| | Dear Friend, On January 20, we watched the transfer of power to a new President who has spoken of unity and committed to restoring immigrant and worker rights, protecting our environment, and more. And in the days that followed the Inauguration, President Biden has taken initial steps via Executive Orders to bring about some of the critical changes needed to restore the United States to being a country that stands up for all people.
Even as we celebrate some of the positive steps we are seeing, I urge us not to forget the day four years ago, when a very different President took office, and made very different promises. In November of 2016, I called on our Workers Circle community to redouble our activism. To remember that we stood on the shoulders of Eastern European Immigrant activist founders, whose fierce collective engagement allowed them to overcome so many obstacles in their path to freedom and opportunity in the United States.
The past years have shown us how fragile our democracy is, how innocent people can be marginalized and attacked, how systemic racism continues to brutalize people of color, and white nationalism has fueled anti-Semitic attacks on our community.
Today my message of four years ago still holds true: we must redouble our efforts and make a lifetime commitment to the activism to protect democracy for all. To protect our immigrant brothers and sisters. To partner to end centuries of systemic racism. To fight back the language of hate that has overtaken our national discourse. Words matter. Actions matter more. In solidarity, | | | | | | | | Take Action to Protect Our Vote The United States continues to experience massive voter suppression during each election cycle, with millions of voters prevented from casting their ballot. The For the People Act (H.R. 1) is a sweeping reform package to strengthen our democracy, get big money out of politics, and expand and protect every American’s right to vote. Critically, it ends suppressive policies that target voters of color, including voter purges, restrictive IDs, changing polling places and overt intimidation. We must ensure voting is truly a right, not a fight. Click here to urge your Member of Congress pass the For the People Act! | | | | In The Midst In the Midst is our new three-part series exploring issues of systemic racism in the United States through the lens of Yiddish culture. The series will be moderated by Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell, a renowned essayist and vocalist specializing in Yiddish language and music. In the Midst sessions will take a deep dive into moments in Yiddish culture like Leyb Malach’s play Mississippi, written in the wake of the infamous Scottsboro Boys trials; Yoysef Kerler’s poem Ven Kh’volt in Alabama Zayn, written in response to the American Civil Rights Movement, and the diverse engagements in the Yiddish Press with the phenomenon of anti-Black racism in the United States. The first session kicks off tonight at 7 PM ET, with upcoming sessions on February 18 and March 4. Join us for this timely and important series! | | | | Workers Circle First Fridays Tomorrow, February 5 from 12:00-12:30 pm EST, we will be holding First Fridays, a new 30-minute monthly social justice briefing and community building event. Bring your lunch or your morning cup of coffee to this relaxed Zoom conversation where you will meet other activists, get updates on key policies, and have lively conversation. We hope to see you there! | | | | | | SCHOOLS & EDUCATION UPDATE | | | | | | Exploring the Struggle for Civil Rights, Then and Now This January, we commemorated Martin Luther King Day with a special virtual program developed for the Workers Circle by the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN. The museum, built around the former Lorraine Motel, the site of Dr. King's assassination, led us in an exploration of the final year of Dr. King's life. We learned about the Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike and Dr. King’s leadership in the struggle for racial and economic justice. This powerful event uplifted and celebrated Dr. King’s legacy, which we still carry on today.
Also in January, we explored current civil rights struggles through our teen series: Break the System. In this interactive online experience, teens met with activists from Alabama, Arkansas, and Washington, D.C. to hear personal journeys touching on Jim Crow, poverty, mass incarceration and the criminal justice system. Thank you to our special guests Michelle and Curtis Browder and Kuntrell Jackson for sharing their incredible stories of heartbreak, hope and resilience.
Our next virtual civil rights trip will take place on February 24. We will explore the Birmingham Children’s March of 1963 through the personal story of Janice Kelsey, who went to jail for participating in the march and is featured in the Oscar winning documentary The Children's March.
This program is open to all and is designed as an important intergenerational experience for students and people of all ages. Register here. This is the first of a three-part series, stay tuned as we announce upcoming sessions! | | | | | | | | | |  | Introducing the New Circle.org Our website, circle.org is new and improved! At the end of 2020 we endeavored to launch a new, modern website that better reflects our organization. We are overjoyed with the results! The new circle.org serves as a hub for everything Workers Circle – from social justice, to Yiddish, to our cultural events and schools. From the colors, to the textures, to the ease of use, we hope you find our new website as fresh and friendly as we do. Take a look and let us know what you think! | | Become a Workers Circle Advocate for Change Kick off 2021 by becoming a monthly donor to the Workers Circle! For just $10 a month, you will become an Advocate for Change. As a monthly donor, you are able to support our mission in a way that allows us to count on your donation – regardless of what is going on in the world. Your gift will help us grow our Social Justice, Yiddish Language, Jewish Culture, and Education programs, and more. Become a monthly donor today. | | | | | | Thank You! Thanks to our members, allies, and supporters. And Thanks to the following Foundations for your contributions to the Workers Circle: Atran Foundation, Marinus and Minna B. Koster Foundation, Inc., The Michael and Alice Kuhn Foundation, The Slomo & Cindy Silvian Foundation, Chaim Schwartz Foundation, Merle S. Cahn Foundation, Charles and Mildred Schnurmacher Foundation, The Jewish Education Project/UJA Federation of New York, Jewish Social Justice Roundtable/UJA Federation of New York, Sidney S. Stern Memorial Trust, R&S Strauss Family Foundation, and Sonya Staff Foundation. Questions? Email us at info@circle.org or call 212.889.6800. 247 West 37th Street, 5th floor | NY, New York 10018 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
