MARCH 29-31, 2019
Table of Contents Land Acknowledgement............................................................................................2 Welcome: Michelle Ramos, Executive Director, Alternate ROOTS..............3 About Alternate ROOTS & ROOTS Weekend: Jacksonville...........................4 Venues, Hotel & Staff Contact Information...........................................................5 Meeting Agreements................................................................................................6-7 ROOTS Weekend: Jacksonville Schedule.....................................................8-15 Special Thanks......................................................................................................16-17
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Land Acknowledgement As we gather together at ROOTS Weekend: Jacksonville, we acknowledge that we are on the lands of the Timucua, Seminole, and Miccosukee people, who have stewarded this land for generations, and continue to steward it. We acknowledge the devastation of European colonization and genocide on the people of this land. The Timucuan people lived here for thousands of years prior to European contact. Within 150 years of it, only 550 Timucuans were still living. Today there are no known Native Americans who call themselves Timucuan. [1] We also acknowledge the centuries of resistance and resilience of the people of this land, who joined together inter-tribally to fight for the continuance of their culture in the face of Spanish, French, English, and US colonization. [2] We pay our respects to the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, the descendants of those who resisted removal by the US government to remain in their rightful place to this day. [3 & 4] We honor the elders of this land, both past and present, near and far.
[1]: https://www.nps.gov/timu/learn/historyculture/timucua_end_culture. htm [2]: https://www.semtribe.com/STOF/history/indian-resistance-andremoval [3]: https://www.semtribe.com/STOF [4]: https://www.miccosukee.com/
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Welcome: Michelle Ramos, Executive Director, Alternate ROOTS Early in 2018 the ROOTS staff collectively decided that one of my first charges as the organization’s new Executive Director was to get out to our communities and meet our artist-activists on the ground. We sent out a call to our membership to announce my “Road Trip” and invited members to reach out to me to request a visit. The very first email I received was from Yvette Angelique Hyater-Adams, imploring me to come to Jacksonville and meet the thriving arts community there. I traveled to Jacksonville almost a year ago and was welcomed by over 25 artists at the Yellow House for an evening, like many I experienced across the South last spring, only this one was different. This community welcomed me fully, AND was the first to really challenge me and my intentions entering into their space. They held me accountable for my presence and pressed me about what ROOTS could do for Jacksonville. Following that visit, I learned that the Road Trip led to a strengthening of that community and a request to plan a ROOTS Weekend in Jacksonville. We have worked to make intentional choices to bring ROOTS Weekends to communities we have not engaged with historically and in communities that we want to amplify. We are very excited to share with all participants joining us this weekend, and are thrilled to celebrate the vibrant Jacksonville arts community. Some fun facts about this amazing city: LaVilla, Jacksonville’s first suburb and birthplace of Ray Charles, was once considered “the Harlem of the South” because of its vibrant culture and legendary performance venues. Jacksonville contributed to the progression of the African American film industry. In 1916, producer Richard Norman relocated to Jacksonville and founded Norman Studios, one of the first production companies to make movies for African American audiences. There is so much to share with you about this community, welcome to JAX!
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About Alternate ROOTS & ROOTS Weekend: Jacksonville Alternate ROOTS is an organization based in the Southern USA whose mission is to support the creation and presentation of original art, in all its forms, which is rooted in a particular community of place, tradition, or spirit. As a coalition of cultural workers, we strive to be allies in the elimination of all forms of oppression. ROOTS is committed to social and economic justice and the protection of the natural world, and addresses these concerns through its programs and services.
ROOTS Weekend: Jacksonville brings together artists and cultural workers, organizers and activists to engage in deep dialogue, make and witness art, and learn from one another. A condensed version of ROOTS Week, our signature gathering, these three-day convenings get ROOTS out in the field, connecting in our members’ home communities. ROOTS Weekends deepen our collective understanding of the work of social change by celebrating artists and organizers who are working within communities to develop creative solutions to long-standing issues.
