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IRTFDonate – use this code and Equal Exchange donates 10% of your purchase to IRTF

We’re excited to announce that Equal Exchange will be donating a portion of their sales to IRTF when you shop their online store. 

To shop Equal Exchange click here. Find organic and fairly traded coffees, teas, chocolate, cocoa, nuts, dried fruits, and even olive oil—all from small farmer co-ops, available by the case for stocking up.

Promo code:  IRTFDonate . Enter this code when you check out and Equal Exchange will donate 10% of your purchase back to IRTF!

Equal Exchange was founded as a solidarity organization in 1986 to support small farmers in Nicaragua by importing their coffee despite the US embargo.  Forty years later, this worker-owned co-op continues to prove that a more democratic food system is possible.

To shop Equal Exchange click here

What’s really going on in the U.S. immigration system? How cann we become informed voters as we try to understand such a complicated and broken part of our nation?

On Sunday, March 1, Tania Nemer will be speaking on immigration. She is in the process of suing the administration for discrimination on the basis of sex, national origin, and past political activity.

Tania Nemer is a graduate of CooleyLaw School and a lawyer with 17 years of experience. She served as an immigration judge in Cleveland and is among dozens of immigration judges removed from their posts this year by the Trump administration. She has filed a lawsuit claiming she was unlawfully dismissed because of her gender, national origin and past political activity.

Racial Equity Buddies of Greater Cleveland hosts this thought-provoking discussion on the impactful book and a NY Times best-seller, "The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy" 

Our hosts are Chiq Montgomery and Cynthia Lehman. Chiq is a founder member of Racial Equity  Buddies, and Cynthia serves on our steering committee.
Here is a very good six-minute Facebook clip about the Doctrine of Discovery. It includes the doctrines' impact on the African continent, its people, as well as the Americas. 

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/14QQStghAMa/

Here are some excerpts from the book. Following the excerpts are two additional video clips that have been shared previously, but are worth sending again. 

Excerpts 

The Doctrine of Discovery merged the interests of European imperialism, including the African slave trade, with Christian missionary zeal

While the Doctrine of Discovery has escaped scrutiny by most white scholars and theologians, Indigenous people and African Americans have long been testifying to these Christian roots of white supremacy, while dying from and living with their damaging effects

The Doctrine of Discovery was formally incorporated into US law in 1823 in Johnson v. M'Intosh, which held, by unanimous decision, that 'discovery gave the US government an exclusive right to extinguish the Indian title of occupancy, either by purchase or conquest.

Johnson v. M'Intosh rooted deeply in the Doctrine of Discovery, set the legal standard for how the US would deal with the Native American population and actively shapes both US and international law today.  

The following two video clips 

In this six-minute YouTube video, titled "Book Review: The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy," Dina Gilio-Whitaker, a member of the Colville Confederated Tribes,  reviews Robert P. Jones' book, *The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy*. You can watch the interview for more insights into her perspectives.

Below is a 7-minute YouTube clip with an interview of the author, Robert P. Jones. There, as in the book, he unequivocally states the original sin of America is NOT 1619 when 16 Africans were sold as indentured servants, but 1493, when the Doctrine of Discovery proclaimed that "white Christian Europeans are inherently superior to all other peoples and therefore anything they do with the 'undiscovered' lands and people therein is justifiable and warranted. 

The Origin Story of White Supremacy in America

to join meeting request the invitation link via email: racialequitybuddies@gmail.com

Enjoy an evening of fun and community while learning more about the Northeast Ohio Worker Center. The evening will include a variety show featuring local talent, a silent auction, and drinks available for purchase. Tickets are $25 and available for purchase

Your donation

By attending the event you will be helping to raise funds for the Northeast Ohio Worker Center. The dollars raised for this event will help to pay for things like staff time to conduct wage theft intakes, connect workers to agencies and legal services so that they can get the money they are owed, and conduct community outreach. Learn more about our work by checking out our 2025 annual report.

If you or your organization is interested in making a larger donation, we are also looking for event sponsors. Please reach out to Grace at grace@neoworkercenter.org or visit the sponsorship web page.

to purchase tickets click here

The Hidden Legacy of African American Women Revealed: Past Brilliance, Present Power --- Black Women Leading through TIme.

Dr. Noël M. Voltz, Assistant Professor of History at Case Western Reserve University, will guide us through a sweeping historical panorama of African American women’s powerful and wide-ranging contributions throughout American history, revealing how their legacies continue to shape our world today in the ongoing fight for justice.

Robin Echols Cooper, a performing artist with Women In History, brings abolitionist and women’s rights pioneer Sojourner Truth to life with a powerful, immersive portrayal that echoes the fire of her 1851 Akron speech, in which she demanded the world recognize both her womanhood and her freedom.                                                

Join us for an afternoon of reflection as we shine a light on the women whose strength continues to shape our world. Discover how these legacies not only echo through history but also illuminate our path forward, inspiring us to lead, create, and transform our communities with the same power and vision.  

Sponsors include: Racial Equity Buddies of Greater Cleveland, Lakewood Black Caucus, TheSpot YEO (Youth Empowerment Organization), West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church-Undoing Oppressions Ministry.                                  

