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Havdalah #62: Boycott, Lunch&Learn, and Too Much News

3 Kislev, 5786 / November 22, 2025

Author

White Rose RI
November 22, 2025

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Hello all, and welcome to Havdalah #62 —

It’s a sleepy sort of day here at White Rose; between the rain this morning and the sunset at 4:30pm, all I want to do is curl back up into bed and sleep and sleep. All the world seems too big and too exhausting to affect or deal with. And all by myself, that’s probably true. But I’m not by myself, thank God. So I’ll drink my tea and get some sleep this weekend. And I’ll bring some food to the food donation box at church, and show up to help tutor for the citizenship class on Monday. And hopefully, working all together, we can chip away at this mountain.

In case any of you have been allowed to forget by the mountain of advertising we’re all subjected to, next week is Thanksgiving. We will be traveling a bit too much to get a newsletter out next Saturday, so happy early Turkey Day.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, we have a boycott for some particular companies over Black Friday, as well as a rather substantial news roundup in Fash Watch. Illegitimi non carborundum, and try and get Vitamin D if you can.

Goodnight, and mind how you go —

Katherine (she / her)

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

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Workers and Renters: Providence General Assembly

  • When: Saturday, November 22, 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

  • Workers and Renters Website

We Ain’t Buying It Boycott

  • When: Thursday, November 27 - Monday, December 1

  • From their website:

    • This Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday – let’s make our dollars count. We’re asking Americans to hit pause on shopping from major corporations that are enabling this administration.

    • This action is taking direct aim at Target, for caving to this administration’s biased attacks on DEI; Home Depot, for allowing and colluding with ICE to kidnap our neighbors on their properties; and Amazon, for funding this administration to secure their own corporate tax cuts.

      • Target has rolled back their DEI initiatives, which included ending programs that help Black employees advance, cutting financial support for Black-Owned businesses, and removing LGBTQ+ products from their stores.

      • Home Depot is allowing ICE agents to illegally detain and kidnap laborers from their stores. The laborers in our communities are not able to look for work safely.

      • Amazon holds a monopolistic position in the market, contributes to dangerous working conditions for its employees and drivers, and CEO Jeff Bezos has donated over $1 million to this administration.

    • How to Participate:

      • Full Black Out: Don’t buy anything from Target, Amazon or Home Depot stores during this week. Use the time and money to connect with those you love, and rediscover what matters.

      • Redirect Spending: Skip the companies undermining democracy. Shop small, local, or with businesses affirming our humanity.

      • Join the Movement: Pledge to be a conscious consumer.

      • Amplify: Spread the word. Share the message in conversation and online.

      • Use and SHARE Our Toolkit: Get the word out about this economic action so we can hit the billionaire’s pockets where it hurts! Share now!

  • We Ain’t Buying It Boycott Page

The Womxn Project Call to Actions

  • Not quite an event, but the Womxn Project has provided a couple of actions to do to respond to the health and food crisis in Rhode Island:

  • Call to Action #1: Help Your Neighbor! Let’s build food security for our community into our daily actions!

    • With the expanding food crisis, The Womxn Project, in partnership with the RI Food Bank, RI Food Policy Council, RI State Council of Churches, and Youth Pride, is issuing a statewide call to action, STAT!

    • Every nonprofit organization or for-profit business—from sports teams and scouting troops to art collectives and faith communities—is being asked to include a food collection at every one of their events.

    • In a recent interview with Rhode Island Public Radio, RI Food Bank Executive Director Melissa Cherney reported that nearly 40% of Rhode Islanders are experiencing food insecurity. “RI has many committed non-profit organizations. That means we have the reach and the power to make an enormous difference if we act together. This is how we show what community care really looks like.”  Jocelyn Foye, Executive Director of The Womxn Project.

    • As the smallest state in the nation, Rhode Island can prove it’s also the biggest in heart. This initiative—called “Big Table Rhode Island!”—urges organizations to normalize giving by encouraging attendees to bring canned or nonperishable goods to every meeting, practice, or event, creating a culture of consistent, everyday support for local pantries. Read more

    • Sign the pledge and start today!