The Yellow House in Jacksonville, FL. Photo: Michelle Ramos
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Venues, Hotel, & Staff Contact Info Street parking available at all venues. BABS’LAB 603 King Street Jacksonville, FL 32204
Riverside Fine Arts Association 1100 Stockton Street Jacksonville, FL 32204
CoRK Arts District 2689 Rosselle Street Jacksonville, FL 32204
Six Hundred King 600 King Street Jacksonville, FL 32204
Jax Makerspace Gallery First Floor, Main Library Jacksonville Public Library 303 Laura Street North Jacksonville, FL 32202
Yellow House 577 King Street Jacksonville, FL 32204
Hotel Lexington Hotel & Conference Center Jacksonville Riverwalk 1515 Prudential Dr, Jacksonville, FL 32207 904-396-5100 Parking is available at the hotel. $10 for self-parking and $15 for valet.
Contacting ROOTS Staff ROOTS Staff can be reached by calling the office number, which will be re-routed to our various cell phones. To reach ROOTS Staff, call 404-577-1079 and dial the extension of the person you need to speak with: Wendy Shenefelt, Programs Director: x306 Paige Heurtin, Operations Manager: x305 Joseph Thomas, Communications Manager (Technology): x303
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Meeting Agreements
Photo: Talamieka Brice
As part of ROOTS’ community-building practice, we are intentional about the ways in which we gather together and share space. These meeting agreements are an evolving practice we use to cultivate equity, community, and wellness when we convene as a group. When you participate in discussions/ workshops/meetings throughout the week, please use these agreements as a starting point and add/edit/transform them as needed! We use “I” statements and speak from our own experiences and feelings. We’re mindful with our words. We take care and responsibility for ourselves and our own physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs. We seek first to understand and assume good intent while also acknowledging impact – if something we say or do causes harm, we commit to working through it.
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We give each other grace, knowing that the work of undoing oppressions is hard and we will all mess up at some point. We acknowledge that the art shared and dialogues had at our gatherings often explore difficult, and sometimes triggering content. We affirm everyone’s agency to take care of themselves – it is okay to skip out/tune out/step out and seek support if you are experiencing distress. We write pronouns on our name tags, include our pronouns in group introductions/check ins; we are mindful about using folks’ correct pronouns as part of growing our practice of gender liberation. We share time and space equitably: if we tend to participate a lot, we are intentional about moving back, if we tend to not participate much, we challenge ourselves to get in the mix! We ask before we hug – we acknowledge everyone has different physical boundaries, and seek to create a space where everyone feels safe and empowered in their own bodies. As time and group size allows, we check in and out at the beginning and end of meetings; we invite folks to share what physical/spiritual/emotional state they’re entering or leaving the meeting. We share the labor of meeting roles including (but not limited to): facilitator(s), note taker, public scribe, emotions monitor, timekeeper, doorkeeper. (And sometimes meeting DJ and food maven.) We avoid alphabet soup and coded language by unpacking acronyms or buzzwords. We take stretch/dance/movement breaks whenever possible! We leave our physical spaces in better shape than we found them. 7
Schedule Friday, March 29 10am-12pm: On the Fringe, Exhibition & Discussion @ JAX Makerspace Gallery, Jacksonville Public Library The Jacksonville Public Library (JPL) is pleased to provide space for art exhibits that support its mission to enrich lives, build community, and foster success by bringing people, information, and ideas together. Exhibitions can be found in the Jax Makerspace Gallery on the ground floor, which offers the current exhibition, On the Fringe: Blurred Lines of Florida Folk which puts folk art at center stage, exploring how contemporary folk artists capture cultural identity and community values by blending traditional skills with present-day aesthetics. Whether artists are formally trained or self-taught, this art in all its forms is by and for the people.
12-2pm: Lunch on Your Own 2-4pm: Sacred Layers @ Yellow House The Sanctuaries What sacred stories do you live? What makes these stories sacred to you? And how do these sacred stories weave together your vocation as a cultural worker? Take a journey with us into the role of the “sacred� at points of intersectionality within communities of difference. This experiential workshop will explore some of the approaches and techniques used at The Sanctuaries to: honor sacred traditions when training artists for multicultural organizing; activate the role of spirit in artistic narratives; and cultivate increased visibility of the multiple sacred truths at the heart of artistic development and training. The Sanctuaries (thesanctuaries.org) is an interfaith training community of artists committed to justice and healing in Washington, DC. We activate artists of intentionally different backgrounds and artforms to collaborate with grassroots campaigns, nonprofit organizations, and national movements to build power, shift culture, and heal spirits for the wellness of the people.