Reserve your spot today by emailing: racialequitybuddies@gmail.com and bring a friend, neighbor, or colleague to stand with us as we honor these remarkable women and their inspiring stories. 1-4pm, includes lunch!

JOIN US AT THE FREE STAMP ON MARCH 28TH FOR THE THIRD TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT FASCISTS KNOW THEIR PLACE.

On March 28 we'll take to the streets, ready to bring millions of new allies along with us to declare, in one voice: NO thugs terrorizing our neighborhoods. NO troop deployments in our streets. NO imperial wars of conquest. NO KINGS.

Our movement is only getting bigger and stronger. “NO KINGS” is more than just a slogan—it’s the foundation our nation was built upon. Born in the streets, carried by millions in chants and on posters, it echoes from city blocks to rural town squares, uniting people across this country to fight dictatorship together.

The president thinks his rule is absolute. But in America, we don’t have kings, and we won’t back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty. Grow our movement and join us.

https://www.mobilize.us/opalmissionvote/event/893355/

IRTF initiated our annual Social Justice Teach-In (aka Liberation Lab) in 1999. This spring we feel a great need to call together justice-minded folks who are committed to human rights, liberation, and respect and dignity for all people. 

Every year for the past 26 years, this event has been an informative and inter-generational day of community building and education for high school and college students and other community members seeking ways to take positive action for social justice. 

This year we will have panels on:

International Anti-imperialism

Liberation Literature: "The Fire Inside" by Rima Vesely-Flad 

War Resistance

Joy/Nourishment

We’re honored to host a panel with Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad, the Visiting Professor of Buddhism and Black Studies at Union Theological Seminary, author of The Fire Inside, a groundbreaking work that reimagines the writings of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde through the lens of Buddhist practice. This conversation invites us to explore how mindfulness, embodiment, and inner work can sustain movements for justice and liberation.

To buy tickets or become a sponsor click here

The ticket price also includes a delicious lunch! 

SCHEDULE

11am - doors open

11-12: printmaking with artist Ape Bleakney

12pm: lunch

1-2pm: keynote Dr Rima Vesley-Flad, The Fire Inside: The Dharma of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde

2-3pm: panels

3:15-4:15pm: workshops and skills shares

4:30-5pm: liberation music

other opportunities to meet Dr. Rima Vesley-Flad:

Thursday, April 9 - Loganberry Books (details to be announced) 13015 Larchmere Blvd, Cleveland, OH 44120

Friday, April 10 - Third Space Action Lab (in partnership with Mac's Backs) (details to be announced). 1464 E. 105th St. #302 Cleveland, Ohio 44108

Cleveland Tree March: Plant trees, not war.

The Cleveland Tree March (a half-mile walk) will step off from the Langston Hughes Branch of the Cleveland Public Library (10200 Superior Ave) at 10am on Saturday, April 11. The public is welcome to join us.

The march, sponsored by the Cleveland Nonviolence Network, is inspired by women in Kenya who planted trees in eastern rural Africa to counter deforestation—a major threat to subsistence farming. Wangari Maathai, one of the leaders and the first  African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, broadened her work to foster peace and democracy in Africa, igniting a grassroots movement focused on environmental conservation and women's rights. The Green Belt Movement spread across the continent, resulting in the planting of over 30 million trees.

Goal: At least 200 marchers will carry tree saplings to Brookdale Orchard*, with at least 100 committed to planting, nurturing, and reporting on the well-being of their adopted saplings. Marchers might plant the trees at their homes, at their place of worship, at their community garden, or other public space with permission.

*southwest of the starting point at the library, the urban orchard is bounded by E 86th, E 88th, Brookdale Court and Wade Park Ave. Rain location for the ending point is St Matthew United Methodist Church, 8601 Wade Park Ave., Cleveland 44106

Why a tree march? Our country and planet are facing dire challenges.  As we mark the anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. (April 4, 1968), we are reminded of the “triplets of evil” that he so aptly identified: racism, poverty, and war. Today, the successors of MLK’s campaigns to overcome these entrenched systems of injustice have rightfully added ecological destruction to the list.   As we approach Tax Day (April 15),  we admit our complicity in supporting the $1.5 trillion US war budget that fuels the US military—the largest institutional emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet. MLK warned that our nation—spending many times more on the military than on programs of social uplift—is approaching spiritual death.

Planting a tree is an act of hope. With each step forward on April 11, we’ll say YES to life and NO to death. YES to trees and NO to war.  With our trees we are investing in a future liberated from the evils of racism, extreme materialism, militarism, and environmental degradation. We are taking a concrete step toward climate restoration. We are planting our vision for the future.

Register at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1yBJY4F6H-h2bEAoFJs2qhfycinJ3OZWlraihRFQ1W9s/viewform?edit_requested=true&fbzx=-5869456267905502917

Organizer: Cleveland Nonviolence Network. Co-sponsors to date include: Brookdale Orchard, Carl Stokes Brigade, Cleveland Peace Action, Creation Care Team of St Patrick Parish with St Malachi Oratory, East Side Creation Care Alliance, InterReligious Task Force on Central America, Northeast Ohio Community Resilience Centre, Northeast Ohio Sierra Club, St. Matthew United Methodist  Church, West Side Creation Care Team