The Sanctuary for Independent Media

Hello everyone! Today, this post is by Erin Johanns, the new Garden Coordinator for the 2021 growing season for Collard City Growers. This FRIDAY 5/28 from 5-7 PM we will having a Blitz in the L Lot, located in the South End of the alley on Glen Street of the Sanctuary's Campus. Our own Christian Grigoraskos will be hosting this event and teaching participants about important permaculture lessons such as Plant Identification, Succession Planting, Bee Observation, Chop and Dro...p Mulching, Pollarding and other radical pruning methods. If you would like more details for FRIDAY 5/28 or want to see what other events we have coming up in the near future, check out this link to our events page or visit The Sanctuary Independent Media website at mediasanctuary.org. https://www.mediasanctuary.org//blitz-of-the-l-lot-permac/ Please look for signs outside CCG Garden Gate (3337 6th Ave Troy 12181) if you need assistance locating the L Lot. I will be at the Garden starting at 4 pm and can also help guide others if they need directions. This event will be open to the public anytime between 5 and 7 PM so feel free to stay as little or as long as you like. We look forward to seeing you there!

- Local Birdathon Raises Money and Awareness for Birds - Sharon Bruce, Communications Manager at Audubon New York and Audubon Connecticut, led birders in an annual Birdathon on Monday, May 17. The next day, she spoke with HMM correspondent Corinne Carey about the 112 species of birds the group saw and heard in diverse habitats in the capital region.

The school year is over for many and nearing the end for many others. Hudson Mohawk Magazine has been covering stories of Students & Education to hear about the challenges of remote learning, cancellation of activities, and rethinking education. Some examples of segments:... - Benefits of Online Learning for Disabled Students - Alexx Whyrich spoke with Oaklee Thiele @oakleethiele about the benefits of online learning and her artwork - Students Talk About St. Rose’s Program Cuts - Caelan McPherson spoke with two students from St. Rose, Lydia Flynn and Sara Parisi, about St. Rose's @collegeofstrose cuts to their arts programming - The Role Of Education In Social Justice with Natélegé Turner-Hassel - Melissa Bromley spoke with Natélegé Turner-Hassell, principal at Troy’s School 2 elementary school about how the role of education in bringing about lasting social change. - 365 Days a Year Black History Video Project With Tamu Chambers - Roaming Labor Correspondent, Willie Terry, interviewed Hudson Valley Community College Professor Tamu Chambers about her 365 Days a Year Black History Educational Video Project. - Troy Prep Media Club COVID-19’s Impact On Education - Students Treasure Ervin and Laila Traore, members of Media Club at Troy Prep High School, interview each other about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their lives and their high school education. Is there a perspective that we haevn't covered and should? Let us know in the comments! Or bring your ideas to our weekly meetings on Mondays at 7:07. No experience needed to become a producer; just bring your curiosity and a willingness to learn. Hear all of our segments at MediaSanctuary.org/Stories [image description in comments] #education #students #remotelearning #communityradio #disabledstudent #programcuts #fundthearts #blackhistory #newsradio #communityreporting #independentradio

- David Rothenberg Decodes the Music of the Humpback Whales - David Rothenberg is a musician, writer, scientist and professor living in the Hudson Valley. His s...pecialty is the music and culture of animals and how they relate to the music of humans. In the latest issue of National Geographic he has authored a pull out section that takes actual songs of humpback whales and translates them into musical notation. Moses Nagel spoke to him about the research and art behind this story and the other projects he has pursued during the pandemic. #animals #music #whales #whalesounds #animalculture

