the U.S. holocaust memorial museum has a kickstarter to raise $250K to preserve, catalog, translate, and publish the diaries of holocaust victims and survivors. without exaggeration, we are the last generation who will be able to actually talk face-to-face with survivors, so preserving these diaries is CRUCIAL. with anti-semitism and holocaust denial on the rise, firsthand accounts like these diaries are a powerful thing to have.
this is the FIRST TIME these diaries will be published online, and there are over 200 of them. more info is on the kickstarter page, including an estimated timeline of their progress and some examples of the stories they have in their possession.
if you’ve got a couple bucks to spare, please consider donating.
either way, please reblog and spread the word. i can’t stress enough – especially now – how vital this project is.
I’m reblogging this again because I wanted to add a note: PROTEST ANYWAYS.
If your schools threaten to suspend you, protest anyways. En masse. Because you know what gets tracked by district, state and federal administration? Suspensions.
Schools and schools systems *must report* their suspension levels etc. Every year all this data from the state gets compiled into a huge report and presented to the State Board of Education and the state legislators. By. School.
You know what happens to schools districts with unusually high rates? Big Trouble.
So if your principal/superintendent threatens to suspend any student participating in a walkout? Still do it. Because here’s what will happen: You’ll walk out, get suspended, the school will be empty basically for *days* effectively starting a strike, the principal will have to report it to the district, the district will have to report it to the state and there’s a solid chance your school’s administrative team could be replaced.
YOU HOLD ALL THE CARDS HERE. Don’t let them think otherwise. There is literally nothing they can threaten you with that won’t come back to bite them square in the ass.
For students worried about any potential long-term academic consequences, MIT and many other universities’ admissions departments have stated that disciplinary actions undertaken in response to protests and other peaceful civic participation will be considered individually, not automatically disqualifying (the first comment on the blog post has a link to a list of similar policies).
Also I’m fairly certain schools aren’t allowed to suspend students for peaceful protests.
“I never learned my Navajo language and I was never inspired to learn it. As I got older, I realized how valuable our language is to the livelihood of our Navajo Nation. ” -Dr. Shawna L. Begay
Our Navajo or Diné language is in danger of becoming extinct. Help us create and develop the first Navajo-English educational media TV puppet show, “Diné Bí Ná’álkid Time” which means ‘The Navajo Movie Time.’ It will inspire and teach our youth basic language skills using media as a technology tool. Parents, grandparents, children and grandkids can learn to speak Navajo fluently together within their own homes.
Long-time friends and educators, Dr. Shawna L. Begay and Charmaine Jackson have teamed up to create this new TV pilot for an all-ages audience or for anyone who wants to learn the Navajo language.
With your support, it’ll be the first educational Navajo and English puppet show that will teach and preserve the Navajo language and culture through digital media.
After several years of extensive research on the Navajo Nation, Dr. Begay recently completed her PhD from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas with her doctorate thesis, ‘Developing A Navajo Media Guide: A Community Perspective.’ As project director, she quickly realized she was a pioneer on the topic.
“When I decided what topic to study I realized there existed very little research in Indigenous educational media, especially with our Navajo people,” stated Dr. Begay. “As Navajo people, we have our own learning objectives and Navajo way of knowing is completely different for Euro-Western schooling. I decided that I had to research and develop our own curriculum guide that is meant to teach Navajo through media.”
Dr. Begay and Jackson, co-writers of the show, developed the first 3-puppet characters and plan for many more. The pilot features Nanabah-a young Navajo girl, Gáh (Rabbit) and Dlǫ̀ǫ̀ (Prairie Dog) who will go on endless adventures learning about language, gardening, the environment and the importance of family values. Nanabah is fluent in Navajo and likes to teach children about life on the reservation with her animal friends and special guests. Children who want to learn Navajo will also be an important part of the show by interacting with Nanabah, her friends and storyline.
