Friends, how do I deign to trouble you with my words in a world full of trouble? Trust me when I say I am sincerely here for service. I’ll trust those of you who have told me that these posts offer useful tools for the journey towards justice. And so I write and share again.

#DEFENDDACA #WITHDREAMERS
The photo above was taken by Nicole Townsend at a protest at the Hendersonville Apple Festival the day before the announcement was made about the ending of DACA. These girls are part of Nuestro Centro‘s wonderful RAICES dance group, which has lifted my heart on numerous occasions. My heart is hurting now. The fight for immigrant rights has been ongoing, and this moment will be a continuation of valiant work.

I encourage you to sign up for the eNewsletter of CIMA – Compañeros Inmigrantes de las Montañas en Acción via their website, cimawnc.org. Their emails provide valuable updates and calls to action. Their most recent email says: “CIMA will fight for DACA, but also for other members that are were not included in the original DACA. We believe that this is the time to raise up and mobilize. In the following days we will be gathering with DACA and undocumented members to plan our next moves. In the meantime, we are raising money to help those DACA recipients that will have the opportunity to renew their permit.” Click here to donate.

Black August Bail Out
On September 1, I had the honor to be a part of a group that gathered at the Buncombe County Jail to offer love and support to two black women who were bailed out thanks to fundraising efforts led by Southerners on New Ground (SONG). Others will be bailed out soon. As I’ve shared, SONG says, “Across the Southeast, we see bail outs as an ongoing tactic to build a base, to expose the crisis of cash bail and the beast that is the criminal-legal system, to change hearts and minds, to make real and material impacts on the lives of our people, and to build power.” This effort is ongoing, and you can still donate by clicking here (you can chose Asheville in the dropdown menu).

Descubre Asheville
The bilingual blog Descubre Asheville has a new series, #amigos828, which is “a brief introduction of those working on making Asheville a more inclusive and welcoming community.” The first person featured in this series is my friend Jodi Rhoden, who offers beautiful, thoughtful answers to the questions asked. Excerpt: “First of all, as a writer, I think representation is so important. Just like what you are doing with Descubre, writers and journalists have to be deliberate in writing about people of color, and editors and readers must insist on equitable representation, because, under white supremacy, stories by and about people of color are often rendered invisible, or only portrayed negatively.”

Darin J. Waters, Ph.D.
This week I was able to launch a website I built for Dr. Waters, darinwaters.com. Check it out! Be sure to note the dates of the UNC Asheville’s 4th Annual African Americans in WNC and Southern Appalachia Conference, Oct. 19 – 21.

GOOMBAY: It’s the Asheville Goombay Festival this weekend. I look forward to buying (and eating) food from some of my friends that will be vending there.

The Goal is Justice

I’ll close with this quote from Desiree Adaway:

“Diversity is about who is in the room.

Equity is about who is trying to get in the room but can’t and who are those that are here in the room that are constantly being ignored or erased.

Inclusion wants to know if everyone in the room has been heard.