4-5pm: Dinner on Your Own
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5-7pm: Toiling the Seeds of Change: Our History, Our Present, Our Future @ Yellow House Rodney Hurst, Jimmy Midyette, Adonnica Toler, Christina Kittle Moderator: Hope McMath A powerful, moderated dialogue frames Jacksonville’s Civil Rights journey. Hear from one of Jacksonville Civil Rights historian and author of It was never about a hotdog and a Coke®!, which chronicles the racial and political climate of Jacksonville in the late fifties, the events leading up to that infamous day, and the aftermath. Other stories include our path to the Human Rights Ordinance, Consent Education and Empowering Gender Nonconformity in the Deep South. Panelists including artists, lawyers, museum administrators, and social activists offer insight to current issues that still permeate the racial landscape of Jacksonville and surrounding communities, and provide a road map to help move forward. Whether it’s race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or class, there is a way to break down the walls that divide us... but it takes an action. The discussion will inspire the listener to discern for themselves: what can I do to continue the fight for racial equality and other inequities fostered by a systemic bias towards a people who are not part of the majority? Hope McMath (Moderator) is a working artist, independent curator, cultural leader, educator, and activist whose knowledge of, and passion for, the arts is matched by a strong commitment to social justice and generating positive change in organizations and the community. She connects the arts to community needs through various associations, especially as founder/ director of Yellow House, a hub for educational outreach and collaborations among artists, writers, organizations, and communities. Core to her work is a strong belief that the arts, and those who create them, are society’s great truth tellers, and that art has the power to transform people and communities. Rodney Lawrence Hurst, Sr. is the award-winning author of It was never about a hotdog and a Coke®! and Unless WE Tell It… It Never Gets Told! He is a native of Jacksonville, and writes with clarity and a historical eye. Both of Hurst’s books detail the times, the mood, and the people of Northeast Florida. He also chronicles the rich legacy of Jacksonville’s Black history. Hurst has dedicated his life to fighting injustices and documenting what it has meant, and continues to mean, to be living while Black in the United States.
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Jimmy Midyette is a lifelong resident of Jacksonville and has been active in progressive politics for over 20 years. He’s been an election protection attorney in every election cycle since 2000. Jimmy is a past District Chair of the Duval Democratic Party for District 9. He attended the University of North Florida, and the Florida State University School of Law. After law school, Jimmy worked many years for Legal Aid in Jacksonville and in Tallahassee. Jimmy is a long-time board member of Jacksonville Area Sexual Minority Youth Network (JASMYN) and was a founder of the Jacksonville Coalition for Equality. As a leader of the Coalition, Jimmy worked to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the Jacksonville Human Rights Ordinance, which was successful in February 2017. He’s a staff attorney for the ACLU of Florida and remains active in numerous progressive causes. Adonnica L. Toler is an experienced Museum Administrator with a demonstrated history of working in the museums and institutions industry. She is skilled in research, event planning, customer service, program development, and community outreach. She is a strong administrative professional with a Bachelor of Arts focused in U.S. American History from Florida State University. Christina Kittle, a middle school teacher in Jacksonville, has been an artist since 2009 and an activist since 2010, campaigning against systemic oppression mainly through oil paintings and sketches. Her images highlight the portrayal of personal anguish from adolescent and early adult trauma, mixed with emotional anguish from gender anxiety. In 2016, Christina founded Coalition for Consent, a group focusing on consent education and gender liberation struggles under capitalism. Christina co-founded the Jacksonville Community Action Committee after being illegally surveilled, attacked, and unlawfully arrested by Jacksonville police in 2017. Through these groups, as well as membership in the national Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Christina brings attention to police accountability and challenges systems that oppress minority communities.
