MORGANTOWN civilian police review and advisory board update
Morgantown City Council has appointed Bryan Church and Catherine Fonseca to the board. There is still one vacancy. The board has organized and has elected Rich Burks as chair, Rachel Fetty as vice chair, and Nicole Lauffer as secretary.
MORGANTOWN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
The next regular meeting should be Thursday, May 18th at 6:30 p.m. You can get information on the commission, including information on filing complaint forms here and copies of the agendas and minutes for the commission meetings here. You can find a calendar of annual human rights observances here. Observances for the current month are included here.
LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS of morgantown / monongalia County (LWV-MM)
The League of Women Voters is a constituent member of West Virginia Women Vote (WVWV).
"The League of Women Voters of West Virginia Invites You to Attend a Special Event During Our 2023 Biennial Convention 'The Fight for Women's Equality, It's Not Over!' In Keeping With Our Theme Our Guest Speaker will be Author, Historian and Activist Elisabeth Griffith, PhD on Saturday May 13th at 1:00 p.m. Dr. Griffith is the author of In Her Own Right: The Life of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, which was the inspiration for Ken Burns’ s PBS documentary Not For Ourselves Alone.
"Betsy Griffith is a consummate storyteller, combining research and riveting narrative to keep alive the political and social struggle for equal rights by American women front and center."
- Ken Burns, documentary filmmaker
"Author and historian Elisabeth Griffith offers an unprecedented survey of the women's suffrage movement that masterfully intertwines two parallel crusades for justice, those of Black and white women."
- Lissa Muscatine, co-owner of Politics & Prose Bookstore, former chief speechwriter to Hillary Rodham Clinton
"Griffith's compelling narrative casts new light on victories but also persistent fault lines in the quest for equality across the social landscape."
- Ann Compton, ABC News White House correspondent covering seven presidents
To register please go here. You do not need to be a League member to register. The Zoom link will be sent to those who register.
Follow this group on Facebook and contact them by email at lwvmorgantown@gmail.com. Interested in joining the League of Women Voters? Join online.
GREATER MORGANTOWN INTERFAITH ASSOCIATION (GMIA)
You can follow GMIA on Facebook or on the web. Their email address is morgantowninterfaith@gmail.com.
MORGANTOWN NOW CHAPTER
Email this group at morgantownnow@gmail.com. Follow the group on Facebook.
Morgantown-Kingwood Branch of the NAACP
The next meeting will be on Tuesday, May 16th at 5:30 p.m. via Zoom. See below for more details. Contact the NAACP at 3241naacp@gmail.com for more information and to learn how to participate.
The branch has a Readings on Race and Rights group that is publicized through the NAACP listserv.
"We are asking all members to please join the Health Committee in discussing mental health on next week. Please join this event which will be streamed live on Facebook!" See below. More information here.
"The president and CEO, asked to share our organizational structure with people in another state who were trying to organize around similar issues."
This group is now deciding how to move forward. Follow the NAACP on Facebook.
WEST VIRGINIA COALITION FOR TRUTH IN HISTORY
This group organized in 2022 in response to proposed legislation at the state level dealing with the way history is taught in our public schools. It is again meeting on Thursday evenings at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom. To participate, you must register to receive the Zoom link, email wvtruthinhistory@gmail.com.
The group is now deciding how to move forward. Follow them on Facebook.
MORGANTOWN CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN-MENNONITE
The church has a Blessings Box outside the church at 464 Virginia Avenue, where you can drop off extra food you may have or take some if you need it, or swap food. Feminine hygiene products are also welcome.
Morgantown Church of the Brethren will meet for Sunday potluck picnics in Wiles Hill Park after Sunday services (around 11:45 or 12:00). People of the neighborhood and community are warmly welcomed.
Follow them at their website or on Facebook. Sunday services are held at 10:30 a.m. in person and via Zoom, with the link available here. "We ask that everyone wear a mask inside the building.”
UNITARIAN-UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP OF MORGANTOWN (UUFM)
The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Morgantown, at 429 Warrick Avenue, Morgantown, WV, 26505 is now meeting in person at 10:45 a.m. on Sundays.
Topics for May include:
Sunday, May 7th: Life after Death in the Bible and Beyond, with Prof. Bart Ehrman (Vimeo).
Sunday, May 14th: The People’s Advocate, Sir David Attenborough at the COP26 Conference (YouTube).
Sunday, May 21st: UUFM ANNUAL MEETING.
Sunday, May 28th: Tackling biodiversity loss and climate change with Greta Thunberg.
For more information go to the UU website or Facebook or email UUFMWV@gmail.com or call 304-216-5535.
PFLAG
The closest chapter now is in Fairmont, with information available here. According to its website, “PFLAG Fairmont meets each month, usually on the first Thursday of the month at 7pm on the 2nd floor of the Ruth Ann Musick Library on the campus of Fairmont State University.”
