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- Havdalah #44: Student Power, Caregiver Strike, & Jessica
Havdalah #44: Student Power, Caregiver Strike, & Jessica
27 Iyar, 5785 / May 24, 2025
White Rose RI
May 24, 2025
“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!
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]
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
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.
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
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!
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.
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.
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.
The Womxn Project’s Bodily Freedom Forever Index
When: Up now, updated every Tuesday
Where: Online
The Womxn Project has put together an index of politicians in RI, showing how candidates did in the 2024 election compared to their stance on bodily freedom. TWP will post weekly reports on Tuesdays, highlighting some of their findings from the BFFI.
They’re also welcoming people to come join them as they organize in each district, creating small hubs. With volunteers, they will keep building a more transparent political landscape with data-informed action and strategy. Check them out if you want to get involved!
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.
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!
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
Bill Numbers: S0462 Sub A and H5171 Sub A as Amended
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.
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]
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
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
East Providence residents once again repel anti-trans Christian nationalist (Steve Ahlquist in RIFuture.news, May 14, 2025)
Residents hit conservative majority on the Chariho School Committee for secrecy, bad decisions, and shutting down public comment (Steve Ahlquist in RIFuture.news, May 15, 2025)
I was fired from Emerson College for speaking out about Palestine, but I refuse to remain silent (Anna Feder for Mondoweiss, May 18, 2025)
Protest at the Wyatt: As ICE deportations intensify, so does community resistance (Steve Ahlquist in RIFuture.news, May 20, 2025)
Smiley Administration is issuing $500 tickets to striking Butler Hospital workers (Steve Ahlquist in RIFuture.news, May 20, 2025)
Butler Hospital announces the termination of striking workers’ health insurance (Steve Ahlquist in RIFuture.news, May 20, 2025)
News Round-Up: National
DOJ Charges New Jersey Congresswoman With Assault Following ICE Jail Visit (Jake Johnson for Truthout, May 20, 2025)
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)
