Black History Month 2023 at Nonotuck
The Nonotuck community came out throughout the month of February as we celebrated another successful Black History Month. Nonotuck’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEI&B) committee hosted multiple events and shared resources throughout the month.
If you missed out, videos, links, and event summaries are below.
How to Be Mindful at Work with Sherrell Moore-Tucker
In honor of Black History Month, Nonotuck’s Wellness Initiative and DEI&B Committee brought our first live workshop with Insight Timer. Participants learned about various characteristics of mindfulness, how to develop those characteristics, and how to become more mindful at work.
We also discussed the connection between mindfulness in the workplace and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging.
Film Discussion – Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
With several of Toni Morrison’s books being banned throughout the country, it’s an important time to discuss her life and work. The full documentary and trailer can both be viewed for free on YouTube.
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am offers an artful and intimate meditation on the life and works of the acclaimed novelist. From her childhood in the steel town of Lorain, Ohio to '70s-era book tours with Muhammad Ali, from the front lines with Angela Davis to her own riverfront writing room, Toni Morrison leads an assembly of her peers, critics and colleagues on an exploration of race, America, history and the human condition as seen through the prism of her own literature. Woven together with a rich collection of art, history, literature and personality, the film includes discussions about her many critically acclaimed works, including novels The Bluest Eye, Sula, and Song of Solomon, her role as an editor of iconic African-American literature and her time teaching at Princeton University.
Watch our discussion of the documentary below:
Shop Black-Owned Businesses
Want to support black-owned businesses in Massachusetts? We’ve got a list for that!
Recommended Listening
· Dear Culture - A Smart Black News Podcast For The Culture.
· Black History Year - Black History Year connects you to the history, thinkers, and activists that are left out of the mainstream conversations. You may not agree with everything you hear, but we’re always working toward one goal: uniting for the best interest of Black people worldwide.
· 1619 - An audio series on how slavery has transformed America, connecting past and present through the oldest form of storytelling.
Recommended Viewing
· 137 Shots - In this documentary, law enforcement faces scrutiny as Americans demand justice after police violence claims multiple Black lives in Cleveland.
· Flint Town - Over a two-year period, filmmakers embedded with cops in Flint, Michigan, reveal a department grappling with volatile issues in untenable conditions.
· The Innocence Files - The Innocence Project unravels missteps and deceit in a series of wrongful convictions, exposing the injustice inflicted on victims and the accused.
Honoring Tyre Nichols
“We pray for another family that had to bury a loved one too soon, and remember that Tyre was more than his death.” (from the Black Lives Matter Instagram). Each day as we watch the news and see that these killings continue, it can be hard to know what to do or where to turn, but we know that we must not become desensitized or complacent. We encourage you all to continue to learn about and support the work of Black Lives Matter.
