Saturday  •  Nov 1  •  4 – 7 PM  •  Ticketed Event  •  Wheelchair accessible
Resource Center for Nonviolence • 615 Ocean Street • Santa Cruz

Honoring the Past • Igniting the Future

Dr. Paul Ortiz is professor of labor history at Cornell University, and a former RCNV board member. He is the author of An African American and Latinx History of the United States, which has recently been banned by the Department of Defense and a growing number of libraries and school districts. His forthcoming book, A Social Movement History of the United States, will be published by Beacon Press.

The Resource Center for Nonviolence is honored to gather around his words for what promises to be a defining address for our times: “The Flames We Tend: Building The New Freedom Movement Now.” 

Join the RCNV for La Ofrenda, a sacred gathering where memory meets movement, as they honor the ancestors of justice and kindle the flames of tomorrow’s freedom struggles. Your presence at this year’s fundraiser directly sustains RCNV’s vital work when the world needs courageous hope more than ever.

Dr. Ortiz has graciously offered to sign books during the dessert reception. RCNV will offer copies for purchase and he is also happy sign a book you already own.
 

GET TICKETS

Monday  •  Oct  27  •  7 PM  •  Ticketed Event  •  Wheelchair accessible
London Nelson Community Center • 301 Center Street • Santa Cruz

Bookshop Santa Cruz welcomes Julian Brave NoiseCat who will share his stunning debut We Survived the Night. Drawing from five years of on-the-ground reporting, We Survived the Night paints a profound and unforgettable portrait of contemporary Indigenous life, alongside an intimate and deeply powerful reckoning between a father and a son. Soulful, formally daring, indelible work from an important new voice.

“Written in gorgeous, sparse prose, We Survived the Night reads like a novel. Told with a blistering honesty, the truth and grit create a beautifully woven coyote story we haven’t heard before… With this, Julian Brave NoiseCat has written a book I’ve been waiting my whole life to read.”—Tommy Orange, author of There, There and Wandering Stars

JULIAN BRAVE NOISECAT is a writer, Oscar-nominated filmmaker, champion powwow dancer, and student of Salish art and history. His writing has appeared in dozens of publications and has been recognized with numerous awards including the 2022 American Mosaic Journalism Prize.

Tickets HERE

Friday  •  October 24  •  6 – 10 PM  •  Ticketed event
Veterans Memorial Building  •  846 Front Street  •  Santa Cruz

Join the People of the Americas Unite event at the Veterans Memorial Building to come together in a spirit of unity, compassion, and democracy to shape a more inclusive approach to immigration and foreign policy. This gathering will highlight the importance of respect for vulnerable communities and our neighbors across Canada, Mexico, Central America, and beyond.

Featured speakers include Dolores Huerta (co-founder of the United Farmworkers Union), Daniel Sheehan (Chief Counsel of the Romero Institute), and Chase Iron Eyes (Executive Director of the Lakota People’s Law Project). To close the evening, renowned Brazilian musician Poranguí will share his powerful music.

The day begins with a free, public rally at the Clock Tower in downtown Santa Cruz at 4 PM. Talks begin indoors at 6 PM, with music starting at 8 PM, and the event concluding at 10 PM.

Video of Huerta in Action!

Tickets HERE

Santa Cruz Black’s BLACK on Screen final film for 2025

Tuesday • October 21 • Capitola Library • 2005 Wharf Rd • Capitola
Wednesday • October 22 • Resource Center for Nonviolence • 612 Ocean St • Santa Cruz
Doors open at 6 pm, film at 6:30 pm
Wheelchair accessible • Donation • RSVP requested

Through a deeply personal lens, filmmaker Ashley O’Shay shows us two passionate, social justice warriors, Janaé Bonsu and Ambrell Gambrell, who use very different methods– one an academic, the other an artistic, street-level organizer. By interweaving their private lives—family struggles, grief, and moments of vulnerability—with footage of protests, organizing meetings, and confrontations with institutional power, we are drawn into an intimate portrait of activism as both life-affirming and costly. Juxtaposing the raw energy of protest with the slow, bureaucratic machinery of official hearings and mayoral politics, Unapologetic situates its protagonists within a larger historical continuum, insisting that their fight is not just political, but existential.

The film asks how activists like Bonsu and Gambrell sustain their work amid emotional and systemic exhaustion, and whether change is possible from within the very institutions that harm their communities. It questions whose voices are centered in movements for Black liberation and how gender, queerness, and class complicate solidarity. Most crucially, it challenges viewers to consider what being “unapologetic” demands of those who resist—refusing respectability politics and embracing the discomfort of speaking truth to power.

To register for the Capitola screening click here

To register for the RCNV, Santa Cruz screening, click here

Thursday, October 16 • 6-9pm • Free with RSVP Santa Cruz • wheelchair accessible • Museum of Art and History • 705 Front St • Santa Cruz

An evening of poetry, music, and art!
Reception starts at 6pm and programming begins at 6:30pm

RSVP Here

Sunday •  Oct 12  •  5 – 7 PM  •  Ticketed event  •  wheelchair accessible
Kuumbwa Jazz Center • 320-2 Cedar St • Santa Cruz

Musical Soulmates and Walnut Avenue Family and Women’s Center are proud to co-produce the third annual Let the Caged Bird Sing — a powerful concert in support of survivors during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
This year they are taking a bold step forward, bringing the community into Kuumbwa Jazz Center for an evening of Neo-Soul, joy, and collective healing. The evening is designed to uplift, empower, and honor survivors — while acknowledging the broader connections between colonialism, racism, and domestic violence. 

Musical Soulmates Performers Collaborative honors the legacy of Black composers and centers Black performers and performers of color, cultivating authentic community relationships and creating music that empowers and heals.
Walnut Avenue Family and Women’s Center has served Santa Cruz County for over 90 years, providing essential services for survivors of domestic violence, early childhood education, and programs that build healthy relationships.

Tickets HERE