Rochester's Human Rights Day, held this year on December 10 at Downtown Presbyterian Church, focused on "the new Jim Crow," the theme of Michelle Alexander's recent book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.
The evening will begin at 5:00pm with a potluck dinner and a reading of the UN's Declaration of Universal Human Rights. Dr. Marvin McMickle, President of Colgate Rochester Crozier Divinity School, will give the keynote address, followed by:
(1) responses from a panel of local residents directly affected by the policies of the "new Jim Crow,"
(2) general discussion, and
(3) a call to action.
We urge you to focus with us on the threat the "new Jim Crow" poses for the entire community, not just people of color, and to join others already engaged in addressing new manifestations of racism both here in Rochester and nationally.
Human Rights Day
Observance Bios
Keynote:
Dr. Marvin McMickle: The recently inaugurated 12th
President of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, Dr. McMickle comes to us
from Cleveland where he served as Senior Pastor of Antioch Baptist Church. During
that time he established an HIV/AIDS and a job training ministry, a hunger
center, three AA units, a marriage enrichment program, a credit union and a
tithing program in which the congregation tithes out to the community 10% of
its annual income every year. sponsored
by the state of Ohio. He served as president of both the NAACP and the Urban
League in Cleveland, as well as serving as president of the Shaker Heights
Board of Education and the Karamu House Performing Arts Center and a member of the Board of Trustees of
Cleveland State University.
He served on the adjunct faculty at Princeton Theological
Seminary, New Brunswick Theological Seminary, New York Theological Seminary and
Ashland Theological Seminary and was Visiting Professor of Preaching at Yale
University Divinity School. He also taught Bible Study at Sing Sing prison in
Ossining, New York.
An eloquent speaker, Dr.McMickle twice ran for
Congress. He is the author of 12 books
and has also authored dozens of articles for professional journals and
magazines.
Dr. McMickle has been married to Peggy Lorraine Noble since
1975 and they have one son, Aaron who resides in New York City.
Panel Members:
Rosemary Rivera: A Director for Citizen Action of New
York working on electoral and issue campaigns at the state and national level.
She is married and has 3 children and 2 grandchildren, two dogs, a cat,
and a snake.
Ricardo Adams:
A dedicated community activist with much personal experience in poverty,
prison and homelessness. He is a happily married father of three daughters and
has a passion for making a difference.
Maurice Miller: At 24, currently employed at the
Rochester Convention Center and pursuing higher education, he previously worked
and volunteered for Teen Empowerment. He has a beautiful two year old daughter.
- 1199 SEIU United Healthcare - Workers East
- Abundance Cooperative Market
- Activists Against Racism Movement
- Alberta Moss Scholarship Fund
- Alliance for Justice, Rochester Chapter
- Alpha and Omega, LLC.
- Alternatives for Battered Women
- Amnesty International Group 191
- Animal Rights Advocates of Upstate NY
- Asbury First Methodist Church
- B.O.O.K.B.A.G.S. Express
- Buddhist Peace Fellowship
- Catholic Family Center, Office of Social Policy
- Catholic Muslim Alliance
- Center for Disability Rights
- Center for Study of Civil and Human Rights Laws
- Center for Teen Empowerment
- Center for Youth
- Church of St. Luke & St. Simon Cyrene
- Church Women United in Rochester
- Circle, Inc.
- Citizens for a United Earth
- Ciudad Hermana Task Force of Metro Justice
- Coalition for the Beloved Community
- Coalition of NortheEast Association
- Coffee Connection / Project Empower
- Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School - Life Long Learning Program
- Commission on Christian-Muslim Relations
- Compeer Rochester, Inc.
- Cool Kids
- Dances of Universal Peace
- Department of Peace, Greater Rochester
- Downtown Presbyterian Church
- Dr. Lawrence Hargrave
- Education for Peace, Inc.
- Electoral Reform Working Group of Occupy Rochester
- Empire State Consumer Project
- Empower
- Episcopal Diocese of Rochester,Public Policy Committee
- Ethics Minor Program - St. John Fisher College
- Facing Race: Embracing Equity
- Faith in Action Network - GRCC
- Feminists Choosing Life of New York
- First Unitarian ChurchSocial Justice Council
- Flying Squirrel Community Space
- Foodlink
- Friends of Educational Excellence Partnerships
- Friends of St. Bridget's
- Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, U of R
- Genesee Unitarian-Universalists Standing Together
- Genesee Valley Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union
- Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace
- Genesee Valley Organic CSA
- George Dardess and Peggy Rosenthal
- Greater Rochester Coalition for Immigration Justice
- Greater Rochester Libertarian Party
- Green Party of Monroe County
- Harvesting Hope for Farmworkers
- Healthy Sisters' Soup and Bean Works
- Henrietta United Church of Christ
- Hickey Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue at Nazareth College
- Hindu Temple of Rochester
- Inspiritual
- Interfaith Health Care Coalition
- Interfaith Impact of NY State
- International Socialist Organization of Rochester
- Islamic Center of Rochester
- Judicial Process Commission
- Lake Avenue Baptist Church
- Latin America Solidarity Committee
- Life Listening Resources
- Living in Harmony in God's World
- Mediation Center, Inc.
- Metro Justice
- Migrant Support Services of Wayne County
- Mike Connelly
- Monroe County Legal Assistance Center
- Move to Amend - Rochester
- Moving Beyond Racism
- National Coalition Building Institute, Upstate NY (Rochester) Chapter
- National Organization for Women Greater Rochester Chapter
- Native American Cultural Center
- Nazareth College Peace and Justice Program
- NED (Northeast District)
- New York State United Teachers
- Palestine Children’s Relief Fund – U of R Chapter
- Partners in Restorative Initiatives
- PathStone (Rural Opportunities, Inc)
- Pax Christi Rochester
- Peace Action and Education (of MJ)
- Peace Action Collaborative, Inc.
- Peace of Christ Parish Social Ministry
- PeaceArt International
- Peaceprints Prison Ministry/Cephas
- Peacework Organic Farm
- PeaceWorks Rochester
- Planned Parenthood of Rochester/Syracuse
- Pride at Work AFL-CIO, Rochester Finger Lakes Chapter
- Progressives in Action
- Pullman Memorial Universalist Church
- R Community Bikes, Inc
- Regional Center for Independent Living
- Rochester Committee on Latin America (ROCLA)
- Rochester Free Radio
- Rochester Social WelfareAction Alliance
- Rural and Migrant Ministry
- Saint Joseph's House of Hospitality
- Saint Joseph’s Neighborhood Center
- Sandra Cain
- Save America's Mountains, Rochester
- Self-Development of People Committee of the Presbytery of Genesee Valley
- Sisters of Mercy, NY, PA, Pacific West Community
- Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester
- Spiritus Anti-Racism Coalition
- Spiritus Christi Prison Outreach - Jennifer House and Nielson House
- Sustainable Living: Surviving Peak Oil and Liking It
- Social Welfare Action Alliance
- Take Back The Land
- Temple Sinai Social ActionCommittee
- The Interfaith Alliance of Rochester
- Third Presbyterian Church Peacemaking Team
- Trinity Emmanuel Presbyterian Church
- Turning Points
- Wayne Action for Racial Equality
- Western NY Peace Center, Buffalo
Please check back to this page, the website as a whole and our Facebook and Twitter pages for updates on the program.