WAYS to LEARN ABOUT and WORK AGAINST RACISM

Hearing more and more about the racial wealth gap in our country and not sure what you can do? Learn
about the Boston Ujima Project, an impact investment fund dedicated to elevating local, minority-owned
businesses and keeping economic gains in the Jamaica Plains neighborhood of Boston. http://bit.ly/2lTKaM9
https://www.ujimaboston.com/ What would a similar project look like in Blount County?

Interested in participating in a Racial Wealth Gap workshop in Maryville? To be on the list for the next
workshop, conducted by Blount County United’s Education Committee and BC SURJ, or to schedule a
workshop for a group, contact bcuedcmte@gmail.com

Explore the online 1619 Project (developed by the New York Times to examine the legacy of slavery in this
country on the 400th anniversary of enslaved people arriving here) or check out the print version, the August
14, 2019 issue of The New York Times Magazine (available at the Blount County Public Library).
https://nyti.ms/2mg00Re

Learn from Frank X Walker, a Kentucky writer who coined the term Affrilachia. Walker, author of five
volumes of poetry, will be a featured speaker at the Cormac McCarthy Literary Festival, November 1-3 at the
Blount County Public Library. Walker speaks at 9:30 am on November 1.
https://www.blounttn.org/1590/Cormac-McCarthy-Festival-Schedule-of-Eve

Participate in the workshop ‘Writing from Marginalized Voices in Appalachia’, led by the Knoxville-based
Sundress Academy for the Arts, 2 pm, November 2, at the Cormac McCarthy Literary Festival. For more
information, check the library’s page, listed above.

Mark your calendar for “Bridging the Racial Divide: Lessons from the Most Unlikely Friendship” with
Heather McGhee at the University of Tennessee, Student Union Auditorium, November 7, 6 pm. McGhee is
an advocate for political and economic equality, Distinguished Senior Fellow at Demos, a racial-justice think
tank, and a frequent commentator in the national media.

Watch Knoxville’s Red Summer: The Riot of 1919, streaming on ET PBS, about the race riots nationally and
in Knoxville. http://bit.ly/2kh2mP8 Gather a group to discuss; share your reflections with the BC SURJ
email group, blountcountysurj@googlegroups.com. Not a member of the email group? Contact us at
blountycountysurj@gmail.com to be added to the group.

Attend the October BLOUNT COUNTY UNITED meeting: Saturday, October 26, 1:00 pm, St. Paul AME Zion
Church, Maryville.
Invite Blount County United’s Education Committee to develop a program for your church or civic group.
For more information, contact BCUEdCmte@gmail.com
Join the Alcoa/Blount branch of NAACP: 4th Sat at 11:45 am, St. Paul AME Zion Church, Maryville.
You can find a digital version of this publication under the “Take Action” tab on our website:
https://blountcountysurj.weebly.com/ and older issues under the ‘Archive’ tab.
To receive ‘Ways’ on a monthly basis and share comments after reading/watching any of the suggested
resources, sign up for our email list: contact us at blountcountySURJ@gmail.com
Visit and share our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/blountcountysurj/

A publication of Blount County Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)

October 2019