Participants and panelists will also have time to meet one another, exchange questions, and broaden our network. 

 

Accommodation is available upon request. For more information about the event, contact apic.southpugetsound@gmail.com or go here for more information and to register. Co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Thurston County.

It is an obvious but unavoidable observation that in order to fully understand what we each bring to our community, we should be having the same energetic curiosity about each other in the natural course of everyday life.  Our historical DNA drives not just our appearance, but how we react, how we view the other and what we see as possible for ourselves.

 

Hispanic as used in Hispanic Heritage month is just the most common generalized term.  Our comfort in labelling our identity has evolved over decades.  Timing and geography play a role. In the ‘60s in Colorado, I referred to myself as Chicana.  We’ve begun deleting the gender labelling inherent in the Spanish language. Hence the appearance of neutral Latinx or Latine.  

In Our Migrant Souls, Hector Tobar describes this evolution of labelling.  A question I get asked is “given the immigrant policies of some politicians, how could so many Latinos vote for anti-immigration candidates?”  Sometimes it is just who you are around. Tobar tells of a blue-collar worker who would hear guys complaining about taxes. Therefore, the worker says he got to his vote as “small bits of Republican confetti” fell around him.

Events such as Hispanic Heritage Month can help us see the depths of a person’s yearning, strengths and heart. And being seen is the key to community. What is meaningful can be as simple as learning to pronounce the person’s Latine name correctly. 

Inevitably the discussion around changing Coffee with the League turns to the fact that maybe it is not the right time for everyone, and how to have a regular meeting so it fits everyone’s needs, wants and dreams.

 

The answer may be to continue coffee with some changes, figure out a way so it doesn’t rely on one person to manage everything and to look at putting on some other regular meeting that would allow people who are not available during work hours to meet up with other members on a regular basis.  

This is an ongoing discussion, especially now that the Pandemic has evolved and more people want to have in-person events. The question then is what type of get togethers would be of most interest, what time of day, where should we meet up, do we need a speaker, etc.  The questions get debated and agreement is hard to reach, and it can’t really be a one size fits all. The only unifying part is let’s get together more.  On Tuesday, October 3, at Coffee with the League, held at River’s Edge Restaurant, we will have a discussion on the future of Coffee with the League and also what other ongoing member meet-ups we can put forth and sustain.

We met a receptive audience and have been asked to continue the dialogue with more specific policy recommendations. We are actively reaching out to officials in each of the local jurisdictions to share the findings of the report. And we welcome the opportunity to work more closely with our local governments on this essential issue.

 

Read more about the study and position here.

Jefferson-Jenkins served as the first woman of color and first African American to be elected President of the League of Women Voters US (LWVUS) in 1989 to 2002. At the end of the performance, team member Nicole Miller will lead a facilitated discussion.

 

Brief Summary: In current times, we celebrate the LWV’s voting and civic education work. We recognize that voting and civic learning applies to everyone. One hundred three years ago, at the founding of the organization, the voting rights and civic education focus was not for everyone, and specifically membership was not open to women of color. After the death of Martin Luther King Jr., the LWV turned to embrace racial justice under a program of work called “equal opportunity.”  In 1989 the LWV, for the first time, mentioned “race” in a position calling for equality of opportunity for “all persons, regardless of their race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation or disability.”

 

Read more about this project here.

I was joined on the tour by my husband who said learning about the forward-thinking projects and seeing the up-to-date facilities was an ideal way to challenge his out-of-date stereotypes about Native American reservation life.

 

Chairman Frank shared a map of the current reservation illustrating how the reservation is constricted by military land on one side and forest land on another. As tribal membership grows, it is purchasing off-reservation land to meet the demand for tribal housing, services and enterprises. For example, several years ago the tribe purchased 260 acres on either side of Cabela’s. The tribe will develop that land to provide more housing in a mixed-use development and a casino-resort enterprise. Another new property is the site for the Nisqually Healing Center, an assisted medical treatment facility with wrap-around services for tribal and non-tribal individuals. That facility will be built on the boundary between Lacey and Olympia, an area historically central to the tribal community.

 

Read more of Loretta's article here. The Tribal Update Team is making plans for visits to the Squaxin Island Museum and a program featuring the Chehalis Tribe. Watch for these opportunities to learn more about our neighbors.

If you’re wondering when your dues are due, contact Membership@LWVthurston.org and we’ll get you the information. You can also access your member profile, which includes your join and renewal dates. Setting up your account via our website provides access to Member Resources and up-to-date member contact information. 

In case you haven’t renewed yet, please know that your dues of $75 (for individuals and $100 for households), continues the legacy of promoting voting rights, civic education, and nonpartisan advocacy on issues affecting us locally, in the State and across the country. We offer full and partial subsidies ($0 dues) and ($25 partial).  No financial information required. Thanks to the generosity of many of our members contributing to this fund, the LWVTC pays the State and National portion of member dues.

Your LWVTC renewal gives you membership and voice to your local League, state League and national League.  We are grateful and thank you for joining and renewing with the LWV!