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October 2024

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August 2024

1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024

1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024

First Anniversary
08/19/2024

Alexandra Leaving by Leonard Cohen
08/16/2024

Muse des Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden
08/16/2024

The God Abandons Antony by Constantinos P. Cavafy
08/16/2024

Ch – Ch – Ch –Changes
08/15/2024

Cultural Activities Team offers an ‘embarrassment of riches’
08/15/2024

Engaging in Pasadena Village
08/15/2024

Future Housing Options
08/15/2024

Message from the President
08/15/2024

There Are Authors Among Us
08/15/2024

Villagers Welcome New Members at the Tournament Park Picnic
08/15/2024

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas
08/14/2024

A narrow Fellow in the Grass by Emily Dickinson
08/13/2024

Haikus
08/13/2024

One Art by Elizabeth Bishop
08/13/2024

Poem 20 by Pablo Neruda
08/13/2024

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
08/13/2024

Trees by Joyce Kilmer
08/13/2024

July 2024

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May 2024

Emergency Preparedness: Are You Ready?
05/28/2024

Farewell from the 2023/24 Social Work Interns
05/28/2024

Gina on the Horizon
05/28/2024

Mark Your Calendars for the Healthy Aging Research California Virtual Summit
05/28/2024

Meet Our New Development Associate
05/28/2024

Putting the Strategic Plan into Practice
05/28/2024

Washington Park: Pasadena’s Rediscovered Gem
05/28/2024

Introducing Civil Rights Discussions
05/22/2024

Rumor of Humor #2416
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2418
05/14/2024

Springtime Visitors
05/07/2024

Freezing for a Good Cause – Credit, That Is
05/02/2024

No Discussion Meeting on May 3rd
05/02/2024

An Apparently Normal Person Author Presentation and Book-signing
05/01/2024

Flintridge Center: Pasadena Village’s Neighbor That Changes Lives
05/01/2024

Pasadena Celebrates Older Americans Month 2024
05/01/2024

The 2024 Pasadena Village Volunteer Appreciation Lunch
05/01/2024

Woman of the Year: Katy Townsend
05/01/2024

April 2024

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January 2024

Fury and Faith by Amanda Gorman

By Richard Myers
Posted: 06/28/2022
Tags: racism

 

I recently heard on the radio Amanda Gorman reading a poem which I found very moving. It stimulated a great deal of thought and reflection about the world we live in. Shortly thereafter, the Supreme Court announced its stunning but not surprising decision that for the first time in anyone's memory the court took away rights that had existed for over 50 years. The reasoning behind the decision was such that it undermines the basis for great many other rights that have been established over the last hundred years. This is an assault on the social infrastructure of this country. In my mind it is akin to the opening salvo of artillery of Russia against Ukraine, clearly intended to lay waste to that country. This decision of the Supreme Court will law waste to our social infrastructure in a similar fashion. There are hard years ahead of us.

 

 

Amanda Gorman, is an American poet and activist. Her work focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora. Gorman was the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate. She published the poetry book, " The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough," in 2015. In 2021, she delivered her poem "The Hill We Climb," at the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden.

Her inauguration poem generated international acclaim.

 

In March 2021, Amanda was interviewed by a local KPCC/LAist journalist, Julia Barajas.

 

Amanda's poem is available below and there is a YouTube video available where you can hear the poem

read by Amanda Gorman.

 

 

Fury and Faith

 

You will be told that this is not a problem,

Not your problem.

You will be told that now is not the time for change to begin;

Told that we cannot win.

But the point of protest isn't winning —

It's holding fast to the promise of freedom,

Even when fast victory is not promised,

Meaning we cannot stand up to police

If we cannot cease policing our own imagination,

Convincing our communities that this won't work

Before the work has even begun,

That this can wait,

When we've already waited out a thousand suns.

By now, we understand white supremacy

and the despair it demands

Are as destructive as any disease.

So when you're told that your rage is reactionary,

Remember that rage is our right.

It teaches us it is time to fight

in the face of injustice.

Not only is anger natural but necessary

Because it helps carry us to our destination.

Our goal has never been revenge, just restoration;

 

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