Scott

This film tells the story of Judith Scott (1943-2005), who became a fiber artist in 1987, and was recognized during her lifetime for the unique creativity of her abstract masses of found (and sometimes stolen) objects transformed by their wrappings. Scott’s sculptures have appeared around the world and are housed permanently at museums including The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art in Chicago, and the Musee D Art Brut in Lausanne, Switzerland. Astonishingly, Scott blossomed as an artist just few years after she spent 35 years in a stale institution for the mentally retarded.

Born with Down syndrome, Scott was sent away when she was only seven. As if such isolation were not enough to endure, Scott also had undiagnosed deafness and little verbal ability. Yet, while many with similar disabilities are separated, oppressed and disempowered, Judith Scott’s story had a happy ending.

The film will be followed by a panel discussion. It is free and open to the public.

OUTSIDER: The Life and Art of Judith Scott
Film Duration: 26 minutes
Photo presentation: 7 minutes
Monday, December 13th, 4:00 – 6:00 PM
University Hall Amphitheater

Chasing the Dream: The Plight of Immigrant Youth

Listen to the silenced stories of undocumented youth who struggle to be legally and personally recognized and learn about how the Dream Act could affect their lives.

Presented by the University Diversity Council

Chasing the Dream: The Plight of Immigrant Youth

When: Monday, November 15, 2010
Time: 4-6:30 pm, reception following panel discussion
Where: University Hall Amphitheatre

Panelists: Leigh Patel, author of book in progress regarding her experiences in urban schools with undocumented youth Student Representatives from SIM (Student Immigrant Movement) Immigrant youth from the Boston area.

Support Native Action! Honor the Earth!

Please join us for our next very special film event, “Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action” on Monday, October 18, 2010, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm in the University Hall Amphitheater.

“Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action” sheds light on one of the least known American human rights stories, the environmental hazards that threaten to ruin Native American lands and their impact upon Native peoples. The film focuses on the stories of five Native American activists from the Cheyenne, Gwich’in, Navajo and Penobscot communities who have fought for protection of their lands and survival of their peoples and cultures. These leaders have battled multi-national energy companies and government entities on issues including the growing toxicity of Maine’s Penobscot River, proposed coal bed methane gas wells on Cheyenne homelands, oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and uranium mining that would contaminate the sole source of drinking water for 15,000 people on the Navajo reservation.

“Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action” reveals the state of indigenous nations as a result of relaxed environmental regulations that favor the powerful energy industry. It also shows the resolve of Native activists to save their way of life and the power of grassroots organizing.

The film will be followed by a panel discussion. It is free and open to the public.

Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action
Film Duration: 57 minutes Monday, October 18th, 4:00 - 6:00 pm, University Hall Amphitheater

Rename Columbus Day!

At Lesley we celebrate Columbus day and Martin Luther King day. If you consider Dr. King's teachings and contribution to humanity, Columbus just doesn't measure up...

In a letter Columbus wrote to the king and queen of Spain, he described, "Gold is most excellent; gold constitutes treasure; and he who has it does all he wants in the world, and can even lift souls up to Paradise." Many credible historians have documented that Columbus was a transatlantic slave trader responsible for the genocide of tens and thousands of indigenous people. He and his men's brutality against the native populations have been widely published. There have been many movements to rename Columbus day nationally and internationally. More and more colleges, cities and states in the US are joining the movement.

On May 20th at 12:30 - 2:30 pm a motion will be introduced at Lesley University to rename the Columbus Day holiday. Please indicate your support by e-mailing Jim O'Keefe, University Council Chair jokeefe@lesley.edu and/or by attending the meeting.

Location: UH 3-094

Reel Bad Arabs

Please don't miss our next very special film event, “Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People” on Monday, March 22nd at 5:00 pm.

Featuring acclaimed author Dr. Jack Shaheen, “Reel Bad Arabs” examines a long history of degrading images of Arabs portrayed in the America media—from Bedouin bandits, sinister sheikhs, to gun-wielding terrorists. The film offers devastating insights into the origin of these stereotypical and sordid images, and why they matter even more in today's geopolitical world. Shaheen argues how the persistence of these unfavorable representations over time has served to promote and normalize prejudicial attitudes toward Arabs and Arab culture, justifying support for devastating US domestic and international policies in the Arab world.

We believe that it is time to demystify the unfair and racist images that were constructed by the American media and maintained by general ignorance. The choice is up to us to demand fair representation of people of all races and nationalities. The film will be followed by a panel discussion. It is free and open to the public.

Film Duration: 50 minutes
Monday, March 22nd, 5:00 - 7:00 pm, University Hall Amphitheater

http://www.reelbadarabs.com/

Bell Hooks: Cultural Criticism and Transformation

In February of 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a son of former slaves and a Harvard-trained historian, launched Negro History Week as an initiative to bring national attention to the contributions of African Americans. He was disturbed by the large omission and inferior portrayals of the African American population throughout American history. Fifty years later, in 1976, the celebration was expanded to a month.

On Wednesday, February 17^th, in honor of Black History Month, my2cents Multicultural Film series will be featuring " Bell Hooks: Cultural Criticism and Transformation". Bell Hooks is an African American author, feminist, lecturer and social activist. Hooks has exclusively examined and written about the interconnectivity of race, class, and gender, and perpetual systematic oppression and domination. She has published over thirty books and numerous scholarly articles, and has appeared in several documentary films.

At a time when much seems polarized in politics, race, class, gender, and religion, a collective desire for unity comes to surface. This film moves beyond such polarization and invites the audience to consider the complexity involved in dealing with these important issues.

