BRATTLEBORO — Residents are invited to sing out on Saturday, June 27, starting at 5:30 p.m., at The Root Social Justice Center on Williams Street.
There will be Karaoke with Enza Putignano and a silent auction with items from Amazing Planet! Farm, New Chapter, Stained Glass, Dosa Kitchen, Neighborhood Market, and many more. The family-friendly, fragrance-free event benefits The Root's Cross-Class Dialogue Circles, with $5 suggested donation and no one turned away. A light dinner will be served, and particiapnts are asked to bring a dish to share to this BYOB event.
Cross-class dialogue circles are a way for people across the class spectrum to come together to talk about their experiences with class, listen to each others' stories and perspectives, and then to work together as “change makers for economic justice,” according to organizers.
The first circle, held from February to May, assembled 10 community members from a diversity of class experiences, ranging from being homeless to staying in five-star resorts and everything in between.
Organizers observed that with courage, depth, humor, and sincerity, the participants dove into topics like cross-class relationships, the economic divide, and equitable cost-sharing processes. Many people expressed relief at finally being in a place where it was okay to talk about their life experience related to money and class identity.
A second dialogue circle starts in October at The Root Social Justice Center. Davey Shlasko of Think Again Training and Angela Berkfield of ACT for Social Justice will again co-facilitate the group.
The participants from the first dialogue circle are collaborating to raise funds necessary to cover the costs of the next dialogue circle. The next circle will then fund the circle that follows it, and so on. For more information about the circle or about donating, email [email protected].