Over the past years, we have witnessed the brutal genocide as practiced by the state of Israel against Palestinian women, children, and innocent men. The United States, with its history of practice similar behaviors against Native and African Americans, is an expert with its support of this practice in the Middle East, particularly in Gaza.
We have Zane Zents, who grew up in West Omaha and is Jewish. He has been involved in the Palestinian coalitions and Jewish Voice for Peace groups to help stop these unlawful activities. We also have Zaeem Hag, a Pakistani American immigrant, who is with Nebraska for Palestine, which is also involved in dealing with the issue.
Shadi Nadri is a nonprofit professional who recently moved to Omaha from Tulsa, OK to work on special projects. She has also worked in media, both print and television, and has many opinions about what it means to communicate. Some years ago, there was an article that cited those of us who use oral tradition vs. writing in how we tell our histories. As the old African proverb goes, the Lion’s history is different from the hunter’s.
Shadi is of Iranian descent and is a heritage speaker of Farsi. We will also cover howrace is experienced as a “technically white, possibly person of color” Middle Easterner. In this cloistered state, many are unaware of the sinister background of the reasons for the war going on in Iran, and there are different viewpoints on that war. Moreover, there are unique reactions in this country by those elites and white supremacist personalities.
We will explore some of those issues and offer a different framing of that situation.
Join us for a community conversation about the lack of access to legal services in Nebraska. We intend to focus on the barriers that real people face in getting the legal assistance that they need with the aim to collaboratively craft a plan with the community about how to best address it.
This event is co-hosted by the Movement in Omaha for Racial Equity (MORE), Nebraska Appleseed, Legal Aid of Nebraska, ACLU of Nebraska, the Nebraska State Bar Association, and the Nebraska State Bar’s Volunteer Lawyers Project.
Ben Salazar is a long-time community advocate. He is strongly involved in the Chicano community, attempting to awaken those who are standing on the sidelines to challenge the racism and anti-immigration ICE supporting personalities and most of all giving examples to all of the younger folks that as some becomes an elder of the community, that you can still challenge police brutality, and lazy elected officials who are smug and sleeping on the job. In the history of city and county government, there has been only one Latino elected official in the city hall to my knowledge (city/county government). I first heard of Ben when I was on the board of the Chicano Awareness Center over 40 years ago.
Ben was also at the forum when we talked about the racist police stops of People ofColor in Omaha and the state of Nebraska. Ben is a Vietnam Vet, a former newspaper publisher, and one of the few Latinos in Omaha who writes about current conditions in the community. We will explore issues as he challenged LULAC of Nebraska’s malfeasance and the bogus collaboration and secret meetings with law enforcement that run counter to the interests of families in our community.
We will explore issues as he challenged LULAC of Nebraska’s malfeasance and thebogus collaboration and secret meetings with law enforcement that run counter to the interests of families in our community.
LeClara Gilreath has an MBA and an MA. She attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is a native of Omaha. She is one of the few African American historians who deal with race issues. As we review the book The Roots of Justice: A History of Race and Racism in Nebraska, we come to learn valuable parts of history that havebeen left out of the History of Blacks in Nebraska. The History departments at post-secondary institutions have painted a jade history of our contribution to this state and its importance to move beyond the hero worship of the same old trivial data and more into social justice and significant accomplishment to carve out our existence in this racist and apartheid state. The Nebraska Historical Society has many articles that are beyond the reach of folks who don’t know how to avoid stereotypical recitation. LeClara will share her interest and what it takes to conduct research on Black History in a state with a hostile academic climate.
Mogien “Mo” Boyd is the new Executive Director of the African American Commission. He is a native Nebraskan and has a degree in history from UNL and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Bellevue University. This Commission was created to help advance public policy for African Americans in Nebraska. Over the years, there have been many challenges dealing with legislative issues, and for the most part,
Senator Chambers was that connection to keep our interests front and center. Mo is tasked with helping to implement the new strategic plan, which guides the work of the Commission and African Americans in these trying times. They provide a state legislative update to help more folks advance our communities in Nebraska. We will explore how others, individuals, nonprofits, and people of goodwill can help African Americans statewide to advance tangible outcomes and meaningful tasks that will bothincrease state pride and offer transformation for the quality of life for African Americans in Nebraska.
The Future is History: Masha Gessen's book discuss by two MORE board members
This discussion is about the book's overview of what has happened under Vladimir Putin's authoritarianism in Russia, its links to history, and the struggle for democracy, as in the United States. The characters could be updated to reflect current conditions in Omaha and across Nebraska for People of Color. The educational system is controlled by corrupt folks who only want more funds for their pet projects. Racism and Classism are embedded in the outcome for students. We see many people who experience poverty in both countries, despite billions of dollars spent on control of the population and war. The lack of health care for many in Nebraska is similar to problems in Russia. One of them is the oppression of queer and alphabet people and their brutal harassment by law enforcement and religious zealots, as in this country. The alt-right, ultra -white that primarily work in law enforcement, ICE, and many of the educational system. rise to keep its respective population in check by using the cult of the personality of the leaders who are as dumb as a gnat. The data demonstrate that the book depicts The Future is History. As an African proverb would say, the past, the present, and the future are all connected. We sometimes cannot see the lines
I Cut Off Every Person in My Life
Murder’s Mask
Patriarchy, Possession and the Pattern. Behind the Killing of Botsawana Women
How Botswana’s Youth Lost The Path To Independence
How Botswana’s Youth Lost The Path To Independence
The Battle Over Marriage and The Future of Botswana Family
Omaha Police Department over spending and excessive arrests for certain communities of Color.
