Category: Black Lives Matter - PACG - Progressive Action for the Common Good

QC Juneteenth Festival - Of Interest to Our Forum Members

5/31/2023

QC Juneteenth Festival
Saturday, June 17th at 11:00 am to 6:00 pm

The Lincoln Center
318 East 7th ST
Davenport, IA (map)

Friends of MLK Center (FoMLK)

The Friends of MLK (FoMLK) organization is proud to host the Quad City Juneteenth Festival on Saturday, June 17, 2023 at the Lincoln Center - TMBC located at 318 E. 7th St., Davenport, IA. from 11 am – 6 pm.

This festival is complete with food and retail vendors; local and national history information; community and resource booths; and fun-filled games and live entertainment for the whole family, this is sure to be an event you will not want to miss. Now that Juneteenth is a federal holiday, we are looking to make this year’s event our largest ever.

We look forward to having you join us as a vendor, volunteer, sponsor or patron for this years festival as we acknowledge and celebrate the Black/African American culture and history. Read the history of Juneteenth and find more information about the 2023 Festival here.

PACG Webmaster

Our abortion reading list - Of Interest to Forum Members

3/3/2023

Abortion reading list

Gender Equity Forum

"I Am the Future" showing by DYC of NAACP - What You Can Do Now

2/3/2023

I Am the Future: Standing on the Shoulders of the Past showing - Update
Saturday, February 18th at 3:00 pm

Davenport Public Library
321 N Main ST
Davenport, IA 52801 (map)

Note: The venue has changed. This event will be at the main branch of the Davenport Library on North Main Street.

PACG and the NAACP Davenport Youth Council 47AA

Our Black History Month project is once again being shown at a Quad Cities library. We are very excited that the NAACP Davenport Youth Council will make this presentation.

Please join us for a viewing of the impact that the 1963 March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr had on local Quad City residents.

As before, we will have at least some of the interviewees on hand for a discussion afterwards. Read more about these remarkable people from our previous blog post.

Glenda Guster

Racial Equality Now! Rally Continues - What You Can Do Now

1/30/2022

Racial Equality Now! Rally continues despite the cold!
Saturdays from 12 noon to 12:30 pm

The Slumberland/Party City
Southwest Corner of
John Deere RD & 16th ST
Moline, IL (across from South Park Mall) (map)

Note: We will continue to gather every Saturday - unless the temperature is a wind chill of 20° F or below, or there has been a recent snow or ice storm, or there is lightning or an active thunderstorm.

Civil Rights Forum

PACG's weekly Racial Equality Now! rallies have occurred each Saturday since June 13, 2020. It is our hope that the rallies will continue until racial equality and justice are achieved for people of color in our country.

Stand with us. Carry one of our signs, or bring your own. The 30 minutes you spend with us will be a bonding and soul-lifting experience and will give you hope for our future.

One of PACG's Founding Mothers, Cath Bolkcom, took some fine photographs of our January 29th rally. You can read more on our Facebook page here.

We believe that all lives will matter only when Black Lives Matter.

See more images from January 29th's rally here. Read previous blogs about this weekly event on the PACG website here.

Caryn Unsicker
Glenda Guster

21-Day Equity Challenge September and October Sessions

9/8/2020

21-Day Equity Challenge
September and October Sessions
Tuesday, September 15th Deadline for the Second Session

Civil Rights Forum

The Civil Rights Forum would like to thank the United Way of the Quad Cities for bringing the 21-Day Equity Challenge to our community. Many of us have participated in the first session and have found it rewarding. We encourage all members of PACG to take advantage of this opportunity!

Join the United Way and our partners in the community as we learn to change our habits to imagine and build a more equitable Quad Cities with the 21-Day Equity Challenge.

Sign up at https://www.unitedwayqc.org/21-day-equity-challenge for one of the next two sessions. You will receive an email every day with suggestions for readings, podcasts, videos, observations and ways to form and deepen community connections and understanding.

Listen, learn, reflect and act to help us live our lives Stronger Together through these challenges that can be done individually, with friends and family, or organization-wide.

Participants will be invited to the Quad Cities Equity Summit in October. Registration closes for the second challenge on September 15th!

Alta Price

No Hate In Our States - Listen to "1619" Podcast

7/9/2020

Learn more about Black History - "1619" Podcast

Civil Rights Forum

Podcasts are available for free via a variety of apps. “1619,” which was created by the New York Times, is an engaging and informative series that traces the history and lasting effects that slavery has had on our Black population. Podcasts are great, because you can listen while in the car, making supper, sewing masks or doing other activities.

Black history - "1619" Podcast

Julie Ross

Learn About Black History Online - No Hate In Our States

7/1/2020

Learn More About Black History - View Online

Civil Rights Forum

Here are two fine programs streaming for free that will give insight into Black history in our country.

I recommend you watch them in this order:

Finding Your Roots on PBS, Season 1, episode 2: Gives the fascinating history of two prominent African American politicians, Cory Booker and John Lewis. NOTE: this is streaming on Amazon ONLY through June 30th.

After you learn about John Lewis’s roots, you will want to watch Selma, which is streaming for free on Amazon Prime.

Both of these movies provide excellent information and are great springboards for family discussion.

Julie Ross

There Is No Such Thing As A "White Ally" - No Hate In Our States

7/1/2020

Read the Article There Is No Such Thing as a "White Ally"

Civil Rights Forum

Conversations about race are never easy. It is not the job of Black People to do that educating. As attorney Catherine Pugh points out in her article, There Is No Such Thing as a "White Ally", "Racism is not mine, it's yours. It's not called 'helping' when it's your mess we're cleaning."

This is not an easy read, but it is essential that white people fully understand racism in America. Catherine Pugh is a former adjunct professor at the Temple University in Japan. She developed and taught "Race and the Law" for its undergraduate program. She has worked for the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Special Litigation Section, and as a Public Defender for the State of Maryland.

“There Is No Such Thing as a ‘White Ally’”

Caryn Unsicker

Introducing the "No Hate In Our States" Section in Our WEU

6/23/2020

No Hate In Our States -
A Recent Addition to the PACG Weekly Email Update

A Message From Our President

Dear Progressives,

I am sure you have been as disheartened as I have over the murder of George Floyd, but I hope you have also found hope in the powerful resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement. PACG wholeheartedly supports this movement as well as all efforts for advancing racial justice in our communities and our country.

In response, demonstrating the importance of these efforts, our newsletter will begin each week with a new "No Hate in Our States" section, which will provide information on how you can get involved in supporting Black Lives Matter as well as justice and equality for all. In addition, links to more suggested actions for advancing these efforts will appear in this section.

Let's stand in solidarity with our diverse brothers and sisters in advancing justice!

Your President,

Allison

Watch "13th" - No Hate In Our States

6/23/2020

**Watch the Documentary 13th - Streaming On Netflix**

No Hate In Our States

Netflix and Amazon Prime are streaming many excellent movies and documentaries which give insight into the history of racism in our country and why the Black Lives Matter movement is something we must all understand and support.

13th is an excellent documentary for gaining understanding into the oppression and racism that plague our country. Watch 13th for free on YouTube: https://youtu.be/krfcq5pF8u8

Keep an eye on the PACG Facebook page for more film suggestions.

Julie Ross