Plant Swap & Water Testing May 22nd, 11:00 am 1:00 pm Join us in the Collard City Growers Garden for a plant swap! For more information, hear McKenna Conner's interview with Christian Grigoraskos and Azuré Keahi (slide 2) or visit our events page on our website... Everyone is welcome to come and learn about garden propagation and division (socially distanced, of course). This weekend there will also be water testing at Nature Lab! Our Water Justice Fellows (slide 3) will be testing water with Sebastian Pillitteri, Community Science Coordinator at @riverkeeper (slide 4). Hear our interview with Sebatian to learn more about this process. Listen to Hudson Mohawk Magazine Stories at MediaSanctuary.org/stories or subscribe to the podcast Will we see you this weekend? What plants will you be swapping? Let us know in the comments [image description: slide 1: a light-skinned hand holds a starter plant in their hand. The dirt has fallen away to show the root system. On the photo is large white text, "Plant Swap" and smaller, thinner text, "Collard City Growers." slide 2: photos of Christian Grigoraskos (light skin, dark hair, smiling child on his lap) and Azuré Keahi (brown skin, brown hair in top-bun, visible through fennel stalks). slide 3: two young Black women (Shansanique Pollack and Genesis Cooper) stand masked next to a water testing machine in the new Nature Lab. slide 4: Sebastian Pillitteri- white with curly hair, a beard, and glasses- wears a Riverkeeper t-shirt and smiles at the camera #troyny #plantswap #capitalregionevent #communitygarden #urbanfarming #watertesting #youthscientists #hudsonriver #saturdayevent #saturdayvibes #communityradio #foodforest #enjoytroy #518life

This Friday, May 7, Compassion & Choices Senior Director (and Hudson Mohawk Magazine correspondent) Corinne Careywill be featured on Senator Phil Boyle’s virtual debate series making the case for medical #aidindying and why all New Yorkers deserve autonomy in life & death. Register here: https://bit.ly/3ejlK7t

A recap of last weekend's rally by Caelan McPherson

Ten years before she co-founded the Sanctuary, filmmaker Branda Miller released Witness to the Future, an experimental documentary video project. In celebration of its 25th anniversary, Branda has allowed us to re-release the film as the capstone to our North Troy Environmental Justice Film Festival. The short film shows that little has changed in the fight for environmental justice, aside from media technology and fashion trends. Register for the film festival here: https:...//tinyurl.com/nteff2021 Once you register you'll be emailed a link to screen "Witness" as well as a link to watch Branda Miller and co-producer Robin Reidy speak with interviewer Corinne Carey of WOOC 105.3 FM's Hudson Mohawk Magazine about the intervening 25 years. "Witness to the Future" seeks connections that unite people of all cultures, communities, races, and economic classes as they struggle for environmental and social change. Downwind from the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, Tom Bailie describes the many homes, including his own, decimated by disease and birth defects, from radioactive gases released from the atomic plant. In California's San Joaquin Valley, where farm-workers are routinely exposed to large doses of pesticides, Camilla Yarburough-Nunes talks about the effects of pesticide sprays and chemical drifts on her children. In Louisiana's "Cancer Alley," a string of industrial plants surrounds rural, predominantly African-American families too poor to move or to mobilizeuntil people like Wilfred Greene decided to do something. "I'll give up when I'm dead," he says, "but hopefully my children will carry on what I believe." #documentary #environmentaljustice #enjoytroy #indyfilm #independentfilm #hanford #canceralley #activism #peoplepower #film #video #art #artmatters #organic #organicfarming

Don't miss the final event in the North Troy Environmental Justice Film Festival: "Witness to the Future" at 25! https://www.mediasanctuary.org//witness-to-the-future-25th

Hear Branda Miller talk about her film, Witness to the Future, on its 25th anniversary! What has changed? What should media activists know about this work? How can you watch this film? Register for today's virtual screening, our last event in the North Troy Environmental Justice Film Festival. Find the link to register in the original post.

A coalition of groups from Troy held a town hall on Sunday, May 2, 2021 to discuss recent actions by the City of Troy around policing. This gathering was convened at the last minute as the City Council Finance Committee pushes forward to hire an additional six police officers to the Troy Police Department. The proposal passed in this Committee with a 5-2 vote and the full City Council votes on Thursday, May 6, 2021. Speakers include: Starletta Smith (YWCA) Jerry Ford (TCBL)... Diamond Owens (Community Youth) Renee Powell (NAACP, President - Troy Branch) Tasheca Madina (Equality for Troy) Deanna Swenson (North Central resident) Jessica Ashley (The Justice Center) Willie Terry (CBTU) Colin Donnaruma (Lawyer) D. Colin (Moderator) Co-sponsored by Troy Coalition of Black Leaders, NAACP Troy Branch, YWCA of the Greater Capital Region, The Justice Center of Rensselaer County, Equality for Troy, and the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists. www.mediasanctuary.org

