| | Dear Friend, At the Workers Circle, we are proud to continue the social justice activism and cultural engagement of our Eastern European Jewish immigrant founders. Our rich Yiddishkayt heritage continues to resonate with our community through music, holiday celebrations, and our Yiddish language alongside our social justice activism on the frontlines fighting to strengthen and defend our democracy and demanding voting rights for all. I am very excited to announce that we have launched The Yosl and Chana Mlotek Yiddish Song Collection at the Workers Circle, a comprehensive and searchable online resource for Yiddish music. It contains lyrics, translations, historical research, and sheet music for over 400 Yiddish songs — including video and audio content showcasing newer and older generations of artists around the globe performing songs from the collection. The Workers Circle looks forward to growing and sharing this digital treasury of Jewish musical history for years to come. On March 5, Workers Circle staff were present in Alabama for the 58th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March. In Alabama, we advocated for everyone’s right to vote while we traced the steps of John Lewis, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the thousands of others whose courage and sacrifice resulted in the Voting Rights Act of 1965. We met up with key partners in democracy work and walked purposefully over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in our Workers Circle t-shirts cognizant of the past and clear-eyed about the work ahead. Mir zaynen do/We are here for democracy. February was Black History Month and an opportunity for our community to evaluate how well our country has met its responsibilities to provide equal opportunity, protection from discrimination, and civil liberties to its Black citizens. As an antiracist organization, we must continue to learn and to be open to hearing about the ways we benefit from, contribute to, and can work against racism today. I invite you to make use of our newly launched Racial Justice page. There, you’ll find educational programs, essays, videos, public policy statements, and more. The Workers Circle is committed to the cause of racial justice, and we invite you to join us in our work as a partner in the national movement to end systemic racism in the United States. The Winter/Spring Yiddish language semester is in full swing. Our global community continues to grow with over 56 online courses with beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels with additional Klezmer and Yiddish Song courses for all. Summer is just around the corner and A Trip to Yiddishland — our in person, 7-day, 6-night retreat featuring Yiddish classes, dance and klezmer, theater, and music workshops, concerts and entertainment — is open for registration. All are welcome, from brand-new Yiddishists to fluent speakers. In this edition of The Call, you will learn more about our virtual and in person events, the Selma to Montgomery March, our local school communities, Teen Activist Academy, and more. Thank you for being a part of our community as we continue our activism and celebrate our Yiddishkayt traditions every day. In friendship,
| | | | | | | | Workers Circle Marks 58th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma On the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, Workers Circle Director of Social Justice, Noelle Damico, Social Justice Organizer, Noa Baron, and Social Justice Consultant, Anthony Russell joined democracy partners and thousands of people in Selma, Alabama to mark that seminal event in voting rights history with convening and a march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. President Biden spoke from the foot of the bridge, urging Congress to pass federal voting rights legislation and not let the filibuster rule stand in the way. Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia spoke the night before saying, "John Lewis walked across that bridge not because he thought he would win, but because he knew it was right." We connected with partners in democracy work including Black Voters Matter, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the League of Women Voters. The Workers Circle signed onto a progress report on President Biden's Executive Order on Voting Access, released in the leadup to Selma, that urges federal agencies to reach voters who face barriers to registering. The report has already resulted in both the White House and several federal agencies adopting our recommendations for implementation. | | | | Students Gather for Radical Reading with Irena Klefpisz | Nineteen college students from across the country have been coming together monthly to learn and reflect with Irena Klepfisz, Workers Circle board member, Yiddishist, and poet. This reading group explores literature that deals with labor activism, the history of antiracist struggle, gender justice, the immigrant experience, and more from authors such as I.L. Peretz, Tillie Olsen, and Bharati Mukherjee. | | | | | | | | | | | Growing Power Our February Teen Activist Academy workshop, Growing Power, was led by the Workers Circle’s own Director of Social Justice, Noelle Damico. Noelle guided participants through a fun, interactive presentation about how to invite people into our movements for social change. Participants enjoyed hearing about a child bringing people together to demand outdoor recess (you’re never too young!) and learned how to craft a pitch. They also role played engaging with bus riders about cuts to their bus line and inviting them to join the fight to get service restored. The teens also learned how to think through who they contact for a specific campaign, where to find them, creative ways of getting their attention, and techniques for deepening and sustaining their involvement. | | | | YIDDISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE | | | | | | Keeping Yiddish Alive at the Workers Circle! Our Annual Winter in Yiddishland held on February 5 was a great success — a full day program with Yiddish classes, klezmer and Yiddish song workshops, lectures, and presentations in Yiddish and English. We ended the day with our annual Lorraine Buch concert. Over 500 people viewed the Lorraine Buch concert, prepared by our Yiddish program instructors, students and participants of A Trip to Yiddishland. Many Winter in Yiddishland participants have registered for our Winter/Spring 2023 Yiddish program. The semester has begun but registration is still open for several classes. On March 6, we hosted a presentation devoted to Purim, Haynt iz Purim, Brider un Shvester: The History of The Purim Shpil with our Yiddish language teacher and Trip to Yiddishland theater instructor, Motl (Mathew) Didner. Over 400 people registered for the event and the participants enjoyed Motl's presentation tremendously. | | | | | | | | The Brooklyn Workers Circle School Learn About Voting Rights | | | This year, students in our Brooklyn school are learning about voting and worker rights! To learn about voter suppression, the school held an election for the choice of snack and students had to find a hidden ballot box or walk blindfolded through an obstacle course to get to one. They then discussed obstacles to voting in real life, and how to support those whose rights are threatened. In another session, students enjoyed a visit from a farmworker with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers who talked about the injustices farmworkers have faced, which led to the formation of the Fair Food Program. Students learned how Wendy's has refused to sign on to the program and are planning ways to take action to help get them on board! | | | | | | | | | | | | Annual Gathering of Remembrance The Workers Circle is proud be a partner for this year’s Annual Gathering of Remembrance, presented by The Museum of Jewish Heritage. Through music, personal reflections, and more, we will remember the dangers of intolerance, honor those we lost and those who survived, and envision a brighter future. We invite you to join us in person at Temple Emanu-El in NYC or online via livestream as we observe Holocaust Remembrance Day on April 16. | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
