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  • Havdalah #44: Student Power, Caregiver Strike, & Jessica

Havdalah #44: Student Power, Caregiver Strike, & Jessica

27 Iyar, 5785 / May 24, 2025

"Havdalah" against a backdrop of sparks in the darkness, with a white rose on either side
a brunette young woman looks downward, likely from a balcony or window

“Jessica”, Luke Filds, 1888

Hello all, and welcome to Havdalah #44 —

I am writing this somewhat in absentia, this week, as I am traveling over the holiday weekend. Hopefully nothing too momentous has happened between drafting this and it going to (metaphorical) press, but that’s not a bet I’d take. The news has continued, the steady drip drip of terrible corruption occasionally turning into a firehose and back again, and the weather, after a few days of warmth, has settled into something more appropriate for March. However, at some point it’s necessary to make our own sunshine, and that’s a task our friends at AMOR and PSU have decided to do with gusto.

We have a prose poem, down in Sidebar, on The Merchant of Venice (don’t worry, you’re not free of Shakespeare yet!), and a strike fund in Mutual Aid.

The world feels hard right now, and I don’t think that’s gonna change for a while, so, if you need it, here’s me telling you to make it a little softer for yourself and the people around you if you can. Go to a party. Have some ice cream. Pet a cat. Pet a cat while calling your representatives! It vastly improves the experience.

Goodnight, and mind how you go —

Katherine (she / her)

PS: We’d like to hear from you! Let us know how we’re doing!

"What's On" against a blue background with black silhouettes of figures with signs and banners, with a white rose on either side

Workers and Renters: Providence General Assembly

  • When: Saturday, June 7, 12:00pm and every other Saturday

  • Where: 134 Mathewson Street, Providence, RI 02903

  • From their Instagram:

    • Worried about Trump?

    • Want to defend our communities?

    • Want a world that works for everyone?

    • Come to the Providence General Assembly!

  • Spanish, ASL interpretation and childcare available upon email request

  • Masking requested and masks will be provided

  • Direct questions to [email protected]

  • Providence General Assembly calendar

  • Workers and Renters Website

Rally to make the rich pay their fair share!

  • When: Thursday, May 29, 2:45pm-4:15pm

  • Where: Rhode Island State House (Front steps, Smith Street side), 82 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02903

  • It's time for the top 1% of Rhode Islanders to pay their fair share in income taxes and do their part to make sure that Rhode Islanders don't lose any more hospitals, bus lines, homes, shelters, and schools.

  • Join numerous organizations and concerned neighbors as they rally in front of the State House to let our lawmakers know that it is past time to enact legislation that would increase income taxes on Rhode Islanders making more than $625,000 per year.

  • The "Revenue for Rhode Islanders" legislation, sponsored by Rep. Karen Alzate and Sen. Melissa Murray, would generate $190 million in additional revenue that our state could use towards shielding us from federal austerity measures. Passing this legislation, and other taxes on the rich like the second homes tax and the tax on wealth, would be a massive step towards in ensuring that Rhode Islanders are able to not just survive, but thrive in the years to come.

  • More information about Revenue for Rhode Islanders is available here (https://revenueforri.org/)

  • Co-sponsoring organizations include: RI AFL-CIO, SEIU-1199, Revenue for Rhode Islanders, Save RIPTA, Economic Progress Institute, Climate Action Rhode Island, National Education Association of RI, Reclaim RI, RI Working Families Power, Indivisible RI

  • Rich Rally Event Link

  • Once again, we strongly discourage registering for rallies and protests. Just — don’t.

CARI Youth Team for Climate Action!

  • When: Thursday, May 29, 7:00pm

  • Where: Zoom, Online

  • Climate Action RI (CARI) is a grassroots organization and an affiliate of 350.org, and they’re working to build the climate movement in RI, starting by launching a youth climate team!

  • If you’re between the ages of 14 and 24, live in RI, and are interested in getting involved in climate justice in our state, check them out!

  • In this meeting you'll get a quick intro to Climate Action Rhode Island (CARI), and then we’ll open the floor: we want to hear from you—what kinds of actions, events, and community-building you’d want to be part of. This is a chance to help shape the direction of the team from the very beginning.

  • CARI Youth Team RSVP Link

PSU The Art of Student Power: Quinceañera Edition

  • When: Friday, May 30, 4:30pm-7:30pm

  • Where: Southside Cultural Center of Rhode Island, 393 Broad Street, Providence RI 02907

  • Providence Student Union is turning 15 in 2025! Join them for a celebration with art, live music, dancing, scholarship awards, reflections, amazing food, and more!

