Listen to SCENE ON radio’s podcast called SEEING WHITE and meet for a conversation online. Feel free to join the conversation even if you don’t have time to listen to the podcast.

http://www.sceneonradio.org/seeing-white/

Events of the past few weeks have heightened the awareness of race inequities. What if we turn the spotlight on White people, and Whiteness, in the United States?

This series produced with the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University in Durham, NC. https://documentarystudies.duke.edu/

We will use the podcast to explore what it means to be White.  Produced by John Biewen (originally from Minnesota) with special guest Chenjerai Kumanyika.   

From the Study Guide:

The subject of whiteness is potentially uncomfortable for people of any race or ethnicity. People of color may react to the topic of whiteness by thinking: Really? We live in a world dominated and controlled by white people. Whiteness is our often-uncomfortable reality. Do we have to have a discussion about whiteness? For folks feeling that way, please understand: This is not about celebrating whiteness. We’re here to take a critical look at whiteness and how it functions in the life of our society, how it affects us all. Because it does, and we usually don’t talk about it directly.

White people, on the other hand, may react with unease: Am I about to be attacked? Is the point of this discussion that all white people are bad? To those people we can say: The point is not to attack every individual of European descent. None of us chose our “race,” nor did we create the society that we were all born into. In this class or discussion group, we’re in this together, trying to understand how we all got here. A conclusion of the Seeing White series is that white people must own and take responsibility for the advantages that come with whiteness, but that is not the same as saying that you as a white person are to blame and need to feel ashamed.

Join us on any or all of the following dates:

• Monday, June 15 at 7pm Episode 1 Turning the Lens

• Wednesday, June 17 at 7pm Episode 2  How Race Was Made

• Friday, June 19 at 7pm Episode 3 Made in America

• Sunday, June 21 at 7pm Episode 4 On Crazy we Built a Nation

• Wednesday, June 24 at 7pm Episode 5 Little War on the Prairie

• Friday, June 26 at 7pm Episode 6 That’s Not Us, So We’re Clean

• Sunday, June 28 at 7pm Episode 7 Chenjerai’s Challenge

The first 7 episodes of 14 will be scheduled and we can decide how to continue after June 28.

To participate, go to the SHA Calendar one hour prior to meeting time for the Zoom link.

Like our entire community, members of the Summit Hill Association are reeling from the death of George Floyd.

We acknowledge the frustration, rage and grief that have taken hold throughout our community as a result of the circumstance surrounding Mr. Floyd’s death. We also acknowledge that we must channel that frustration, rage and grief into something transformative; something that can help us bring neighbors together and take real, concrete actions to move this city, this state and this nation forward, to a place that encourages, promotes and supports systemic change throughout police forces, the justice system and our communities as a whole. 

Our hearts are with George Floyd’s family, his loved ones, the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and our country. But sympathy without action is not enough, and the SHA pledges to do what it can to foster communication and to find ways to bring this wonderful community together to bring about lasting, positive change.

In lieu of a cancelled in-person community meeting on the future of Ayd Mill Road, the City’s Public Works department recorded a PowerPoint presentation as a narrated video of the slides and is recommending residents complete an online survey.

Please watch the Ayd Mill Road Community Presentation video, which shares information about the history of Ayd Mill Road, the condition of the road, and alternatives that have been considered for repair and maintenance of the road, including the proposed 3-lane plan. After watching the video or viewing the PowerPoint slides of the presentation, you may complete the City’s feedback form by March 31, 2020, so the City can gather public concerns and questions about the recommended proposal for Ayd Mill Road. 

• Video Presentation

• PowerPoint Slides

• Feedback Form - closes on March 31, 2020

Public Works currently anticipates sharing traffic modeling and summarized feedback through an engagement opportunity on Monday, April 6, 2020. More details will be posted on the City’s webpage for this project: https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/public-works/projects/ayd-mill-road

The Summit Hill Association is taking several precautions to maintain safe operations during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

• Regular board and committee meetings are being held via Zoom teleconference—see the calendar for meeting times and log-in information.

• Our Executive Director (Monica Haas) is maintaining office hours from her home —the District 16 office at the Linwood Recreation Center has contact information posted as well as information available from recreation center staff.

• Gerten’s has extended the ordering deadline for our spring plant sale from March 27th to April 17th.

For Coronavirus (COVID-19) updates, precautions, and resources visit the websites for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) or Ramsey County Health Department.

The Summit Hill Association received the following update from Lunds & Byerlys on Feb. 27:

Dear Summit Hill Association:

We are fully committed to creating a vibrant mixed-used development on our Grand Avenue property that respects the historic attributes of the neighborhood and helps meet the community’s need for groceries, housing and parking.

We have temporarily paused our planning for this site as other projects have required our available resources at this time.

Community input is an important and valuable aspect of our planning process and when we have updated project details to share – likely within the next 9 to 12 months – we look forward to engaging with the neighborhood and Summit Hill Association.

Thanks.

Aaron Sorenson
Senior Communications Manager
Lunds & Byerlys

Ordering deadline extended to April 17th

Spring is just around the corner and the Summit Hill Association is having their spring plant sale. The plants are provided by Gerten’s and will be available for pick up May 1 and 2 at Linwood Community Center. 

The proceeds from the sale go to helping second-graders in the community learn to plant and helping beautify our neighborhood. 

Annuals, perennials, veggies, and beautiful baskets are available, in addition to Gerten’s gift cards. 

It’s time to start planning and ordering your flowers and plants for your gardens, planters, and great gifts! Orders are due Friday, April 17th.

*March 27th deadline extended to April 17th by Gerten’s. Plant delivery at Linwood Recreation Center remains scheduled for May 1st/2nd.

The March SHA Board Meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the Linwood Recreation Center, 860 St. Clair Avenue. All Summit Hill residents are invited to attend!

Winter. The perfect time to read a good book — and the only thing better than reading a thought-provoking book is discussing it afterward with friends and neighbors over pizza!

The SHA Book Club meets on March 11 to discuss The girl that fell from the sky, national bestseller by Heidi Durrow . This book is a story of Rachel, the daughter of a Danish mother and a black G.I., becomes the sole survivor of a family tragedy after a fateful morning on their Chicago rooftop. Forced to move to a new city, with her strict African American grandmother as her guardian, Rachel is thrust for the first time into a mostly black community, where her light brown skin, blue eyes, and beauty bring a constant stream of attention her way. It’s there, as she grows up and tries to swallow her grief, that she comes to understand how the mystery and tragedy of her mother might be connected to her own uncertain identity. This searing and heartwrenching portrait of a young biracial girl dealing with society’s ideas of race and class is the winner of the Bellwether Prize for best fiction manuscript addressing issues of social justice.

So grab a copy from the library or fire up your Kindle, and then mark your calendars for 7:00 PM on March 11 at the Linwood Recreation Center.  As always, pizza and beverages will be available.