Week SIXTEEN in the Challenge to Build Habits Supporting Racial Equity
Lamorinda is once again reeling from the news of what appears to be a hate crime. On Monday, new Campolindo Associate Principal Vanessa Knight, who is African American, had her car tire slashed in the school parking lot while she worked on campus. Moraga police are investigating.
Ms. Knight spoke at the Moraga Town Council meeting last week after the incident. She recited an excerpt from a poem by Luís Valdez, which celebrates our collective human being:
IN LAK’ECH
Tú eres mi otro yo.
You are my other me.
Si te hago daño a ti,
If I do harm to you,
Me hago daño a mi mismo.
I do harm to myself.
Si te amo y respeto,
If I love and respect you,
Me amo y respeto yo.
I love and respect myself.
We ask you to take a moment of reflection and encourage you to decide what sort of positive anti-racist changes you can affect in all our lives.
With a Perspective: Hanukkah is Here!
For many Jewish American families, Hanukkah has taken on the gift-giving phenomenon associated with Christmas. Jewish leaders have often expressed that the commercialization of Hanukkah is missing the relevance of the holiday. There is irony in the fact that Hanukkah teaches about the Jewish people standing up in the face of oppression and refusing to assimilate, yet recent traditions of gift-giving has assimilated the surrounding Christian culture into Jewish rituals. Of course no one denies the fun and excitement of gift-giving and receiving, and the power of celebrating light in the darkness! Read more of this perspective from an AHS parent.
Thursday, Feb 4 at 6:30pm District Book Club
Consider buying, gifting and reading “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates over winter break. This is the selection for the next district-wide book group discussion. Order your copy from Orinda Books. A brilliant and moving adaptation is available on HBO until Sunday Dec 27. Sign up to attend book club here!
Email us your traditional holiday recipes so we can share with this group!
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