DISMANTLING RACISM TOGETHER
Dismantling Racism Together will meet on Monday, May 15 at 7 p.m. by zoom. Sarah Palfrey, Director of the Morgantown Public Library System, will present information on Issues Facing Libraries That Create Threats to Our Society including book bans, drag queen book reading attacks, etc. The link to join this presentation and discussion following is https://wvu.zoom.us/j/99315281389?pwd=Z1hyWmlnWHJzcVZIQ00ycnBRcTJMUT09
For more information please go to their website or email dismantlingracismtogether@gmail.com or contact rebeccarodd@yahoo.com.
MORGANTOWN PRIDE
Some details of future events and of the Morgantown Pride Parade and Block Party are shown below. Registration for the parade and block party is now open. Click here to register.
For information on this group, go to their Facebook page or their website. Morgantown Pride has an Instagram page here.
Raising Trans Kids Community Group: "The Raising Trans Kids Community Group is for West Virginia parents, guardians, and families who are raising transgender or gender diverse kids (of any age), or have kids who might be transgender or gender diverse." Email raisingtranskids@gmail.com to get information on the next meeting.
WVU Council for Gender EQuality
For information please go to their website or email cge@mail.wvu.edu.
MONONGALIA COUNTY CHILD ADVOCACY CENTER EVENTS
The next MCCAC “Girls’ Night Out” will be May 19, 2023. “Take a Vacation to the Tropics with MCCAC at Tropics in Cheat Lake. "Join us for another fun night of dinner, dancing, auctions, and more!" Tickets are available now: Early Bird ends May 5th: $75.00 +$6.88 Fee / +$5.73 Sales Tax. Sales end on May 5, 2023. General Admission ales start on May 5th: $100.00 +$8.55 Fee / +$7.60 Sales Tax.
Tickets include dinner, entertainment, pampering providers, and access to the cash bar, live auction, and raffle items.
There is a link to purchase tickets here. “Sponsorships are also available.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Taylor: 304.598.0344, or email tshultz@moncocac.org.
“From January 2023 to March 2023, MCCAC has served 222 clients and conducted 46 forensic interviews. We have also provided 206 therapy sessions and 1,673 family advocacy services.”
WVU NATIVE AMERICAN STUDIES Program
For information, please contact Bonnie M. Brown, Coordinator of the Native American Studies Program, West Virginia University, PO Box 6284, Morgantown, WV, 26506-6284, NAS.WVU.EDU, @WVU_NASprogram, or call 304-293-4626.
Exhibition by WVU Art in the Libraries in Partnership with WVU Native American Studies
This exhibit will be available through May 2023 (print and online) at the WVU Downtown Library and from June through December 2023 at the WVU Beckley Campus Library. It will be at the Appalachian State University Library from January through July 2024 and at the Marshall University Library from August through December 2024.
The exhibit will also become a digital exhibit living on the WVU Libraries' website and archived on the Research Repository at WVU here.
This project is being presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Humanities Council, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations do not necessarily represent those of the West Virginia Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Other sponsors are the WVU Office of the Provost and Humanities Center, The Antero Foundation, The Oakland Foundation, MPB Print & Sign Superstore, Marshall University Libraries and Online Learning, Appalachian State University University Libraries, and West Virginia Library Commission.
For further information, please contact Sally Brown Deskins, WVU Libraries' Exhibits Coordinator, at sally.brown1@mail.wvu.edu or 304.293.0369
WVU CENTER FOR BLACK CULTURE AND RESEARCH
WVU Center for Black Culture and Research announces Javier McCoy as interim director: A WVU press release announced this appointment: “A higher education administrator with experience in student and intercultural engagement will usher in a new era for the West Virginia University Center for Black Culture and Research.
Javier McCoy, who currently oversees campus-wide initiatives as the assistant director of Inclusive Leadership and Intercultural Engagement in the Division of Student Life’s Student Engagement unit, will become CBC&R’s interim director as Marjorie Fuller retires this summer, according to Dean of Students Corey Farris.
“‘Javier has established a great rapport with our students’,” Farris said. “‘And while he brings a variety of necessary skills to the position, I believe Javier will also bring to this new role the energy and open-door approach he’s become known for to seize on new opportunities for the Center.'
“McCoy previously served in Residence Life, and before joining WVU, he was the inaugural coordinator of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Wheeling Jesuit University.
“McCoy earned his bachelor’s degree from West Virginia State University and a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from Salem University. He is a proud brother of Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity, Inc., and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., where he serves as the executive director for the District of West Virginia and chapter president for the Alpha Zeta Lambda Chapter.
For more information about the WVU Center for Black Culture and Research, please go here.
WVU LGBTQ+ CENTER
See their website for more information on this and other monthly and weekly activities, and to register for events, or follow them on Facebook.
The LGBTQ+ Center Facebook page includes this photo from the Evansdale Black Bear Burritos at 3119 University Avenue.