7:15-8:15pm: Excursion: Riverside Fine Arts Association @ Riverside Fine Arts Association Erin Kendrick Erin Kendrick is a visual artist and arts educator from Jacksonville, who has exhibited work in museums, galleries and alternative spaces throughout the southeastern United States. After receiving her BFA from Florida State University and her MFA from Georgia State University, Erin worked for many years as a Studio Artist and Arts Educator in Atlanta. In 2009, she relocated to Jacksonville to build a career as an Event Designer and Graphic Designer (E. Street Design Co.), and in 2016, returned to art making and exhibiting. Erin is on faculty at the University of North Florida and Jacksonville Arts & Music School, and maintains a studio at CoRK Arts District. 10
Saturday, March 30 @ CoRK Arts District 9am: Coffee & Pastries 9:30am: Welcome 9:30am-6:00pm: UpROOTing Racism and Undoing All Forms of Oppression Facilitators: Shavone Steele, Harold Steward, Keryl McCord, Nicole Garneau In 2017, and after several years of working with outside facilitators, the ROOTS community began developing our own anti-oppressions trainings for our annual gathering, ROOTS Week. Now called UpROOTing, these trainings bridge the personal with the structural, working through internal biases and internalized oppressions, while understanding the systems that keep all forms of oppression in place. In this introductory session, participants will unpack the intersectionality of oppressions, on the individual and systemic levels through the lens of the arts and social justice. ROOTS sees this as our ongoing work, and we commit to holding UpROOTing space at every ROOTS Week. Shavone Steele is a consultant focused on supporting black and minorityowned businesses. Her work with diverse organizations, teens, and artists connects her to people from all walks of life and deepens her communitybuilding every day. After returning to Jacksonville from her work in Chicago, Shavone quickly rose through the ranks of a prestigious local law firm and was tapped to remotely run a boutique firm in Tampa. One of her great loves is improv comedy. Performing and teaching for almost a decade, Shavone is the founder of Improvising Leadership, which uses the lessons of improv to change the world. Keryl McCord is President and CEO of EQ, The Equity Quotient, a national training and organizational development firm dedicated to supporting nonprofits in becoming more just and equitable community partners. Keryl has consulted for many nonprofit arts organizations in the areas of institutional development, strategic fundraising, community and cultural organizing. Keryl’s background includes managing director of two equity theater companies, Director of Theater Programs for the National Endowment for the Arts. She is an Advisor for the New England Foundation for the Arts, National Theater Project, and has served as a panelist for the Joyce Foundation, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. In December 2016, after more than seven years as Managing Director, she retired from Alternate ROOTS to launch EQ. 11
Harold Steward is Interim Executive Director of The Theater Offensive, a Queer and Trans Theater based in Boston, MA. Most recently, Steward served as Manager of the South Dallas Cultural Center, a division of the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs, which provides instruction and enrichment in the arts with an emphasis on the African contribution to world culture. Steward also founded Fahari Arts Institute in Dallas in 2009 after recognizing a gap in the landscape for local LGBTQ artists of color in Dallas. Steward is a member of the Board of Directors for the National Performance Network/Visual Artists Network, Theater Communications Group and the Steering Committee of Black Theatre Commons and NextGen National Arts Network, as well as an Adjunct Faculty Member in the Department of Performing Arts at Emerson College. Nicole Garneau is an interdisciplinary artist making site-specific performance and project art that is directly political, critically conscious, and community building. Her book Performing Revolutionary: Art, Action, Activism was published in Spring 2018 by Intellect Books and was released at the Museum of Contemporary art in Chicago. Originally from Chicago, she has been semi-nomadic since 2012. Nicole is on the Executive Committee of Alternate ROOTS. She also teaches, makes ceremonies, facilitates meetings, throws parties, and does healing work.
Sparks, Inspirations & Achievements – Recollections, Celebrations & Moving Forward Phyllis Free Through various modalities of creative expression, we will share and celebrate actual achievements in personal and political progress; and, plan strategies and next steps for expressed works-in-progress to be activated individually, in collaborations, and in coalition with others. Phyllis Free has been actively engaged as an artist/activist since the early 1970s. She is a Master Teaching Artist and Workshop Facilitator with years of experience as an artist-in-residence with community arts and education programs and as a professional development trainer specializing in interdisciplinary arts strategies. In addition to continuing her work as a professional drummer and recording artist, theatrical sound designer, producer, director, literary and visual artist, she has also been engaged for almost a decade now as a principle participant in the Southern Lesbian Feminist Herstory Project (SLFA). Her background includes a BFA in Speech-Drama-Education from the University of Georgia and an MLS in Interdisciplinary Arts & Sociology from Indiana University Southeast.
