[NLA] Re: COABE, race & social justice

[loujyesnola@netscape.net]

"Sally Gabb" <sgabb412 at hotmail.com> wrote:

>To NLA List members and Field:nbsp; while this list has been quiet about issues of race and social justice in relationship to the COABE conference in Charleston, many of us have been collecting resources and having separate dialogue about how best to engage the field at the conference.nbsp; We hope to engage many of you as we share the rich variety of resources we have jointly pooled , and look for action design for policy change and strategy development.
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>The New England team includes Sally Gabb, SABES; Jeri Bayer, SABES;nbsp; Annemarie Espindola, SABES. In Charleston, Kimberly Lewis of Trident :Literacy has agreed to join us for the forum, and for constructive dialogue.nbsp; MaryAnn Corley, founder of the Race/Poverty list serv has also joined in as a supporting colleague.nbsp; Beth Bingman and the AALDP group are focusing on issues of race and social justice in their pre-conference session.
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>We continue to encourage all practitioners attending the conference to join us in examining the crucial issues surrounding our need to maintain consciousness and active participation in issues that affect our learners, and indeed us all.nbsp; The Racism amp; Social Justice team will be hosting a round table on Friday from 10:15 to 11:45 at the invitation of the COABE committee.nbsp;(see Conferencenbsp;Schedule).nbsp; nbsp;We will announce any other possible venues for dialogue at the conference, and welcome contributions of resources, program or organization initiatives.
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>COABE can be a dynamic vehicle for addressing issues of racism, poverty and other barriers to social justice which are intimately related to the practice of adult basic education.nbsp; We believe that silence us the greatest enemy of progress towards resolving injustice.nbsp; Join Us!
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>Sally Gabb amp; the Racism/Social Justice in ABE team

Sally et al,

Sally you and those who will be joining you in Charleston are, in my opinion, on the right track! However you all are not alone. 5 years ago the South Central Literacy Action(SCLA) organization began a dialogue on the subject in question. Since then Laubach, LVA and the ALA have also engaged the subject at their conferences. I agree with you Sally IT IS now time for action planning and strategy development. Many practitioners in the field, I believe, are wanting to "do something" but are unsure as to what. If the folks I am working with on the subject and the folks you are working with could come together that would be a good start. How do those of us working on this subject in various locations around the USA get to share information and resources? Perhaps holding a summit on the subject is something we should do. We must "OUT" the subject! Until it is out of the closet nothing will change and literacy efforts will continue to be adversely impacted by it!!

-- 
Lou C. Johnson,Executive Director
YMCA Educational Services(YES!)
833 Howard Avenue Suite 300
New Orleans LA 70113-1122
504-568-READ(7323)
Literacy And Justice For All!



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