  • The event will bring together youth leaders, program alumni, community members, and supporters to enjoy the arts and find inspiration from PSU’s past accomplishments. There will be scholarship awards for youth leaders, dancing with the Haus of Glitter, music and performances by youth artists, inspiring words from our team, a silent auction with amazing art and lots of fun items, and delicious treats from local businesses.

  • Ticket prices vary

  • Quinceañera Ticket and Event Information

AMOR Grill Off Competition and Community Picnic

  • When: Saturday, May 31, 12:00pm-3:00pm

  • Where: The Steve Yard, 27 Sims Ave, Providence, RI 02909

  • Join AMOR for their 5th year of this delicious competition! Participating teams compete to grill the most delicious meal, judged by event attendees. This year, there will be more grill-masters delivering even more incredible flavors from the many creative and beautiful culinary traditions of our communities.

  • Prices:

    • General Admission (19+): $30

    • Older Youth (13-18): $15

    • Younger Youth (3-12): $3 (pay at the door)

    • People under 3 years old get in for free

    • Reach out if you are a community member who wants to attend and finds the price restrictive.

    • You are welcome to pay at the door using cash, Venmo, or Paypal, but buying your tickets in advance lets AMOR know how much food to prepare. If you cannot make it, consider donating a ticket for members of the community!

  • Ticket Link Here

  • AMOR will have a maximum of 10 teams cooking delicious food (vegetarian options available), activities for kids, piñatas, wonderful artists and musicians!

  • All proceeds support AMOR’s ongoing work to organize legal support, case management, and campaigns to put an end to state violence in our communities. As a sponsor, you can build exposure among our community members and event attendees while contributing to our cause.

CARI June Info Session

  • When: Friday, June 6, 12:00pm

  • Where: Online, Zoom

  • Climate Action Rhode Island (CARI) is having their monthly info session. If you’re looking to get more involved in climate justice in RI, this is your starting point to get plugged in.

  • At this orientation, you'll hear about the many ways to take action—whether you're into showing up, speaking out, digging into policy, or connecting with neighbors. Volunteering is what you make of it, whether it’s staying informed about CARI's efforts, coming out to an event once a month, or being active with one of their teams.

  • In this meeting, CARI will walk through their mission, goals, and teams, leave time for your questions, and help you figure out how you might get involved.

  • CARI Session RSVP Page

ACLU Rights Explainers

  • When: Up now

  • Where: Online

  • The ACLU just released two updated versions of their explainers about your rights when interacting with immigration agents (ICE) or the police. They have them available in 10 languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Cape Verdean, Haitian Creole, French, Swahili, Dari, Pashto, and Khmer.

  • Read and save this material – regardless of your own immigration status – and send to friends and family! Click the link below and scroll to the bottom of the page to download PDFs that you can print, plus the ACLU posted on all their social media platforms (@riaclu) if you want to save and share online.

  • If you have a specific way to distribute larger numbers of the paper copies, please email the RI ACLU at [email protected] or call them at 401-831-7171. They have a limited supply printed, but will provide as many as they are able.

  • ACLU Rights Explainers

Trump Administration Play-by-Play Tool for Public Education

  • When: Up now

  • Where: Online

  • The Partnership for the Future of Learning is making an online tool available which aims to demystify the Administration’s plans for the coming months. During his presidential campaign, Trump was open about his plans for dismantling public schools. Even as the campaign backed away from Project 2025, he embraced its proposals to roll back civil rights protections and defund and privatize public schools. Following the election, organizations across the progressive education policy space developed important resources on what these plans will mean for schools and communities. The Play-by-Play includes and complements many of these resources with information on how Administration policies are likely to be enacted, and the steps state and local organizations can take in response.

  • Trump Admin Play-by-Play Tool

  • Partnership for the Future of Learning website

The Womxn Project’s Bodily Freedom Forever Index

"Education" against a blue background, flanked by black & white books, with a rose on either side

Utility Justice 101! Virtual Training

  • When: Wednesday, May 28, 8:00pm EST

  • Where: Online, Zoom

  • Join this call with 350 Network Affiliates from across the country and Third Act, including founder Bill McKibben, to learn about Utility Justice!

  • They will be discussing the following agenda:

    • 8:00pm-9:00pm EST — Presentation and Discussion

      • What is an electric & gas utility, and what is utility justice?

      • The problems our utilities create and how to solve them

      • Why are my electric bills so expensive? How utilities leverage political power, and how we can fight back!

    • 9:00pm-9:30pm EST: optional breakouts by geographic region or state for participants to discuss their own utilities, campaigns and strategy together.

