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Specials of the Month - #5      Specials From Previous Months    

(These will change every month. Check back regularly to see what's new.)

Person of the Month 

Dolores Huerta   (1930 - )        

Dolores Huerta is a Mexican-American who was the co-founder of the United Farm Workers. She was a labor leader and organizer, and a social activist. She served a key role in the early years of farm worker organizing, though has only recently been given full credit for this. The United Farm Workers union was a major force for racial and economic justice, especially for Mexican-Americans who worked as migrant farm workers. She was the East Coast coordinator for efforts in the table grape boycott in the late 1960's, which helped to win recognition for the farm workers' union.  It was during this time that she also became connected with the growing feminist movement.

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Question of the Month

When have you enjoyed being with someone who was a different race than you? What do you remember about that time and/or that person? 

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Perspective of the Month

 "RACES" DON'T EXIST. Classifying people by skin color and some minor facial features and calling the categories “races” is an idea that was made up a few hundred years ago.  (“Races” do not exist as distinct biological groups with significant genetic differences among them.  Skin color is biologically a trivial difference.)  The idea of race, as we know it now, was invented by white people to justify their mistreatment of people of color (especially the enslaving of Africans and the colonizing of many groups) and/or to assert the superiority of white people. STILL, WE NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO "RACE", because of the ways it continues to be used to advantage white people and to oppress people of color, and to affect the experiences that people tend to have in our society.

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Quote of the month

" A fully functional multiracial society cannot be achieved without a sense of history and open, honest dialogue.”

           Cornel West, African American professor and author (1953 - )

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This Month's Self-Quiz (These questions are based mostly on last month's specials.)

  1. Who was Thurgood Marshall? What were some of his accomplishments?

  2. Is being "colorblind" a good goal in anti-racism work? Why or why not?

  3. Pick one of the lines from the song, "White Lies" and explain what it means. Ask for help if you don't understand something in the song. (You can find the song by going to the Home page and clicking on "Song".)

(The answers to these questions can be found on other pages of this web site. For #1 see "Anti-Racists". For #2 see last month's "Specials of the Month". Start by going to the Home page and navigating from there. This will help you learn your way around the site.)