We strive to investigate, understand and improve racial justice in our Community.
About Racial Justice Falmouth
We also wanted to support people of color in our community, both residents and visitors. After the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Brianna Taylor, and George Floyd in 2020, we began holding Black Lives Matter standouts on the Village Green… and we have been holding them ever since – rain or shine or snow. We kneel for 9 minutes and 29 seconds to show our support for Black Lives in our country and in our town.
Lastly, we wanted to help make our community a better place by holding events to inform people. We have held or supported events to educate people about issues such as discrimination and hate crimes, wealth inequality, and banned books. We hope to do more in the future.
We sure know a lot more now than before our friend challenged us. And we have so much more to learn - please join us.
We were inspired to form Racial Justice Falmouth (RJF) by an African-American friend who experienced racism in our town. Our friend was generous enough to share her observations and thoughts on what she experienced here and challenged us to start a town-wide discussion group to talk about race.
Our first meeting was April 17, 2019. We introduced ourselves and listened to a talk about one resident's Civil Rights tour through the South. We talked about what we wanted our group to be, and what we wanted to accomplish.
We decided to start with educating ourselves. We have been meeting (almost) monthly ever since, including through the COVID pandemic to discuss books/movies/podcasts/articles about race in America. Topics have included the history of race in American; experiences of Indigenous peoples; and how systemic racism is present in areas such as housing/land ownership, policing/incarceration, the economy/distribution of wealth, and the medical system. We are by no means experts, but we have learned a lot.
Our Board of Directors:
Meghan Hanawalt | Paula Johnson | Jennifer Linton | Travis Mapp | Jim Newman | Sue O'Brien
Help us create a better world
Black History is American History is Black History
Part of understanding our country is understanding our history – good, bad and ugly. Much of the history we are taught in schools is without nuance or diverse perspectives. Currently, efforts are being taken to remove information about the roles and heroics of Black and Indigenous people and Women in our country’s history. They played important roles in the American Revolution (as presented in Ken Burn’s new documentary), the Civil War, science and exploration, medicine, literature and the arts, politics, etc.
If you can see it, you can be it. We shouldn’t squander any of the diverse talent we have in this country. Kids should know that people like them contributed to history, and they can, too!