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Drum Sermons: Folktales, Legends, and Myths, from the Far Corners of Africa Orisirisi African Folklore A special feature of Drum Sermons for ROOTS Weekend: Jacksonville is a segment titled, 400 Years and the Same Philosophy, that commemorates this year’s 400th anniversary of the arrival of enslaved Africans in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. 400 Years and the Same Philosophy re-imagines the agency that African-Americans employed out of necessity, as they migrated from their native land to the Northern colonies, the Rural South, the great expanses of the United States, and the world. Orisirisi African Folklore is a performing arts and arts education initiative rooted in the history, culture, and traditions of Africa and the African diaspora. The company’s mission is to illuminate the beauty and poignancy of African life and culture. Since its founding in 1986 Orisirisi African Folklore has shared it’s folklore with countless people from a vast array of demographics and culturally specific backgrounds at primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, festivals, churches, libraries, museums, conferences, corporate and teacher in-services, television and radio programs, theme parks, and special events, while exhibiting an unwavering commitment to the needs of the individual, the group, the community, and society at large.
12-2pm: Boxed Lunch Provided @ Six Hundred King
Rev. Erik W. Martínez Resly and Ahmane’ Glover, Co-Directors of The Sanctuaries. Photo: Dejah Greene
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6-7:30pm: Dinner on Your Own 7:30-9pm: Film & Spoken Word Performance @ BABS’LAB Across the United States, Muslims are opening free clinics that increase access to care and exemplify the values of their faith. The film Unconditional Care highlights this national movement through the story of one clinic and the community it serves. The Muslim American Social Services (MASS) Clinic in Jacksonville has served over 3,300 patients in seven years. Anyone who does not have insurance and earns below the federal poverty line can receive 100% free care at the clinic. Patients represent a cross section of America’s uninsured---every race and religion, citizens and non-citizens, young and old. A vital story of Americans working together across race, class, and religion to care for people in need. Unconditional Care follows Faisal Sayed, the clinic’s founder; Laura Abney, a Southern Baptist nurse who joined the clinic’s full-time staff; a young volunteer; and, several uninsured patients on their journeys from diagnosis, to treatment, to recovery. Unconditional Care’s Executive Producer, Asghar Syed’s family is from Pakistan and he was born and raised in Kuwait. Asghar got his law degree and MBA at the University of Florida. He practices labor and employment law and complex commercial litigation. Asghar serves on the Board of Governors of the Jacksonville Bar Association and on the Board of Directors of Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville. Taryn LoveReigns Wharwood is a native of Miami, FL, who began public speaking at age five at the Ebony Village School in Dania, FL. She credits her love and deep passion for poetry to the school’s directors because of their vision and mantra recited daily: I am Taryn Wharwood, and I have a GREAT mind! Taryn has performed across the U.S. & Canada, and is the co-host and founder of Artis(Tree) Live, and the Cypher Open Mic Poetry & Soul. Taryn, an avid mentor, community advocate, and soon-to-be published author, is the New Hire Development Coordinator/Sales Trainer for Web.com, a position that garners her greatest life passions: poetry and helping others. Ebony Payne-English is an award-winning literary artist, performer, and educator from Jacksonville. She is the first woman to establish her own chapter of the international poetry organization, Black on Black Rhyme. Ebony is a 2017 Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville’s Emerging Artist, and recipient of the Spoken Word Gala’s 2017 William Bell Humanitarian Award. She is the managing director of The Performers Academy that offers arts programs to benefit foster teens and under-served populations who may never experience the passion of the performing arts. Ebony serves on the Board of Directors of Southern Fried Poetry, Inc., the largest adult regional poetry slam in the nation, and is director of programming for Jax Youth Poetry Slam. 14
Sunday, March 31 @ CoRK Art Studios 8:30am: Coffee & Pastries 9-10am: Closing Conversation Suzanne Pickett is a mixed media artist living in Jacksonville. She began her love affair with art at age of eight, and has produced mixed media paintings, drawings and sculpture. Suzanne received her BFA in graphic design from the University of North Florida. Her passion for the arts and humanities led Suzanne to the non-profit sector, where she developed the Jacksonville Consortium of African American Artists, now known as the Jacksonville Cultural Development Corporation. Suzanne has served the Jacksonville community for more than 13 years by fostering an environment that is inclusive of all artists, regardless of their race or cultural background. Mike Todd is North Florida Organizer with New Florida Majority. He is responsible for implementing plans to engage constituents in activities, events, trainings, and capacity building. He facilitates forums for recruitment of New Florida Majority leaders, activists, members and volunteers. He builds relationships with neighborhood-level grassroots partners and develops messaging specific to the demographic and issues in City Council Districts 7, 8, 9, and 10. Mike earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in International Relations from the University of North Florida.