Dr. Begay’s research concluded there exists very little research in the area of Indigenous educational media. Currently media is a very powerful tool that can be used to teach. She is cognizant of the digital age we live in and the opportunities to utilize media to revitalize the Navajo language.
“Star Wars and Finding Nemo,” dubbed in Navajo, was a great place to start and it has garnered national exposure of our language. However, we need a show based on our own Navajo learning principals our ancestors set out for us to learn and live by. I don’t think a non-Navajo, non-Native or non-Indigenous person can do that for us, nor should they. We, as Navajo, need to produce this show ourselves, if we are to be truly sovereign,” added Dr. Begay.
Both educators, Dr. Begay and Jackson, of Naalkid Productions have been talking about this educational language project for about the past four years and still have a long way to go to finance their dream.
“With the support of Navajo TV Anchor Colton Shone, our team of Navajo artists, filmmakers, family and friends, this video pilot is a huge step forward,” said Jackson. “Our journey has just begun and the big next step is finding financial support to create a whole new puppet TV series.”
We aim to raise $50,000 with this project which will allow us to continue with pre-production and production aspects of making this digital media project become a reality. We need your help to save our language by teaching Navajo to our future generations.
Pre-Production: -Script writing for the pilot show -Puppet Development/Creation -Casting for puppeteers and other talent that will be on screen -Hiring of all key cast and crew
Production: -Locations and permits -Rental of Studio space -Equipment: cameras, sound, lights, etc. -Cast and Crew budget
Despite all the notes on this post, they’re still at $13,155 of their $50,000 goal.
Guys we got a lot going on political wise now but this one is one issue that should have been cut and dry and done.
Call your rep ASAP so they don’t forget to do this. Probably mention this would be the easiest legislation they would ever pass and get done
guys this is happening tomorrow and this looks like once it’s gone it will be a bitch and a half to get back CALL YOUR SENATORS PLEASE
Reblog the hell out of this please
To be more specific, it will be published in the Federal Register tomorrow and will take effect in April. Congress has 60 days from tomorrow to file a review act and block the repeal. So call your reps! Get cracking!
A quick and easy guide to finding their opponents, and then donating your time and/or money to anyone willing to stand up against these assholes.
And let’s reinforce the lesson everyone should have taken away from the 2016 election:
THE PERFECT IS THE OPPOSITE OF THE GOOD.
I DON’T GIVE A SHIT IF THE PERSON RUNNING AGAINST THE WHITE SUPREMACIST DOESN’T THINK COLLEGE SHOULD BE FREE
OR THAT WE SHOULD HAVE UBI
OR ISN’T A FUCKING VEGAN
OR WHAT-THE-FUCK-EVER IS UP YOUR ASS TODAY
YOU VOTE AGAINST THE WHITE SUPREMACIST.
PERIOD.
AND IF YOU’RE LUCKY ENOUGH NOT TO HAVE A WHTIE SUPREMACIST RUNNING IN YOUR DISTRICT, FIND ONE SOMEWHERE ELSE AND GIVE YOU TIME AND MONEY TO THEIR OPPONENT.
THIS ISN’T FUCKING ROCKET SCIENCE.
Trigger warnings for basically every-fucking-thing.
This whole “trust Tumblr blindly” thing is eventually going to kill someone, as I became pointedly aware of on one occasion I was making fun of how poorly a particular bleach-based drain declogger was working on my sink and got a chorus of really dangerously misinformed people telling me to pour vinegar in after it because all cute little cool kid diy home care blogs they’re following talk about vinegar like it it’s the big secret the cleaning companies don’t want you to know.
And I cringed knowing that someday, some Well Actually expert who read a blog article once is going to give that advice to someone who unfortunately didn’t take high school chemistry and isn’t aware that MIXING VINEGAR AND BLEACH MAKES CHLORINE GAS.
“Think you’re not old enough to register to vote? If you’re 17 and will be 18 by Election Day, chances are you can. Check out our chart below that details when you are eligible to register or preregister in your state, and when you can start voting!”
Blenderbender1811 on wordpress 