Terezin: Children of the Holocaust

 The Diversity Forum is excited to make possible performances of Terezin: Children of the Holocaust.  The public performance will be held Thursday, April 4^th, at 7:00pm in the York High School auditorium.  The play features child and teenage actors speaking for those whose voices were silenced at Terezin - an infamous concentration camp in Czechoslovakia where tens of thousands of children were held for months or years before being sent to their deaths on rail transports to Auschwitz.  It portrays the horrors perpetrated by Nazi Germany; but it also speaks to more universal problems such as bullying, harassment, hatred and prejudice that are problems that school-aged children deal with every day.  The play is suitable for ages 13 and older. There is no charge for admission, and all are welcome.

Human Trafficking

At our February meeting, Rebecca Hughes, who works for ARTZUM-Justice Works in Israel, spoke to us about the global problem of human trafficking.  Through Rebecca's presentation, we learned that trafficking is really a modern-day slavery that exploits thousands of men, women, and children throughout the world.  We also came to realize that it is a problem that occurs close to home, in Maine and New Hampshire.

Program on Domestic Abuse

“Domestic Abuse in our Neighborhood,” a program presented by  the York Diversity Forum, will be held on Saturday, October 20, from 9:30 to 11:30am, at the York Public Library. Coffee will be served at 9 a.m.

Using film, speakers, role play and discussion, Clare Fortune-Agan, Community Educator from Caring Unlimited, will facilitate  awareness of the many aspects of this often hidden problem. A survivor of domestic abuse will share her story, bringing additional light to the subject, and Sergeant  Tom Baran, of the York Police Department, will discuss the role law enforcement plays in responding to individuals and families.  All are welcome!  Please join us.

Love Free or Die

On September 19, the Diversity Forum partnered with St. George's Episcopal Church to host a screening of the award-winning film "Love Free or Die".  The film tells the personal story of New Hampshire's Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay person to become a bishop in a major Christian church.  Following the film, the Rev. Timothy Boggs, rector of St. Alban's Church in Cape Elizabeth, ME, facilitated a discussion.  Seventy people attended and learned about this significant chapter in the struggle for LGBT rights.

Seasonal workers are here!

We welcome seasonal workers from all over the world - Ukraine, Jordan, Taiwan, Lithuania, Jamaica, Moldova, China, Russia, Dominican Republic, Serbia, and more!  They are hired by motels, restaurants, and tourist venues and provide an important workforce for our local businesses.  Many work two - and even three - jobs.

For the past several years the Diversity Forum has welcomed them and provided loaner bicycles so that they can get back and forth to work and to shopping.  We've also had social events for them so that they can get to know each other and to sample some American food.  The following photos are form our welcome party in June.  They had a great time!

Bikes, Bikes, Bikes!!!

The Bike Crew          

We've been getting ready for the Seasonal Workers to arrive for the summer.  On May 12th, a group inventoried all the bikes and determined which ones were in the best working condition.  Each bike got a wash and tires pumped; when necessary, our 'bike pros' did a tuning and repair.  Front and rea lights were also checked for safety.  There are now over 50 bikes ready to go.

After the inventory there were over 30 bikes that didn't meet our standard as being road-worthy.  These were given to Bikes Not Bombs, a non-profit organization in Jamaica Plains, MA, that reclaims thousands of bikes each year.  It is possible that the bikes we couldn't use will be sent to Uganda where they will be turned into bicycle ambulances or to Guatamala where they will go to Maya Pedal to be turned into machines. 

Thanks to Ron and Nat McAllister, Guilermo Larrea, Ted Little, and everyone who showed up that morning to get the job done quickly!  Plus, it was fun!!!

Maine Women Writers Collection

 What happens to a writer’s drafts and manuscripts? Where do researchers get background information on authors? Who are Maine’s interesting writers? Answers to these questions and more will come to light when Cally Gurley, Director of Special Collections at the University of New England, speaks on UNE’s Maine Women Writers Collection. The talk, sponsored by the York Diversity Forum, will take place at 2:00pm on Tuesday May 15th, in the Meeting Room the York Public Library.

Gurley’s talk is presented by the York Diversity Forum as part of this year’s York Reads program.  The 2012 theme for York Reads is the work of May Sarton, who lived and wrote in York during the last two decades of her life.  There is no charge for the program, and all are welcome.  For more information on the talk, call 361-1210 or email yorkdiversityforum@gmail.com.

The Maine Women Writers Collection (MWWC) was founded in 1959 by Grace Dow and Dorothy Healy to honor, preserve, and make available the writings of Maine women who have achieved literary recognition. The Collection now has over 8,000 volumes on more than 500 Maine women and maintains an active acquisitions program in contemporary and historic manuscript material as well as in rare books.

Holdings are especially strong in nineteenth and twentieth-century resources. Published material ranges from rare books, pamphlets, and broadsides to newspapers and literary and popular journals. Among the Collection's unpublished materials are travel journals, diaries, correspondence, photographs, manuscripts, artwork, material culture, memorabilia, artists' books, and children's literature.

MWWC also holds records of women's organizations such as Maine Media Women, the National League of Pen Women (Augusta Branch), and the Massachusetts branch of the National Women's Party (a suffrage organization). The Collection's prominent subject areas include women's literary and social history, the suffrage and women's movements, women's health and medicine, women's sexuality, family culture, nature and the environment, spiritualism, New England studies, and Maine history.