--Wed AM 7:45
From: Lori Lander <lorilander@gmail.com>
Reply-To: Lori Lander <lorilander@gmail.com>
Date: Tuesday, November 24, 2020 at 3:03 PM
To: "Blier, Suzanne" <blier@fas.harvard.edu>
Subject: Reminder Wed Nov 25 Breakfast - Elevating Black Owned Businesses in Cambridge
Dear friends,
I hope this finds you and yours still well.
The November 25 ZOOM Breakfast Gathering will focus on
Elevating Black Owned Businesses in Cambridge
Leading the conversation will be
Nicola Williams, The Williams Agency
Angela Hoffman, Nussli118
Erinn Pearson, Simply Erinn’s
Olritch Donnat, Cambridge Savings Bank
Theodora Skeadas, Cambridge Local First
The November 25 discussion will be from 8:00am to 9:00am
Informal conversation will continue until 9:30am
Join when you can and leave when you have to.
Here is the ZOOM Link for the Breakfast Gathering
http://bit.ly/LoriZOOMBreakfastGatheringLogIn
If you are asked for a Passcode it is: 785740
The ZOOM Room will open at 7:45am
Background for this week’s Breakfast
Watch
Cambridge Local First’s Town Hall on Black-Owned Businesses
CCTV, November 16, 2020
https://www.cctvcambridge.org/node/747354
Shop Local and Black Owned
Shopping Black Owned businesses this holiday season will keep these businesses running.
Black Owned Boston Holiday Gift Guide and Cambridge Local First Black Owned Directory.
Boston Globe Media’s supportblackowned initiative.
And https://cache.boston.com/email/assets/906/906_SubscriberWeekly_103020_2.html
Look for ads in the Boston Globe to support local black owned business – free ad placement given to black owned businesses
Cambridge Somerville Black Business Network
https://sbnmass.org/csbbn/
Cambridge Business Diversity Directory (2019)
https://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/News/2019/6/copyofdiversitydirectoryjune2019
Black Economic Council of Massachuesetts
https://www.becma.org
Volunteer Needs
Many black owned businesses are looking for expertise in many areas of running their business.
Here are two online sites that coordinate these efforts:
Build for Black Lives
Build for Black Lives: Building pro bono projects to support Black lives
Spicy Green Book
About Us - Spicy Green Book
Read
Priority Action List for Elevating Cambridge Black Owned Businesses
(This list was discussed with three Cambridge City Council Members at a Public Hearing last week)
1. We Need Data - We need to know the percentage of contracts the city trades with MWBEs broken down by demographics. The State of MA and City of Boston collect those numbers. How are we to know the progress of the City unless we have a way to measure it?
2. Go beyond the Diversity Directory - The Diversity Directory is good to have, but how is the city using it? Are there any goals for trading with MWBE’s?
3. Understand Why Black businesses are Leaving Cambridge - We need to know why Black businesses close and move out of Cambridge
4. Develop Stronger Mandates for Affordable Rentals for Dormant Commercial Spaces- We need to deal with the land bankers. Why are commercial rents so high in Cambridge when we have so many empty storefronts? If the commercial property remains vacant for a certain period of time, how about having those landlords offer low or free space to MWBE’s while empty or they pay city taxes for the equivalent that could be collected if rented?
5. Update the Zoning Table of Uses - They are antiquated and have not been updated for decades. They are impeding the growth of many entrepreneurs, especially retail and food makers
6. Increase the Number of Black owned Restaurants, Liquor License holders, and Retailers in Cambridge - There are less than 5 black owned restaurants out of over 475( pre-pandemic) restaurants in Cambridge and only 2 black owned full liquor licensee holders, and one is owned by a social club
7. Address Lack of Diversity of Businesses in our Squares - These high traffic areas are untouchable for Black business owners
8. Increase Capacity of Commercial Kitchen Space in Cambridge - Support permitted Residential Kitchens, offer commercial kitchen space for food makers, and seasonal caterers--many of whom are women and minority owned businesses or self employed workers. There are very few places local food makers can go in Cambridge to start a food business--they have to go to Boston or Somerville for this support
9. Provide More Pop-up and Market Spaces - Since commercial rents are unaffordable, we need to use city property (or private property) for flea markets, pop up spaces for entrepreneurs in high traffic areas--not a side street with no traffic
10. Offer Access to Low Tech Incubator Space - There are spaces and places for high tech and biotech in Cambridge. How about supporting low tech?