Film Duration: 66 minutes
Time and Location: Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010, 12:30 - 2:30pm, University Hall Amphitheater
Panel Members: Professor Dolita Cathcart of Wheaton College and Rev. Canon Edward Rodman of the Episcopal Divinity School

Note: The film contains strong language, and scenes of graphic violence and nudity.

Donation Sites for Haiti Earthquake Victims

Currently accepting nonperishable food items, toiletries, and clothing. Donations are picked up by Big City Radio and taken to the Haitian Embassy.

Perkins Community Center
155 Talbot Avenue
Dorchester, MA 02124
617-635-5146

Mildred Community Center
1-5 Mildred Avenue
Mattapan, MA 02126
617-635-1328

For additional places to donate, visit www.charitywatch.org

Jonathan Kozol: Education Reformer and Activist for Social Equality

Jonathan Kozol, a writer, educator, and activist for social equality is coming to speak on Monday, February 22nd, at 7:00 pm in Prospect Hall at AIB (Art Institute of Boston).

The title of his remarks is “Joy & Justice: The Challenges for Teachers to Keep Their Souls Intact and Spirits High in an Age of Obsessive Testing, Government Rigidity, and Glaring Inequality”.

http://www.learntoquestion.com/seevak/groups/2002/sites/kozol/Seevak02/html/se-open.htm

If you are interested in attending, please look for an email announcement with details in the near future.

AIB
700 Beacon Street
Boston, MA 02215-2598

Racism & the Costs of Inequality

“Hey, go back to where you came from!” Have you ever heard someone say that to anyone? It is an anti- immigrant sentiment heard and uttered by many in the history of U.S. Some believe that America has eradicated racism because we have elected an African American president. My two cents? Considering the recent arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr., the Harvard professor down the street by the Cambridge police… probably not.

According to Tim Wise, one of the most prolific antiracist educators in the U.S., racism is not as clear as black and white. Behind systematic racism, there is something as ugly, systematic classism. We have fallen under the spell of self-serving elites and have been manipulated into supporting their hidden motives, greed and power for hundreds of years. If you are interested in learning more, please come to the upcoming thought provoking film, Tim Wise on White Privilege. You may be stirred up but you won’t be bored.

Tim Wise has spoken at over 400 college campuses, including Harvard, Stanford, and Columbia. Wise has trained teachers, physicians, corporations, government, military and law enforcements on dismantling institutional racism. In Wise’s own words, “Racism hurts us all.”

Tim Wise on White Privilege
Thursday, Dec. 10, 5:00 - 7:00 pm
University Hall Amphitheater

Day of the Dead / El Dia De Los Muertos in Second Life and in Lesley’s Atrium at University Hall!

Virtual Celebration in Second Life

A Day of the Dead collaboration between Lesley University and the Smithsonian Latino Museum

Help create an altar by bringing pictures of your dead loved ones, ancestors, or someone no longer with us who was inspirational in your life. Add your ofrendas (offerings): sweet breads, marigolds, candied sugar skulls, papel picado (folded and cut tissue paper). Leave a note, poem, drawing, song...anything to celebrate and honor the dead.

WHEN: Monday, November 2 from 12pm - 4pm

WHERE: University Hall, 2nd Floor Atrium

WHAT: Live Video Projection of the festivities in 2nd Life

(Mexican Buffet at the Porter Cafe, Third Floor, University Hall)

For more information visit http://astrodime.wordpress.com

Or you can join virtually by going to http://latino.si.edu/education/LVMDayoftheDeadFestival.htm

Sponsored by: The Diversity Council at Lesley University, Bon Appetit, The Critical Pedagogy Committee, Smithsonian Latino Center, and AstroDime Transit Authority 

Maid in America

According to the homeland security website, there are over one million people who have obtained legal permanent resident status in 2008. Do you support immigration? Or, do you believe immigrants (legal or illegal) are here to take our jobs, money and resources? To honor the National Hispanic Heritage Month in October, the GSASS Diversity Committee would like to invite you to a film, “Maid In America” by director Anayansi Prado.

In “Maid In America”, Prado follows the stories of three women, domestic workers in Los Angeles as they go about their day-to-day work in the wealthy enclaves of L.A. There are over 100,000 domestic workers in Los Angeles, women who leave their families behind in Central America and Mexico in order to take care of other people's children and homes in southern California. Undocumented workers in L.A. work wherever they can find jobs from raising children and maintaining a household to keeping lawns beautiful, offices clean and restaurants functioning. The American economy is totally dependent on them and could not function in its present state.

Maid in America
Monday, October 26, 2009, 5:00 - 7:00 pm, University Hall, Room 3-097
Film Duration: 57 minutes

Please join us and share your views. All thoughts are welcome!

Introducing my2cents Multicultural Film Series: 2009 - 2010

The GSASS Diversity Committee, in an effort to encourage awareness and dialogue regarding issues of power, privilege and oppression, is sponsoring the my2cents Multicultural film series. This effort was spearheaded by Counseling Psychology student representatives to the committee.

Maid in America
Monday, Oct. 26, 2009, 5:00 - 7:00 pm, University Hall 3-097
Tim Wise on White Privilege
Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009, 5:00 - 7:00 pm, University Hall Amphitheater
Bell Hooks: Cultural Criticism & Transformation
Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010, 12:30 - 2:30pm, University Hall Amphitheater
Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood vilifies a People
Monday, Mar. 22, 2010, 5:00 - 7:00 pm, University Hall Amphitheater

Questions and answers with a panel of experts will follow each film. Please come join us and share your views!