10:15-11:45am: What’s Next? Soulful Non-closing 12-1pm: Juggling Silliness & Foolery Toni Shifalo In a world increasingly sober, we need to relax a little, let loose our inner child. Don’t worry – in one hour LaBanana will not turn you into a Cirque clown, nor even a circus clown, however she will give you a few things to laugh about, or at least bring a smile. Every clown needs a skill, an easy one to learn is juggling. Humor is everywhere in every situation, we just need to look on the lighter side of life, so in a weekend of hard activist work, come clown around a bit. Long ago Toni Shifalo became LaBanana, a neo-Vaudevillian character who has clowned and juggled street busking across Europe, on stages from offBroadway to Buenos Aires, in communities across the US, Ghana, Australia, Canada and the Caribbean. She has made a musical career of playing the washtub bass with half a dozen bands, recorded with most of them. As both a performing artist and artist in residence, she has worked with audiences of all ages and persuasions. A long time ROOTS member recently renewed, she is happy to be one of the bunch again. 15
Special Thanks Jacksonville Host Committee and Team: Yvette Angelique Hyater-Adams, Project Coordinator Phyllis Bell-Davis, Project Administrator Hope McMath Josh White Harold “Kinney” Adams Allishia Bauman, Volunteer Manager Local Supporters: America’s Donuts Bloomers Lingerie Bold Bean Coffee Roasters Cool Moose Café European Street Café Juicebox Jax Lola’s Burrito and Burger Joint Pattaya Thai on King Southern Roots Filling Station Talk of the Town Boutique
Local Partners: BABS’LAB Bausby Creative City Year CoRK Arts District Cultural Council-Jacksonville Jax Makerspace Gallery/ jackonville Public Library Riverside Fine Arts Association Six Hundred King Yellow House
ROOTS Weekend: Jacksonville Staff Melisa Cardona & Babacar Ndiaye, Videographers Toni Smailagic, Photographer Alternate ROOTS Staff Michelle Ramos, Executive Director Ashley Walden Davis, Managing Director Wendy Shenefelt, Programs Director Paige Heurtin, Operations Manager Nicole Gurgel-Seefeldt, Communications Manager (Strategy) Joseph Thomas, Communications Manager (Technology) Clarissa Crawford, Programs Associate Mark Kidd, Development Associate Ben Weber, Programs & Policy Associate Aimee McCoy, Administrator Rebecca Barrett, Cultural Policy Fellow
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Many Thanks to our Funders! The ROOTS Weekend Series is supported by a generous grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
2019 Institutional Funders THE
NATHAN
CUMMINGS FOUNDATION
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WHEN YOU GIVE TO
ALTERNATE ROOTS YOU SUPPORT
Cultural Organizing, Artistic Expression, and Social Justice
WHAT TO GIVE: Monetary Donations, In-kind Lodging & Transportation Professional Development & Artistic Supplies
HOW TO GIVE: cash aPP: $ALTERNATEROOTS online: www.alternateroots.org/donate-now/ @ THE ROOTS WEEKEND REGISTRATION DESK
WE ALSO INVITE: Planned Giving, Tribute Giving, Gifts of Stocks and Securities, AND Sponsorship
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