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X-WR-CALNAME:Taking a Knee for Change RoundTable
X-WR-CALDESC:Portland Downtown
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DTSTART:20230312T070000
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SUMMARY:Taking a Knee for Change RoundTable
DESCRIPTION:Do you want to become a more effective advocate on issues of
  social justice? Join us at “Taking a Knee for Change”\, an open to 
 the public round table discussion on August 24\, 2023 from 5:00 to 6:30 
 at the Portland Media Center. Everyone is invited to join us. This event
  will also be broadcast on TV channels 2 and 5. We thank the Maine Human
 ities Council for their sponsorship.\n\nWe will interact with four inspi
 ring guest speakers. They will help us move from reflecting on issues to
  committing to justice and equality here at home. We need community base
 d\, peace oriented voices like all of ours to make Taking a Knee for Cha
 nge a finished reality.\n\nTiti de Baccarat is hosting this discussion\,
  based on his book “Taking a Knee for Change\,” which will launch in
  September of 2023. He created the book collaboratively with Maine commu
 nity members. It brings together a wide selection of photographs and per
 sonal statements from individuals who work to end racism and achieve soc
 ial justice in Maine today. Titi is a multidisciplinary African artist a
 nd activist. He is devoted to justice\, having been forced to flee his c
 ountry\, Gabon. He wants to help build the most inclusive and vibrant co
 mmunity in Maine.\n\nOur panelists are:\n\nPious Ali\, a native of Ghana
 \, has lived in Maine since 2002. He is a dedicated public servant with 
 extensive success in community organizing\, activism\, and civic engagem
 ent. He is the first African-born Muslim American to be elected to a pub
 lic office in Maine\, becoming a member of the city’s elected Board of
  Public Education in 2013. He has been a Portland City Councilor since 2
 016\, and has recently entered the race for Mayor.\n\nAbdi Nor Iftin is 
 a distinguished author and public speaker. His remarkable book “Call M
 e American” earned prestigious acclaim\, including Maine’s Lupine Aw
 ard. It chronicles his extraordinary journey from war-torn Somalia to th
 e United States through the Diversity Visa Program. Abdi also inspires o
 thers to embrace nature’s wonders and transcend barriers in their live
 s.\n\nAndy O’Brien is a freelance writer and communications director f
 or the Maine AFL-CIO\, a federation of over 200 unions in Maine. He writ
 es a column titled Radical Mainers\, in the Bollard newspaper\, about th
 e history of political movements in Maine\, and a column about immigrant
  and African American history for Amjambo Africa. He also co-hosts a pod
 cast called “Disinfomaniacs” where he discusses far-right extremism 
 in Maine.\n\nMihku Paul\, BA MFA\, is a Malecite writer/artist and activ
 ist from Old Town\, Maine. She grew up on the Penobscot river\, and rece
 ived both a traditional cultural education from her grandfather and a fo
 rmal education in White schools. Her poetry is taught at several campuse
 s in the UMaine system. Mihku spent more than three decades working with
  Portland Public Schools on DEI issues related to Wabanaki culture\nand 
 history. She lives and works in Portland.\n\nOur facilitator is Elizabet
 h Ross Holstrom\, a community builder. She owns a small business\, Mindf
 ul Employer\, where she helps companies to connect with and measure huma
 n impact through work. She has three decades of experience as a partners
 hip developer\, master facilitator\, and collaborative leadership traine
 r. She is a graduate of the Institute for Civic Leadership\, and holds a
  certificate in Authentic and Conscious Leadership through Babson Colleg
 e.
URL;VALUE=URI:https://portlandmaine.com/events/taking-a-knee-for-change-
 roundtable/
UID:urn:uuid:f71a64a6-30bd-4b9d-874f-52db7d28059f
STATUS:CONFIRMED
ORGANIZER:
DTSTAMP:20260504T131952Z
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230824T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230824T183000
LOCATION:516 Congress Street\, Portland\,  Maine  04101\,  US
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