11. Offer a “Bow Market” Concept in Cambridge - We need small business community spaces with shared resources.
The Tapestry of Black Business Ownership in America: Untapped Opportunities for Success
Community-Wealth.org, a project of The Democracy Collaborative, March 2017
https://community-wealth.org/content/tapestry-black-business-ownership-america-untapped-opportunities-success?mc_cid=8b3049e099&mc_eid=8bbc078969
Racial Justice Learning and Reflection
I hope you will continue to join me in a daily practice of anti-racism and racial justice learning and activism to help bring us closer to a racially equal and just community. Thank you to those that have joined me already this summer and fall.
To Read this Week
What if Instead of Calling People Out, We Called Them In?
Prof. Loretta J. Ross is combating cancel culture with a popular class at Smith College.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/19/style/loretta-ross-smith-college-cancel-culture.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
Hard Truths
A year-long AXIOS project on how racism and inequality holds us back.
https://www.axios.com/hard-truths
find more IDEAS in my
Racial Justice and Anti-Racism Resources Google Doc
Here is the link
https://bit.ly/BreakfastGatheringRacialJusticeResources
The Resources are drawn from many groups and individuals. I hope that you will take the time to read, watch, listen, donate and take action. I am continuing to add new resources. New resources are highlighted in orange for about one week.
Georgia Senate Run-Offs – What can we do to Help Elect Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in Georgia
Help if you can with time and money – this campaign is already ugly.
At the same time we want to be supporting local Georgian organizations do their work of reaching out to their voters.
Helping both campaigns
Swing Left Greater Boston is sending Absentee Ballot Applications to Democratic voters in Gwinnett and Cobb Counties, Georgia in cooperation with the Democratic Party of Gwinnett County Democratic Party.
I will have packets of 50 letters + absentee ballot applications available on Friday November 27.
other SwingLeft opportunities
https://swingleftboston.org/calendar/
Together for 2020
Good list of many opportunities to help win the Georgia Senate elections
https://togetherfor2020.org/take-action/state/georgia/
Reclaim Our Vote
Phonebanking
https://www.votinginformation.org/rovphonebankcentral
Fair Fight
Stacey Abrams led organization
Volunteer for Fair Fight from where you are: https://www.mobilize.us/fairfight/.
Movement Voter Project
Make donations to support 13 Georgia grassroot organizations that will be on the ground getting the vote out for the run-off elections
https://movement.vote/funds/ga-fund-c3/
Alternate ROOTS
Asian American Advocacy Fund/Asian Americans Supporting Justice Atlanta
Black Voters Matter – Georgia
Georgia Equality/Equality Foundation of Georgia
Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights
Georgia Muslim Voter Project
Georgia Shift
In Defense of Black Lives ATL
New Georgia Project and Action Fund
SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective
Spark Reproductive Justice Now
Women Engaged
Southerners on New Ground (SONG)
Working Families Organization/ Center for Working Families Fund
GASenate.com
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/georgiasenate
You can make a donation that will be split equally among FairFight, Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff
Helping Reverend Raphael Warnock
From Daneika Ruffin, Director of Rev. Warnock’s Campaign
(who spoke on Nov 11 Breakfast Gathering)
“Right now, the biggest needs we have right now are for fundraising since we are running against the richest member of congress and for people to make calls.”
https://warnockforgeorgia.com
Phone banks
https://www.mobilize.us/warnockforgeorgia/
Sign up to make calls.