  • Utility Justice Zoom and Registration Link

"Mutual Aid" on a grey-white gradient, flanked on each side by a loop of interlocking hands, with a white rose on either side

Support Striking Healthcare Workers

On May 15th, Butler Hospital workers went on strike to protest unfair labor practices. Steve Ahlquist [ed: our beloved] has been diligently covering the strike and the instances of retaliation the workers have faced. We strongly recommend reading his pieces for the full details on the developing situation.

Obviously, we stand in solidarity with SEIU 1199NE and hope the union’s demands are met. In the meantime, striking is hard, risky work, and depends on the support of the community.

Please consider donating to the strike fund of SEIU 1199NE!

"Bill Tracker" on a background like creased white paper, with scales on the left, with a white rose on either side

Reminders for Legislative Advocacy

  • Be aware that written testimony submitted to any committee is considered public and will be posted to and accessible on the General Assembly website.

  • All times and locations given below are accurate as of the writing of this newsletter, but the RI Legislature is prone to changing time and locations of hearings with little notice. If you want to give in-person testimony for a bill, go to this Bill Lookup Page to double check the bill status and meeting information before you go. Put the bill number (no H, no S) in the Bills input field and hit Enter for the most up to date information.

  • Rise of the House or the Senate is when the full House or Senate finishes meeting together and breaks into separate committee meetings.

  • For in-person testimony, when you arrive and/or during the meeting, you will receive instructions on when and how you can give testimony. Don’t be afraid to poke someone who looks like they know what they’re doing and ask.

“Tax the Rich” Bill

Bill Number: S0329

Summary: S0329 creates an additional tax rate of 3% on taxable income over $625,000. Applies to tax years 2026 and thereafter but not retroactively. This legislation would raise taxes on the wealthiest Rhode Islanders to fund necessary government initiatives.

Our Position: FOR / IN SUPPORT OF

Current Status: Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration

How to Support this Bill:

How to Submit Written Testimony:

  • Due: Thursday, May 29th, 3:00pm

  • Write a short statement, 1-3 paragraphs, explaining why you support the bill.

  • Include your name, the bill number (S0329), and your viewpoint (FOR).

  • Email written testimony to: [email protected]

How to Give In-Person Testimony:

  • Attend one of the committee meetings: The Senate Finance Committee Meeting, Thursday, May 29th, at Rise of the Senate (usually around 4:00pm) in Room 211 at the State House

  • Be prepared to share a brief statement about why you support this bill. Include your name, the bill number (S0329), and your viewpoint (FOR).

Health and Safety Bills

Summary: S0462 Sub A and H5171 Sub A as Amended extend the sunset provision of the pilot program to prevent drug overdoses through the establishment of harm reduction centers for two (2) years to March 1, 2028.

Our Position: FOR / IN SUPPORT OF

Current Status: The House Committee on Health and Human Services recommends passage of S0462 Sub A and H5171 Sub A as Amended

  • S0462 Sub A is scheduled for consideration on the House floor on Thursday, May 29th.

  • H5171 Sub A as Amended is scheduled for consideration on the Senate floor on Thursday, May 29th.

How to Support this Bill:

  • Write a short statement for each bill, 1-3 paragraphs, explaining why you support the bill.

  • Include your name, the bill number (H5171 Sub A and S0462 Sub A), and your viewpoint (FOR)

  • Email written testimony to your state representative and senator.

  • Look up your state representative and senator here.

The Freedom to Read Act

Bill Number: S0328 Sub A / H5726

Summary: S0328 Sub A / H5726 promotes free expression and access of information by prohibiting the censorship of library materials and amends current laws to clarify the range of materials considered “indecent” and “obscene” for the purposes of criminalizing the distribution of materials containing sexual content.

Our Position: FOR / IN SUPPORT OF

Current Status: The Senate passed S0238 Sub A and referred the bill to the House Committee on State Government & Elections.

How to Support this bill:

  • Write a short statement, 1-3 paragraphs, explaining why you support the bill.

  • Include your name, the bill number (S0238 Sub A), and your viewpoint (FOR)

  • Email written testimony to: [email protected]

"Sidebar" on a white background, with a sketch of a trial litigation on the left and a Torah scroll on the right, with a white rose on either side

James (he / she)

f_r _ w_ld_rn_ss _f m_nk_ys

We never directly see

Shylock’s reaction to

Jessica’s flight.

Shakespeare never shows us.

The closest we get is

Act III, Scene 1;

His conversation with Tubal,

a friend,

the only other Jew

in Shakespeare’s canon.

