Eesha Williams's Blog, page 14
August 18, 2023
175 Rally
About 95 people attended a rally in Northampton on August 13. "We called for the resignation of the officers involved in the incident, Officer John Sellew and Officer Jonathan Bartlett, as well as the resignation of Police Chief Jody Kasper," Miranda Groux told the Valley Post. She works for the Amherst Survival Center, but was speaking as a private citizen, not on behalf of the Center. The incident in question happened on April 4, when Bartlett and Sellew of the Northampton police department t...
August 11, 2023
From Parking Lot to Park?
Twenty people attended a peace rally in Greenfield on August 5. “We stood for peace and a ban on all nuclear weapons, just one day before the 78th anniversary of the US atomic bomb ‘test’ that destroyed Hiroshima. A second, plutonium, bomb was 'tested' on another civilian target three days later, destroying the city of Nagasaki on August 9,” Anna Gyorgy told the Valley Post. She works for a group that has a web site at www.traprock.org. The bombs killed about 200,000 people.
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August 4, 2023
200 March, Rally
Isaac Evans-Frantz lives in Brattleboro. Last year, he ran for U.S. senate and was endorsed by the Vermont Progressive Party (VPP). Vermont's current lieutenant governor is a member of VPP. On August 4, 2023, Evans-Frantz told the Valley Post that “dozens” of people attended a LGBTQIA rights march in Brattleboro on August 2.
On July 28 in Amherst about 75 people attended a rally for LGBTQIA rights, Ali Wicks-Lim, one of the organizers, told the Valley Post. The organizers have a web page at:
July 27, 2023
60 Rally
In Northampton on July 25, about 45 people attended a rally to protest Chase bank's support of the fossil fuel industry. The Brattleboro area was hit hard by floods this month. The floods were made worse by climate change. The Northampton rally organizers have a web site at http://climateactionnowma.org. Russ Vernon-Jones was one of the organizers. He told the Valley Post, "It was a great success.
July 21, 2023
100 at Rally
About 100 people attended a rally in Springfield on July 17. Nurses are asking the community to join them in protesting corporate moves to make health care in the region worse. Nurses at Mercy Medical Center, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) union (www.MassNurses.org) held an informational picket outside the hospital on July 17 in response to Mercy's owner Trinity Health Corporation recently closing 20 intermediate care beds, “temporarily” closing other essential service...
July 16, 2023
Kiah and Muq Concert
Amythyst Kiah and Jon Muq will perform a concert on October 1, 2023 at 8 p.m. at the Drake in Amherst. Tickets are $20. You can hear Kiah at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqtPxwOW3HU&ab_channel=AmythystKiahVEVO
and Muq, who is from Uganda, at:
July 14, 2023
Labor, Peace Rallies; Floods
A labor rally is set for July 17 in Springfield. Nurses are asking the community to join them in protesting corporate moves to make health care in the region worse. Nurses at Mercy Medical Center, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association union (www.MassNurses.org) will hold an informational picket outside the hospital on July 17 in response to Mercy's owner Trinity Health Corporation recently closing 20 intermediate care beds, “temporarily” closing other essential services without any...
July 7, 2023
Reggae Singer from Jamaica to Play Near Brattleboro
When N.L. Dennis was singing in a recording studio with Toots and the Maytals, Bob Marley stopped by to listen. Marley praised Dennis's delivery. Today, Dennis lives in his native Jamaica and joins hundreds of Jamaicans who come to Vermont every summer in search of better paying work. Most of them work on vegetable farms and at apple orchards. Dennis works as a reggae musician. On July 16, he will play a free concert at the Putney, Vermont farmers' market at 11 a.m. Putney is near Brattleboro. ...
Workers Unite
In Brattleboro, about 15 UPS workers attended a labor rally on June 30. On August 1, the biggest strike against a single employer in U.S. history will probably start. UPS workers this summer voted 97 percent in favor of striking if they don't get a fair union contract. UPS reported record profits that let $8 billion in dividends be paid to UPS shareholders last year. Many UPS workers make $15 an hour. The workers have a web site at https://teamster.org.
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