Woolman Visit and Justice Night
I’m on the road visiting my old high school, The Woolman Semester, in Nevada City, CA. I’ll be spending this week gathering information, pictures, and interviews, oh my!
I left Olympia on Thursday a little later than planned, met a friend in Portland for dinner, and drove to Medford, OR where I stayed for the night (I got there around 10pm). A friend of mine has some property just outside of the city so I woke up on a beautiful piece of land and had a nice walk around before day 2 of driving. On Friday I drove from Medford to Nevada City, CA (approximately 5 ½ hours). I stopped in Ashland, OR for a few groceries and Mt Shasta and Red Bluff, CA for water and to stretch. It was so hot out and I was a little delirious and dehydrated by the time I reached my destination. I made good time though, and got to Woolman before dinner!
Many people are gone this weekend for Quarterly Meeting (The school is based on Quaker practices and principles) but the students and interns were welcoming and asked many questions about my semester and Evergreen. We’ve shared many conversations about the joys and struggles of living in community in the wilderness and I’ve been feeling a constant embrace of nostalgia since I arrived. I watched a documentary I made about nudity while I was a student here and have explained the Terroir program more times than I can count!
Last night I was lucky enough to get to see the students’ project presentations on food justice, gender justice, and prison justice! They did an amazing job putting together information on all of these very complex topics. I learned about a man named Leonard Peltier, wrongfully convicted of the murder of two FBI agents over 40 years ago. He has been in prison ever since. FreeLeonard.org states, “Leonard Peltier was an American Indian Movement (AIM) leader and was asked by traditional people at Pine Ridge, South Dakota, to support and protect the traditional people being targeted for violence.” The students at Woolman have been working hard this semester to raise awareness of Peltier’s case and put pressure on President Obama to free Leonard this year. The gender justice booth held a feminist bake sale based on the wage gap, where I paid 77 cents for a delicious mini key lime pie. In my image gallery you can find the chart they used to demonstrate what each person paid. The food justice table had some great information on ‘first food deserts’ which I will detail in a future post!
There were also $1 tacos and an open mic, where students recited poems and played music! The event was held at Summer Thyme’s Bakery and Deli in Grass Valley, CA, which is owned and operated by a former Woolman head-of-school!
Take a look at my image gallery to find photos from my trip so far and from social justice night! Also, keep your eyes out for a short video documenting my visit to Woolman!
You can read more about the Woolman Semester School (a four month long program for high school juniors, seniors, and gap-year students that revolves around the exploration of peace, justice, and sustainability) here!!
www.semester.woolman.org
Here is a link to more information about political prisoner Leonard Peltier. You can also sign a petition to President Obama to demand that Peltier be granted clemency.
www.freeleonardpeltiernow.org
I will be posting more in-depth on this subject later, but here is a place to read more about ‘first food deserts’ and how socioeconomic status impacts mothers and babies.
http://befirstfoodfriendly.org/what-is-a-first-food-desert/
