AMHERST — Black History Month, which begins Saturday afternoon with the raising of the Black Liberation Flag and a performance of the black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” will also be a time to celebrate a milestone anniversary of the right for African-American men to vote and participate in elections.
While 2020 marks the centennial of women gaining the right to vote through the 19th Amendment, it is also the 150th anniversary of the passage of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibited the federal government and any state from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen’s “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
On Feb. 8 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Bangs Community Center, the community is invited to “The Vote: Looking Back to Move Forward,” which will celebrate black history and the vote. The event will include speakers, performers, refreshments and the opportunity to register to vote.
Community participation officer Jennifer Moyston is coordinating the event, to be held the same day as the Winterfest grand finale at Cherry Hill Golf Course in North Amherst.
Black History Month will be kicked off Saturday at 1 p.m. on the steps of Town Hall with the flag-raising, with participants encouraged to bring joyful noisemakers to accompany the singing.
The Town Council will read from a proclamation it adopted this week noting that the nation in February “takes pause to reflect on the injustices and struggles fought and overcome by African Americans throughout our nation’s history, and to pay tribute to the battles they have fought in the name of equality.” Specific to Amherst, the proclamation references that “distinguished figures are depicted on the History Mural in West Cemetery.”
“Healing Climate Grief … and fear, despair, and other feelings” is the purpose of a new group led by Eunice Torres and Russ Vernon-Jones that will meet on the first Monday of each month from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. through June.
Sponsored by Climate Action Now of Western Mass and Sustaining All Life, the group will begin meeting Monday at the First Congregational Church, 165 Main St.
Each session, the group aims to discuss climate change and overcome discouragement and fear.
Torres and Vernon-Jones have been part of a Sustaining All Life team that led supportive listening workshops for the public at the Climate Summit in New York in September.
Those interested in attending can notify the organizers ahead of time, or drop in each month. For more information, or to RSVP, contact Torres at 413-695- 8667 or eunicejwtorres@gmail.com or Russ Vernon-Jones at 413-687-4080 or russvj@gmail.com.
The League of Women Voters of Amherst recently donated pocket-size copies of the U.S. Constitution in both English and Spanish to the Jones Library.
The 200 booklets will be available to patrons at the Jones, the North Amherst Library and the Munson Memorial Library.
League member Adrienne Terrizzi said the initiative began last fall after library staff reported an uptick in questions about the Constitution.
South Amherst residents are forming the District 5 Neighborhood Association to make that part of town a better place to live.
Made up of precincts 7 and 8, and including Amherst Woods, South Amherst, Orchard Valley and the large apartment complexes on East Hadley Road, the association is seeking members,
A steering committee will conduct a second general meeting at Munson Library, 1046 South East St., on Feb. 5 beginning at 6 p.m. to build membership and choose areas of focus for the association’s work.
Amherst Pitch Night will feature local entrepreneurs competing for cash prizes with their business ideas at AmherstWorks, 11 Amity St., on Feb. 6.
The event, which runs from 5 to 7 p.m., is partially sponsored by the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce and Valley Venture Mentors.
MONDAY: Budget Committee, 9:05 a.m., Goodwin Room, Jones Library; Transportation Advisory Committee Subcommittee, 5:15 p.m., First Floor Meeting Room, Town Hall; Community Resources Committee, 6:30 p.m., Town Room, Town Hall.
WEDNESDAY: Planning Board, 7:05 p.m., Town Room, Town Hall.