The outcome of a political battle in Coeymans could determine whether the Lafarge-Holcim cement plant can burn millions of tires every year. The Ravena Coeymans Selkirk middle and high schools are just a stone's throw from this plant. Among the issues to be discussed in this community forum, moderated by WOOC 105.3 FM correspondent Corinne Carey, include: -Overview of LaFarge’s history as a polluter... -The Albany County Clean Air Law, Amendments to the Coeymans Clean Air Law, and the Permissive Referendum -Health threats of burning tires and waste for fuel vs. coal in cement kiln incinerators -LaFarge’s threats of job loss or even closing the plant -Coeymans Town Board misrepresentations to voters -Why the DEC and EPA does not protect us, using the Norlite hazardous waste incinerator in Cohoes as an example There will be plenty of time for Q&A Panelists include Attorney Carlo deOliveira, Albany County Legislator Matt Miller, Environmental Policy Expert Jane Williams, and Execute Director of Saratoga Sites Against Norlite Emissions, Joseph Ritchie. This event is sponsored by the Coeyman's Clean Air Coalition and the Hudson Mohawk Environmental Action Network.

How clean is the air you breathe? The New York Capital Region is home to hundreds of thousands of people. Why are giant multinational polluters like LafargeHolcim and Norlite determined to burn toxic waste in our backyards? Join us TONIGHT as we learn how LafargeHolcim sidestepped the Albany Clean Air bill passed last year and what comes next. 7PM. Link to register: https://mediaalliance.secure.force.com//CnP_PaaS_EVT__Exte

"The music of the Supremes emerged during an era of tension and upheaval in the United States: In 1963, civil rights demonstrators convened on Birmingham, Ala., 250,000 people marched on Washington to hear leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Through the turbulence, the Supremes seemed to find fans everywhere."

100+ registrants and counting. Don't miss out! Join us Monday from 11AM to 1PM. For the second year in a row the Sanctuary is hosting the Capital District MLK Holiday Labor and Community Celebration. This is the event's 22nd year and the first time it'll be virtual. ... More info and registration link here: https://www.mediasanctuary.org/event/mlk2021/ We'll hear from Assemblymember Charles Barron, an "elected activist" out of Brooklyn, Denise Berkley, Statewide Executive VP for the CSEA, and Dr. Ron Daniels, Founder and President of the Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW). Deacon Jerry Ford Jr. and Shana Davis will be the MC’s, with a guest appearance by musician Taina Asili. The event features local poets D. Colin, Shania Jackson and Erika Diggs. And we'll break out into discussion groups focused on Community, Labor, Racism, Environmental Justice, Youth & Education, Justice Reform, Economic Justice, Health Justice, Peace, and Culture. Community partners include Solidarity Committee of the Capital District and New York Solidarity, Team H.E.R.O., Troy 4 Black Lives, NAACP Troy Branch, The Capital District Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Made Too Believe, NATURE Lab's People's Health Sanctuary, and more.

The New York State Department of Environmental Justice held an online public information session last week about the Norlite hazardous waste incinerator in Cohoes. The meeting followed a string of highly publicized lapses in the plant’s pollution controls. More than one hundred people attended.

SAVE THE DATE! For the second year in a row the Sanctuary is hosting the Capital District MLK Holiday Labor and Community Celebration. This is the event's 22nd year and the first time it'll be virtual. We've already got nearly a hundred registrants so sign up quick! More info and registration link here: https://www.mediasanctuary.org/event/mlk2021/... Next Monday (1/18) from 11AM-1PM we'll hear from Assemblymember Charles Barron, an "elected activist" out of Brooklyn, Denise Berkley, Statewide Executive VP for the CSEA, and Dr. Ron Daniels, Founder and President of the Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW). Deacon Jerry Ford Jr. and Shana Davis will be the MC’s, with a guest appearance by musician Taina Asili. The event features local poets D. Colin, Shania Jackson and Erika Diggs. And we'll break out into discussion groups focused on Community, Labor, Racism, Environmental Justice, Youth & Education, Justice Reform, Economic Justice, Health Justice, Peace, and Culture. Community partners include Solidarity Committee of the Capital District and New York Solidarity, Teamhero, Troy 4 Black Lives, NAACP Troy Branch, NATURE Lab's People's Health Sanctuary, and more.