Donations
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/warnock-for-georgia_web?refcode=website
Campaign website
https://warnockforgeorgia.com
news articles
Warnock ad warning about coming attack ads
https://twitter.com/ReverendWarnock/status/1324321816102506497
Loeffler unleashes onslaught against Warnock in Georgia race for Senate control
https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/12/politics/kelly-loeffler-raphael-warnock-attack/index.html
Helping Jon Ossoff
Phone banks
https://www.mobilize.us/electjon/
Donations
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_hp_ossoff?refcode=ms_hp_fr_2019.09.10_x_homepage_x__x__x
Campaign website
https://electjon.com
Looking towards the work of repair and progress
in a Post-Trump world
Indivisible
https://indivisible.org
Essential Partners
Essential Partners is spending the four weeks post-election doing what we do best—empowering people to repair the fabric of their community, piece by piece.
https://whatisessential.org/what-happens-next-ep-offering-4-weeks-post-election-support
The Jar
http://jumpinthejar.org
https://vimeo.com/jumpinthejar
A very cool experiment using art as a launch pad for building community in this fraught time– “A vigorous producing organization that brings a global perspective to a diverse, vital and growing community. Together, we create experiences that awaken the courage to honor our differences and celebrate our shared humanity.”
Covid-19
Still collecting Food and Diapers for Chelsea families
Non-perishable food, diapers and infant formula. More families than ever are lining up at the Chelsea Collaborative emergency food pantry. And people are coming from other towns. No one is turned away.
The next delivery will go Thursday December 3 at 11 am.
Bring donations to my house 74R Fayerweather Street (you can put them in the brown Subaru in my driveway off Huron Ave next to the post for 320 Huron Ave or by my front door if the car is missing).
Thank you to everyone who has made donations so far.
Face Masks Still Needed for Vulnerable People in Cambridge
More face masks are needed as more people venture out and school begins (in some form). Cambridge non-profits still need more face masks for their clients – for example Cambridge Community Center is sharing them with people coming to their food pantry.
I still have supplies outside my front door at 74R Fayerweather Street and a box for returning finished Face Masks which I will distribute. We have made and donated more than 3200 Face Masks since late March! Thank you!
Eric’s Podcast - BRAVE NEW PLANET
My husband Eric’s podcast Brave New Planet delves deep into exciting and challenging scientific frontiers that have tremendous upsides but potentially dystopian downsides. Deep Fakes, Geo-engineering, Killer Robots, Predictive Algorithms, Gene Drives –This week is a conversation with Nialla Boodhoo of AXIOS.
You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts —
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brave-new-planet/id1531898121
The Podcast website has resources for each episode and information about all the guests. http://bravenewplanet.org/
Upcoming Breakfast Gatherings
In other future weekly ZOOM Breakfast Gatherings, we will continue to discuss and examine several questions about wealth, housing and zoning, health, policing, employment, education and more through the lens of racial justice (and injustice) asking:
What is causing continued racial inequities?
How can we be more equity conscious?
How can we become more proactive about racial justice rather than reactive?
How can we focus on race explicitly but not exclusively?
Please email me with suggestions for future conversations.
Hoping to see you virtually tomorrow Wednesday November 25 from 8-9 am
(with continuing conversation to 9:30 for those who can stay on).
As always, please invite others you think may be interested.
All the very best,
Lori
Poems and Meditations for this fraught time
Offering
by Jean Dany Joachim
November 8, 2020
I am the poem without words;
I will not be read or said aloud.
I must now stand aside
As I leave the page as an offering.
Come, and come all
To write the collective voice.
Write the redemption poem
With your slogans from the last protests
And whispers of endless nights of prayers.
Write down the paths to follow.
Write your hopeful days.
Write all that is said, all that is heard,
Along with the children’s dreams
With their colors and divergences.
Write the land as it stands;
Let the page be a mirror…
I am the poem without words;
I will not be read or said aloud.
Here, I take my leave.
Thank you for participating in these Breakfast Gatherings.
Have ideas for future gatherings? Know others who would like notice of the Breakfast Gatherings?
You can reach me at lorilander@gmail.com
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