  • Call to Action #2: Voting Transparency: The Bodily Freedom Forever Index Questionnaires are out!

    • This past week, the Womxn Project sent the Bodily Freedom Forever Index questionnaire to every elected official in our state, from town and city school committee or town counselors, to state reps and senators on up.

    • Through civic engagement, policy advancement, and artivism, TWP takes action to secure reproductive freedom, LGBTQ+ rights, and government transparency in Rhode Island. The BFFI is an ongoing initiative to record and report the stance of each elected official in RI on these issues to promote transparency in our elections.  

    • TWP defines "bodily freedom" as sole decision-making power over one's body, so long as those decisions do not infringe on another’s bodily autonomy.  When evaluating an official's stance on bodily freedom, TWP considers two (of many) issues: support for reproductive rights and support for LGBTQ+ equality.

    • HELP TWP get a response from your local elected officials -- have them fill out the BFFI survey sent to their emails!

  • Call to Action #3: Our Rhode Island "Kavanaugh" Problem: An Anti-Democratic Nominee for Judge

    • Earlier this summer the chair of the RI Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) stated TWP broke precedent for the amount of emails and oral testimony shared against one candidate seeking a district judge position.

    • Why? Michael McCaffrey is an anti-abortion, anti-marriage equality candidate with the separation of church and state being of no concern. After the JNC voted on him and others, they passed the recommendations on to the Governor who "taps" a few candidates, to then go to the RI Senate for a final vote.

    • Since the vote, 3 new district judges have retired making it so there are FOUR positions to fill. All the calls and attention to this from the summer is not lost.

    • We need to call our Senators and say NO to a representative that is not aligned to the majority of RI's values. Remember, there are FIVE names that were passed onto the Governor. Join us in saying no to McCaffrey-"Kavanaugh." Say yes to the four others!

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

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Lunch & Learn with Lorén Spears and Robert Geake

  • When: Monday, November 24, 12:00pm-1:00pm

  • Where: Online (Zoom)

  • Join the Tomaquag Museum for their final free virtual Lunch & Learn presentation of 2025!

  • From Slaves to Soldiers: The 1st Rhode Island Regiment in the American Revolution: historian Robert A. Geake with Lorén M. Spears tells the important story of “The Integrated First Rhode Island Regiment” from the cause that led to its formation, its acts of heroism and misfortune, as well as the legacy left by those Indigenous and black men who enlisted to earn their freedom, protect their community, fight for liberty, and pursue wider happiness.

  • Lunch & Learn Event Page

  • Lunch & Learn Zoom Link

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Support PrYSM's Defense Fund

📢 Our Southeast Asian communities are under attack — help PrYSM fight back! 📢

Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM) is supporting over 70 Southeast Asian refugees with deportation orders. They provide organizing, legal, and community resources for their members and their families to fight against the US deportation machine.

With your support, PrYSM can continue to:

  1. provide rapid response for community members detained and facing immediate deportation

  2. provide mutual aid for legal fees and services

  3. support impacted members and their families during ICE check ins and court hearings

  4. provide case management for current and new members with orders of deportation

Donate today to help support the Southeast Asian community!

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News Round-Up: Local

News Round-Up: National & International

Trump Plan Could Leave Nearly 200,000 People at Risk of Becoming Unhoused (Jake Johnson in The Intercept, November 15, 2025)

How Many People Has the U.S. Killed in Boat Strikes? (Nick Turse in The Intercept, November 17, 2025)

Advocates spotlight U.S. complicity in Sudan genocide (Neha Madhira in PRISM, November 17, 2025)

ICE Air’s Sloppy, Dangerous Deportation Flights (Gillian Brockell in The American Prospect, November 17, 2025)

Op-Eds

Pod Recs: It Could Happen Here

Nick Fuentes Explains Pornography to Tucker Carlson (It Could Happen Here, November 18, 2025)

Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #42 (It Could Happen Here, November 21, 2025)

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