At a hearing on Monday morning, three of four members of the Ginsberg Four pled guilty to trespassing charges incurred during a protest of what they say was a...n illegal eviction of a young Black mother in Troy. They were also slapped with an Order of Protection from the landlord involved with the case, Michael Ginsberg. Their attorney, Mark Mishler, called the Order of Protection insulting. Troy 4 Black Lives held a press conference this morning at Troy City Court after the hearing. You will hear from Attorney Mark Mishler, members of the Ginsberg Four, and Kiani Conley-Wilson of Troy Democratic Socialists of America. The case is related to a tenant of lawyer and landlord Michael Ginsberg. The Eviction Defense Coalition says the tenant was illegally evicted by having her locks changed. The tenant is a single Black mother with a 3 year old son. She has filed charges against Mr. Ginsberg for unlawful eviction, but the coalition says the City of Troy has turned on the eviction defenders instead. Photo: Tyler McNeil

The warm glow from this weekend's Water Justice Confluence is still with usbut our edited video of the first evening is already online! Check out the premiere screening of "Echoes From Lock One" and the ensuing discussion featuring the filmmakers, along with Heather Bruegl, Director of Cultural Affairs, Stockbridge Munsee Community and Sachem HawkStorm, hereditary sachem (chief) of the Schaghticoke People. The evening concluded with remarks and performances by activist/hip hop artists Jayohcee and Xiuhtezcatl!

Hope you made it to Friday's online workshop "Stretched Thin: The Grief of Traumatic Loss" with Lisa Good! If you were able to attend, you already know how profoundand usefulit was. If you missed it, here's a video of the event so you can catch up (and share widely)...

On Day 2 of the Water Justice Confluence, we hear from environmental justice mentors Sachem HawkStorm, (hereditary sachem (chief) of the Schaghticoke People) and Heather Bruegl (Director of Cultural Affairs for the Stockbridge Munsee Community) along with youth activists from the Water Justice Lab (Troy, NY), Kingston YMCA Farm Project (Kingston, NY) and Groundwork Hudson Valley (Yonkers, NY).

HMM Producer Alexis Goldsmith shared her experience as the HMM Coordinator and what Independent Media means to her live on the show with hosts Lovonia and Guy. ...Alexis started as an intern with the Sanctuary for Independent Media in January 2019 and became the coordinator for HMM in October of 2019. She now serves as the National Organizing Director for Beyond Plastics, but is still dedicated to supporting Independent news and media arts. It's easy to become a producer for HMM, simply email [email protected]. Everyone is welcome, no experience necessary. For a more in-depth experience, consider interning for The Sanctuary. College credit is available for students. Photo: Spirit of the Suffragettes, 2019

The opening evening of our 2-day virtual "Water Justice Confluence" will begin with a land acknowledgement of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community by Heather Bruegl, in recognition that The Sanctuary for Independent Media exists on the ancestral homelands of the Mohican people. The evening continues with the world premiere of the water justice documentary short Echoes From Lock One, a participatory youth production. Following the screening is an open dialogue, What is Water ...Justice and Environmental Justice?, facilitated by mentors Heather Bruegl and Meghan Marohn, with participating youth groups, Water Justice Lab (Troy, NY), Kingston YMCA Farm Project (Kingston, NY) and Groundwork Hudson Valley (Yonkers, NY). The evening ends with a collective performance of Stay Woke with Jayohcee, and a special visit from hip hop artist Xiuhtezcatl! Thank you to Riverkeeper for co-sponsoring the Water Justice Confluence!

In the fifth installment to the Public Health, Local series, Tianhong Mu describes her research on the removal of PFOA and PFOS from water via electro-coagulation. Tianhong is a graduate student with the Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Department of the University at Albany, SUNY. Photo from UAlbany.

Don't miss tonight's premier of "Echoes From Lock One" at 7pm, the kick-off event of the two-day Water Justice Confluence. Don't miss this event celebrating the first year of Water Justice Lab, a 3-year collaboration organizing for water justice up and down the Hudson River! It's not to late to get in on this event, register at mediasanctuary.org. You can also watch live on our Facebook page tonight!