Riley Wilson, an attorney, was arrested by the Omaha Police Department for being an observer during the George. Floyd protests in. 2020. He is also a lawyer who has worked with the ACLU and understands why we need more community engagement and community policing, rather than the dog-and-pony show where they have planted questions, Bobbhead's responses, and most of all, the inability to offer good answers to the real questions or return for tax dollars. Omaha is almost 40 percent people of color, and when we look at many in law enforcement, including judges, the FBI, and the U.S. Marshals, the racist sheriff department there is no semblance of equity in this apartheid city of Omaha, Nebraska. This robust exchange seeks to raise the intellectual level of the Omaha Police to stop being a Gestapo and using ICE surrogates to harass its citizens.
Sexual offenses in Nebraska: What can be done for restorative justice?
Jeanie Shoemaker Mezger, an advocate for prison reform in Nebraska, talks about the dysfunctional laws, lack of proper information dealing with the sexual registry laws, and poor engagement of community members. Jeanie also works with the Nebraska Criminal Justice Review, a publication that allows various residents to share their perspectives on ideas and issues related to the dysfunctional criminal justice system. The School to Prison pipeline is part of the industrial prison complex that we are attempting to deconstruct antiquated practices to help folks who have served their time not be stagnated at the bottom of the ladder, because of draconian laws.
Book & Article Reviews for Black Nebraskans during Black History Month
The Nebraska Prison System: The Prison Industrial Complex and its lack of Reforms: Willis Sanders
Willis Sanders, a long-term resident of the Nebraska Industrial Complex, discusses his role in the school-to-prison pipeline, which creates negative opportunities for reform. Although a lot of folks make bank off the criminal justice system, the police department, the public pretenders, and most of all the County Attorney, with its racist mentality, create a no-win situation for many inmates of color. There is a hole that inmates are put in for no apparent reason, and there is little to no advocacy by the state, since they are part of the money-making scheme. It is apparent they hate African American males by how many are pushed and maintained in that system. Meanwhile, we are less safe when they return because the money-grubbing entities involve others in how to avoid the high level of recidivism in Nebraska. African American males make up less than 5 percent of the population, yet 28 percent of the inmates in the Department of Prisons. What can we do about it?
The White Man’s Burden is Heavy on The African Woman
Why Blackness is Hated
Botswana Wildlife Poaching Crisis and Social Justice
Racism Resistance
The Robert M. Spire Founders Service Award serves as the ACLU of Nebraska’s lifetime achievement award.
This year, we are proud to be honoring A’Jamal-Rashad Byndon, for decades of service, mentorship, and unwavering commitment to equity and justice in Nebraska. Born in Hastings and raised in a family of 14, A'Jamal is a lifelong advocate for People of Color and low-income families. He is one of the founding members of Omaha Table Talk, an organization that, at its height, brought over 600 residents in Metro Omaha together for dinners at various homes and community sites. He has taught multicultural and Black Studies classes at the University of Nebraska and Metro Community College, started the first diversity course at Nebraska Methodist College in Omaha, and even developed the first academic poverty class at the UNO Honor program and taught it three times before it was discontinued. He was also one of the first African Americans to serve on the board of the Latino Center of the Midlands, then known as the Chicano Awareness Center, over 30 years ago. He is currently serving as the chairman of the Board of the Movement in Omaha for Racial Equity, and continues to provide staunch advocacy for system accountability, transparency and equitable use of resources, especially through his work to ensure access to legal services in under-resourced communities in North and South Omaha, as well as across the state to ultimately end Nebraska’s “legal deserts”
A’Jamal served two years in the Peace Corps in the Republic of Botswana after graduating from UNL, was the Public Policy Senior Director at Catholic Charities for 25 years, and currently has 4 adult children with college degrees!
The ACLU of Nebraska is happy to honor A’Jamal’s lifetime of service with this award!
Selalelo Mmankgodi Women’s Grafted Fruit Tree Project
MORE STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
We are working on a report on the effectiveness of these civil rights organizations, such as the city’s Omaha Human Rights and Relations Department, in addressing their mission. It’s come to our attention that they have little to no empirical data on the success of addressing racism, and historical discrimination and, most of all, engaging communities of Color with the transformation of the problems into reasonable solutions. When a public fund organization does work have little or any social capital with oppressed African Americans and other People of Color, it is time to ask for change. What good are third-string quarterbacks who can’t play in the Superbowl of anti-racism? Can we point to one success story and whom they helped in the valley of the struggle that can offer testimonials to outcomes?
Got any questions regarding anti-racism, race equity, or community advocacy but have never seemed to be able to get any answers? Or incidents handled by Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission , Nebraska Urban League, or any government funded organizations. -
Text or Email A’Jamal at 402-212-7083 or email moreinfo@moreomaha.org
Mail + Donations via Check
For all mail, or donations via check please mail to:
2016 Fowler Ave
Omaha, NE 68110
402-212-7083
EIN: 27-0666026
