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October 2, 2020

Richmond CA Rotary Posted on by

NEXT MEETING: October 2, 2020

THE PARENTS’ GUIDE TO CLIMATE REVOLUTION
Mary DeMocker

Mary’s book, The Parents’ Guide to Climate Revolution: 100 Ways to Build a Fossil-Free Future, Raise Empowered Kids, and Still Get a Good Night’s Sleep (foreword by Bill McKibben) is a 2019 Oregon Book Award finalist and has been recommended on NPR and in The New York Times.

DeMocker is the co-founder and former creative director of 350 Eugene, with whom she designed and co-led youth-centered protests featured on PBS NewsHour, ArtCOP21 9 (the global climate art festival), and in an Avaaz video shown to world leaders at Paris climate talks. She has written about creative climate advocacy for The Sun, Sierra, Spirituality & Health, EcoWatch, The Oregonian, and Common Dreams.

For photos of the author’s public installations, including the block-long faux pipeline to protest Oregon’s proposed fracked-gas export pipeline, or to sign up for her newsletter, visit marydemocker.com.
DeMocker lives in Eugene, Oregon with her family.

LINK TO THIS WEEK’S MEETING ON ZOOM
Click this link to join the Zoom Meeting:
https://zoom.us/j/94860047682

Date & Time: October 2, 12:30 PM
(please connect 5 minutes early to confirm Video and/or Audio)
12:15 — Informal Meet and Greet
12:30 — Traditional Meeting
12:45 — Program
1:15 — Recognitions and Happy/Sad Dollars
1:30 — Adjourn / After-meeting for those who want to linger

Meeting ID: 948 6004 7682
Dial in: +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

For security reasons, we are now sending invitations to our members and those who specifically ask to be invited each week. The link above is now a recurring meeting link, which will work for each week. You are welcome to forward this information to anyone you would like to invite.
Please email or text the names of your guests to Stacey prior to the meeting (staceyrcf@gmail.com, 510-501-0030) so they can be admitted quickly through the waiting room.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

  • Erle Brown thanked everyone who has already made a donation to Peres Elementary School and requested that we work together to fulfill this critical program by the end of next week
  • Dave Brown noted that Peres Elementary School has been added as a specific option on our Paypal Donate button and we have raised $1,100 so far.
  • Melinda McCrary gave an update on the Richmond Museum of History & Culture upcoming virtual events:
  • President Stacey Street-Spight announced the press release from Mayor Tom Butt’s office regarding the Richmond Rapid Response Fund. Funds are being raised to support the immediate financial needs of the community during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
  • If you haven’t paid your Rotary dues yet, please do so now! Visit our website and use the PayPal button in the lower right hand column. Thanks!

RECOGNITIONS AND HAPPY/SAD DOLLARS

  • Hank Covell was honored to acknowledge his 85th birthday. He thanked the Richmond Rotary club for the many service projects over the years and the members that participated in the 1981 Bay to Breakers Richmond Rotary contingency.
  • Erle Brown donated $100 happy dollars to celebrate the recent sale of a property
  • Jan Brown donated sad dollars to acknowledge the passing of US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her lasting impact on the women’s movement and acknowledgement of the ongoing struggles of marginalized people

LAST WEEK’S PROGRAM

September 25th Program – A World on the Move; Rev. Dr. David Vásquez-Levy, President, Pacific School of Religion

Jan Brown introduced our speaker, Rev. Dr. David Vásquez-Levy.

Rev. Dr. Vásquez-Levy shared that his father-in-law is a Rotarian and that his family visits always included collecting flags from the local Rotary clubs when he was living abroad. David talked about becoming a Lutheran minister while having a Jewish grandmother, and how his rich family history impacts his work at the Pacific School of Religion, the oldest seminary west of the Mississippi,

The education strategy of the seminary is focused on a commitment to higher education in a religious context, giving spiritual leaders from different faiths the tools to address the ancient/medieval type problems that our society is facing today.

Davis shared a short video, The Ants Trail, to demonstrate how the narrative shapes our perception of an event and the affected parties. In the video, the strategy that the ants employ to continuously identify food sources is used to compare/contrast the human quest for food and a safe environment in which to live.

David pointed out a series of biblical stories, the Book of Ruth, as an example of the collapse of a political system at the same time as an environmental crisis that leads to forced immigration and the displacement of people. He compared this to a recent modern example, the conflict in Syria that was triggered by a drought in the north of the region that was not addressed and the cascading impact on the local residents.

Next, we took a closer look at the California demographics and the immigration status of our residents: 27% of California residents are immigrants (compared to 22% in New York). That means that out of the estimated 45M immigrants in the US today, 11M reside in California. Within that group, 5M are already US citizens, 2.2M are eligible but have not applied, and approximately 2.9M are undocumented. Additionally, 55% of the successful billion dollar start up companies in the US were started by or managed by an immigrant.

Another perspective of these demographics is that 47% of children in California have at least 1 immigrant parent. This means that how their parents are treated will have a direct impact on the value sets and perspectives of these children on their own place in the world.

As a Lutheran minister, David regularly shares a variety of biblical stories to highlight other perspectives on the plight of displaced families and communities. Within each story, there is a narrative that drives the theme and how the events are framed.

Rev. Dr. Vásquez-Levy closed by asking the club to consider how we will describe the challenges facing our community and environment today and how this narrative will directly impact our effectiveness and ability to address and mitigate the socioeconomic conflicts.

During Q&A, club members shared their personal experiences with immigration issues and asked about hope for the future. David recommended reading the works of Langston Hughes and acknowledging the positive ways that people of African and Latino descent continue to contribute to society and expect inclusion.

President Stacey thanked the speaker for his timely presentation.

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