"The constant refrain coming from Republican leaders is that the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol is 'not who we are.' And yet how else are we to explain what happened? If it is not who we are, then all members of both parties should reject this 21st-century lost cause. But too many Republicans haven’t and unless they do, its impact could last for generations."

United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) local 717 union member and Remington Arms worker, Jacquie Sweeney, talks to WOOC’s Brendan Maslauskas Dunn outside of Remington Arms on October 30, 2020 in Ilion, NY. Sweeney, along with nearly 600 union members, were shocked to learn they were all terminated from Remington, the oldest gun manufacturer in the nation. The company filed for bankruptcy over the summer and was sold in October, the union however is fighting back.

Listen to a conversation with curator, Stephen J. Tyson, of the art exhibition: Engage: Artists in Visual Dialogue. This exhibition drawn from New York State’s Harlem Art Collection/NYS Office of General Services, the collections of the University Art Museum at the University at Albany, and 11 contemporary Capital Region artists. Stephen’s exhibition has been fostering conversation on our campuses and in our communities, as we all try to navigate the present moment in our nation. Engage: Artists in Visual Dialogue on view at the Esther Massry Gallery at The College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY, through Nov 21.

HMM producer, Anna Steltenkamp, speaks with Clayton Brascoupe. Clayton is a life-long gardener and farmer. He is also the Program Director of the Traditional Native American Farmers Association (TNAFA), which is a non-profit, inter-tribal organization of Indigenous farmers, gardeners, educators, and health professionals. Their mission is to revitalize traditional agriculture for spiritual and human need, by creating awareness and support for Native environmental issues. Thi...s is the first segment in a multi-part dialogue with Clayton Brascoupé. In this segment, Clayton speaks about the mission of the TNAFA and why it is personally significant to him. Further, he speaks about the practices and ideals of traditional agriculture that the organization seeks to revitalize, as well as the importance of these practices for his own children and grandchildren. He speaks on the value of the quality time and the knowledges he is able to share with his family through farming. See more

Tonight's premier of "Echoes From Lock One" will kick-off a two day Water Justice Confluence. This event celebrates the first year of a 3-year collaboration to ally groups for water justice up and down the Hudson River. It's not to late to register for this online event... go to our website mediasanctuary.org to get the Zoom info!

The Hudson Mohawk Magazine Network Roaming Labor Correspondent, Willie Terry, was on a zoom webinar forum on October 31, 2020, entitle The Ballot or the Bullet: The Influence of Malcolm X on SNCC! (Student NonViolent Coordinating Committee). The forum was sponsored and chaired by Zayid Muhammad of the Malcolm X Commemoration Committee and dedicated to Imam Jamil Al-Amin (H. Rap Brown). In this segment, he recorded an excerpt from one of the speakers, Mukasa Dada (Willie Ricks), SNCC Field Secretary and Community Organizer, and the first person to use the term Black Power during the Civil Rights Movement.

New York experienced long lines during early voting and is expected to take weeks, if not months, to count all the absentee ballots in the recent election. We talk with Blair Horner of NYPIRG about needed reforms to overhaul the Board of Elections and modernize voting. With Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Radio Network. #2020election

Spectrum News produced this great preview of our Water Justice Confluence, featuring the Water Justice Lab fellows at The Sanctuary for Independent Media! Visit www.mediasanctuary.org for details on the virtual Water Justice Confluence, taking place Friday 12/11/20 from 7-9 PM and Satrday 12/12/20 from 1-3 PM!

Listen to the third episode of the Birth Justice podcast where we interview birth workers, birthing people and activists around the topics of equity and respect in childbearing and reproductive care. Catherine Rafferty is joined by Michelle Doyle, a certified nurse midwife from Troy, NY, to talk about local birth justice.

On Monday, November 2nd, a dozen protestors and activists with Citizen Action of New York came out in the cold to protest New York State continuing evictions even as winter comes and the Coronavirus pandemic persists. You will hear (in order) Luke Grandis from VOCAL-NY, Rebecca Gerrard and Gabriel Silva from Citizen Action NY. Reported by HMM Correspondent Miles Mikofsky.