Shylock spends most of it

complaining that she robbed him.

We’re never permitted

to see him in the moments

after he returns home

to discover his only daughter

vanished,

along with his money

and his late wife’s ring.

We don’t see

his anguish

or

his rage.

We only hear of his grief 

from his enemies

when they laugh

recollecting

how he ran through the streets that night

mad

shrieking

children following to mock

the performance

an entourage

of groundlings

a parading pogrom.

We are not audience to

his tragedy.

We listen to

his witnesses

savor the comedy

of the worst night of Shylock’s life

(at least,

the worst

up to that point

an achievement

to be shortly

overshadowed.)

I remember my Rabbi

saying that many

if not most

of the stories in the Tanakh,

notably

the Akedah,

leave out

internal life.

By which he meant,

we don’t necessarily

know what a character is

thinking

at all times

if ever.

We see their

actions

and sometimes the

intent

behind

their words

to another.

Occasionally,

we are even told

the exact words used.

We are left to guess

their thoughts.

This means

between

the translation

of an impossibly old tongue

and

the sparseness of the lines

themselves,

there is just as much of the story

that is written

as

is imagined.

Does Abraham really trust god?

How much does Isaac intuit?

What is god playing at?

Who is testing who?

Is god testing Abraham,

or

is Abraham testing god,

or

is Isaac testing his father?

Who passes

and

who fails?

My Rabbi also pointed out

that we never see

Abraham and Isaac

speak to one another again

at any point in the remainder

of the Torah,

if, indeed,

they ever did.

We never see

Shylock and Jessica

speak again either.

I think about

what is left out because 

it is important 

and

what is left out because

(supposedly)

it is not.

I think about what 

imagination

has to fill in.

I think about

the translation of a language

that is familiar to us

but

that we barely remember.

I think about

my sister,

classically trained,

teaching me about

vowels

and

consonants

and how vowels came 

first.

Vowels

are where emotions live,

the desperate drive to

express.

Consonants

structure them into meaning,

or at least

articulation.

(translation?)

Vowels;

the soul

wriggling for

the surface —

Consonants;

the tetrapod

crawling toward

language.

I think about how

the Hebrew in the Torah

is written without

vowels.

I think about what

imagination 

has to fill in.

I think about how

when Shakespeare writes “O!”

it is not “Oh,”

but a howl

and I wonder

what vowels ripped from

Shylock’s throat

that night.

Needle Drop: “Magpie”, the Mountain Goats

"Fash Watch" in white ransom note font against a black background, with a hand wielding a burning torch on the right, with a white rose on either side

Alert Reprint: Police Vehicle Information

In the wake of recent ICE abductions, AMOR released vehicle information in connection with activity on the 5th of May in Central Falls and Pawtucket.

We are boosting this information so that our readers can be vigilant and help prevent future abductions in their communities. Vehicle descriptions are as follows:

  • Dodge Chrysler, Plate # 78473 (no color given)

  • Ford Explorer, Plate # 1MF813 (gold)

  • Ford Explorer, Plate # 1MR 707 (charcoal gray)

  • Ford sedan, Plate # 1LE252 (red)

  • Ford Edge, Plate # 1HS895 (black)

  • Nissan Murano, Plate # 379199 (black)

  • Nissan Titan, Plate # 1LW807 (no color given)

  • Dodge SUV, Plate # 1MJ516 (no color given)

  • Nissan Pathfinder with a Maine plate (no number or color given)

  • Chevy SUV, Plate # 913 993 (black)

  • Hyundai sedan, Plate # 1LL314 (black)

  • Chevy Impala sedan, Plate # 322115 (charcoal)

  • Dodge Grand Caravan LV, Plate # 78473 (no color given)

  • Chrysler Pacifica, unmarked (gray)

(Plates are from Rhode Island unless marked otherwise)

If you see one or more of these vehicles in your neighborhood and you fear they may be connected with ICE or CBP activity, please call AMOR’s Defense Line at 401-675-1414.

News Round-Up: Local

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Deep Dives

Your Threat Model Has Changed (Margaret Killjoy in Birds Before the Storm, April 23, 2025)

From Aspiration to Action: Organizing Through Exhaustion, Grief, and Uncertainty (Kelly Hayes in Organizing My Thoughts, May 22, 2025)

Pod Recs: It Could Happen Here & Behind the Bastards

Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #16 (It Could Happen Here, May 16, 2025)

Part Two: Carl Schmitt: The Man Behind Modern Fascism (Behind the Bastards, May 22, 2025)

Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #17 (It Could Happen Here, May 23, 2025)

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