Two Showings:
Tuesday • June 18 • Resource Center for Nonviolence • 612 Ocean St • Santa Cruz
AND
Wednesday • June 19  • Capitola Library • 2005 Wharf Rd • Capitola
6:30 PM, doors at 6:00 • FREE • wheelchair accessible

B.L.A.C.K. On Screen is a five-documentary film series focusing on the themes behind our acronym BLACK: Building Legacies of Access in Communities of Kinship.

Descendant is June’s film and it is the final film screening.

Each screening will be followed by a discussion and/or Q&A.

ABOUT THE FILM

Documentary filmmaker Margaret Brown (“The Order of Myths”, “The Great Invisible”) returns to her hometown of Mobile, Alabama to document the search for and historic discovery of The Clotilda, the last known ship to arrive in the United States, illegally carrying enslaved Africans. After a century of secrecy and speculation, the 2019 discovery of the ship turns attention toward the descendant community of Africatown and presents a moving portrait of a community actively grappling with and fighting to preserve their heritage while examining what justice looks like today. Watch the trailer here.
 
Please note that this event WILL take place at the Capitola Branch Library on June 19 even though all branches are closed for the Juneteenth holiday.
 

Saturday • June 15 • 12 – 5 PM • Laurel Park at London Nelson Center
301 Center St • Santa Cruz • Wheelchair Accessible • FREE

Join this vibrant celebration of African American heritage. Enjoy live music, basketball clinics, soul food, a parade – all honoring the spirit of Freedom. This is a FREE event for the Black community and its allies. 
Activities launch with a 2nd line band parade starting at the Black Lives Matter Mural, 809 Center St, Santa Cruz. Bring your instruments and dancing shoes! 

For more information, please click here.​

Friday • June 14 • 6 pm • Wheelchair Accessible • FREE
Resource Center for Nonviolence • 612 Ocean St • Santa Cruz

The Resource Center for Nonviolence presents “Caste Uncovered,” an enlightening panel discussion. This pivotal event is a key part of the official Santa Cruz Juneteenth celebrations and promises to offer profound insights into the complexities of caste and ethnic histories. 

Join us for a transformative journey moderated by distinguished guests and community leaders, designed to challenge perspectives and foster a deeper understanding of social hierarchies. In collaboration with Ava DuVernay’s eye-opening series “Origins,” our panel will explore themes that resonate with current social discourses and inspire progress toward an inclusive society. 

Special Announcement: In anticipation of the event, Isabel Wilkerson’s critically acclaimed book, Caste, will be available for sale at the RCNV. We encourage attendees to enrich their experience by pre-ordering a copy. Please contact Dani at dani@rcnv.org to reserve your book today. 

 Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with thought leaders and be part of a crucial conversation about dismantling barriers and building bridges in our communities. See you there!

Click Here to RSVP

Tuesday • June 4  • 8:00 – 9:30 AM PT • Online • FREE

In 2024, democracy is on the ballot, a principal story told by anxious news outlets worldwide. Yet, this focus on democracy’s precarity obscures other urgent matters: the rise of AI and its challenge to a humanist account of intelligence, the rumoured demise of liberalism, environmental crises reinforcing colonial logics, and international law’s failures to rise to the moral occasion of the destruction of Gaza. Smaller moments reveal other worlding events and the idea of a pluriverse with diverse moralities and systems. Are this year’s events just about a threatened ideology of belonging, or do they hint at other stories and possibilities?

Join OBI’s Democracy & Belonging Forum on Tuesday, June 4th 2024 (8:00 AM – 9:30 AM PT / 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM ET / 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM CET) for our next mbari of The Edges in the Middle, where OBI Global Senior Fellow Bayo Akomolafe will meet with author, sociologist, and environmentalist Ashish Kothari to discuss the sociomaterial, political, spiritual, and civilizational events shaping our time.  

Register for the virtual event here!

Sunday • June 2 • 11 AM • Wheelchair Accessible • FREE

(Parade viewing info and map below)

(Photos ©Batin Photography)

Although Pride is not directly centered on racial and economic justice (our North Stars at SURJ Santa Cruz County), we celebrate and uplift it each year in acknowledgement of the sad truth that queer and trans people of color are some of the most marginalized in our society and many suffer extreme discrimination, harassment, and abuse.  It was our desire to create greater acceptance and more safe spaces in our community that led to the first Rainbow Defense Coalition last year.  Members of the coalition show up at Drag Storytimes, LGBTQ+ events, and also BIPOC events where the organizers would like to have some friendly allies keeping an eye out for anything that might disrupt the mood.  

If you would like to be a part of this amazing group, please fill out this form.  We ask that you volunteer at two events per year.  We will provide any necessary training.  And we will have a contingent in the Pride Parade, so come say hello! 

For more info about the many Pride events happening this month, please click here. 

“Cheer on our Grand Marshals, watch cheerleaders, listen to bands and view a wide variety of contingents making up the largest LGBTQ+ Pride parade on the Central Coast. The Santa Cruz Pride parade and festival celebrates the LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning Plus) community in Santa Cruz County. The parade and festival is a safe and inclusive space for the queer community and their allies. You are welcome to be who you are and join the organizations, allies, supportive groups, churches, candidates, ensembles, performers, parents, children to show your pride, activism, enthusiasm and love.” 
— Santa Cruz Pride

Two Showings:
Tuesday • May 21 • Resource Center for Nonviolence • 612 Ocean St • Santa Cruz
AND
Wednesday • May 22 • Capitola Library • 2005 Wharf Rd • Capitola
6:30 PM, doors at 6:00 • FREE • wheelchair accessible

B.L.A.C.K. On Screen is a five-documentary film series focusing on the themes behind our acronym BLACK: Building Legacies of Access in Communities of Kinship.

Through June, screenings will be the 3rd Tuesday at the Resource Center for Nonviolence and the 3rd Wednesday of the month at the Capitola Branch Library. Doors open at 6:00, screenings begin at 6:30. 

The Taking of Harris Neck is May’s film.

Each screening will be followed by a discussion and/or Q&A. Some of the filmmakers will be participating. Stay tuned!

ABOUT THE FILM

The stunning marshlands of Harris Neck, Georgia have a tragic history. In 1942, the US government took 2687 acres of land inhabited by descendants of freed slaves to build an airbase. The government promised to give the land back after the war. Now 80 years later the community is still fighting to get their land back. The Taking of Harris Neck tells a story of trauma and racism – and the perseverance to overcome against all odds.

The series continues with:

June 18 & 19
Descendant. Follows descendants of the survivors from the Clotilda, the last ship that carried enslaved Africans to the United States, as they reclaim their story.

Saturday • May 18 • 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM • Santa Cruz City Hall
809 Center St • Santa Cruz • Wheelchair accessible • FREE

(May is Affordable Housing Month – see many other events here)

Hosted by: Housing Matters

On Saturday, May 18, 2024, a compassionate coalition of local businesses, non-profit organizations, and hundreds of supporters will March to End Homelessness in Downtown Santa Cruz. The March is the second annual gathering organized by Housing Matters. This event is anchored in inspiring hope for actionable solutions to homelessness through the advancement of public policy. We will meet in front of Santa Cruz City Hall for a Rally featuring inspiring speakers with lived experience of homelessness, service provider partners, and County leaders. After the Rally, we will March through downtown (see attached map), and finishing with a Resource Fair. 

Register here