AALM, NFAAUM & Church and Society Present: Raise Your Voice Against Racism

Video above: A South Carolina sheriff’s deputy tossing a student across a classroom.
Warning – disturbing violence in video.

For girls, education is a necessary factor to protect them against involvement with the juvenile and criminal justice systems.  However, black girls are frequently marginalized and criminalized by the educational system, a system which should be safeguarding their well-being.  And this marginalization and criminalization has devastating and long term effects on their academic, social, and emotional lives.
Panelists: 

Mrs. Jo Ann Lawson is a lay member of Easter Hill United Methodist Church in Richmond California.  She is a member of the UMW Racial Justice Charter Support Team.  She is also on the Advocacy and Justice Committee for the California Nevada Annual Conference and the UMW.  She has a passion for dismantling racism in all its forms and has been leading the fight against racism all her life.  Mrs. Lawson is skilled in nonprofit organization, conflict resolution, and team building.  Mrs. Lawson is married to the Rev. Phil Lawson, a retired UMC pastor and civil rights activist.  Mrs. Lawson strives to make a change to her community and her country and says that “God has been leading me in this direction.”

Kenya Cummings is a recent graduate of Methodist Theological School in Ohio with a Master of Divinity degree. Kenya is a Black organizer and minister from the South. They worked to help establish the All In Community ministry in West Ohio Annual Conference. They served as a resource specialist for the UMW Mission U Pushout Study. They are currently serving as theologian in residence at Two Rivers Church in Charleston, SC. They are focused on community building and joy cultivation as the center of their life work.

Donica “Nica” Sy (she/they) is a Seattle-based organizer who works within the UMC and in her local area to envision and create life-giving community. Nica graduated from the University of Washington in the Spring of 2021 with a degree in law, societies, and justice; entrepreneurship; and gender, women, and sexuality studies. Recently, her work has involved leading efforts for the liberation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities in Kent, Washington. She is also a campaigns organizer with API Chaya, a Seattle-based nonprofit dedicated to educating and mobilizing our South Asian, Asian, Pacific Islander, immigrant, and BIPOC communities to work towards ending exploitation and creating a world where all people can heal and thrive.  Nica is a member of and former youth director at Beacon United Methodist Church.

Join us for our next webinar which will focus on the criminalization of black girls.

Here is the link for the next webinar on October 19th at 5:00pm PST /8:00pm EST.  

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89818954461

For more questions, please contact:
Rev. John Oda
JOda@umcmission.org