Pocahantas Redefined: Native American Storytellers Film Festival

Friday through Sunday, November 17th-19th 2017, at the Byrd Theatre (2908 West Cary Street, Richmond VA), the first annual Native American Storytellers Film Festival will be held. Created by leaders from several Virginia tribes, this celebration of American Indian cinema will include films and performers, and it is free to attend. 

To see the schedule of films and performances, or to find out more, see this link. 

Virginia Legislature Advocacy Training

Saturday and Sunday, November 18-19 2017, from 9am-4:30pm both days, at VCU's Learning Center (1000 Floyd Avenue, Richmond VA), the Virginia Civic Engagement Table, SEIU Virginia 512, the Virginia Latina Advocacy Network, and more, are holding a two-day training on the state legislative process and how to advocate at the General Assembly. 

Lunch will be provided. Free. 

For more info, contact elena@engageva.org. To RSVP, see this link. 

8th Virginia Immigrant Advocates Summit

Wednesday, November 15th 2017, from 8:30am-5pm, at Faith Lutheran Church (3313 Arlington Boulevard, Arlington VA), the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations and others will hold their annual summit to bring together statewide immigrant rights advocates, supporters, and allies serving the immigrant population in Virginia, to discuss and strategize on issues affecting the state's immigrant community.

$35 registration, some scholarships are available.

For more information and to find out how to register, see this link.

Enrollment for 2018 Health Insurance Marketplace Plans Opens Today

Enrollment for 2018 insurance plans opened today, and will remain open until December 15th. If you need to enroll, re-enroll, or change an insurance plan you got through the Health Insurance Marketplace, you need to do it in the next 45 days. If you qualify for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) you can apply at any time, and if you have some life event you might qualify for the Special Enrollment Period. 

If you need help enrolling, you can contact ENROLL Virginia at 1-888-392-5132 or info@enroll-virginia.com, or visit enrollva.org/events/ to find a free workshop near you.

The Trump administration shortened the enrollment period and cut funding for advertising about it, so try to share this around to make sure people who need it see it.

REVIVE: Opiate Overdose Lay Rescuer Training

Every month on the second Thursday, REVIVE, Virginia's Opioid Overdose and Naloxone Education (ONE) program, holds a training on responding to opiate overdoses. The training teaches people about what opiates are and how they work, and how to recognize opiate overdoses and respond with naloxone, a medicine that can reverse overdoses. Classes are held from 11am-1pm, at the SAARA Center for Recovery (2000 Mecklenburg Street, Richmond VA). 

The class is intended for nonprofessionals (medical experience is helpful but not required), including: people who use opiates like prescription painkillers or heroin, people who have friends or family who use opiates, and people who work somewhere that people use opiates. The training can help you respond to emergencies involving overdoses, potentially saving lives. 

Lunch is provided, and the sessions are free though you must register. For more information and to register, call 804-762-4445, email johnb@saaracenter.org, or visit www.saara.org/revive-trainings. 

Screening of "Backpack Full of Cash"

Thursday, November 2nd 2017, from 6:30-9:30pm, at the Third Street Bethel AME Church (614 North 3rd Street, Richmond VA). In the final screening of their two-part "Protecting Public Education" series, the Richmond Teachers for Social Justice, Richmond Education Association, and the Richmond City Council of PTAs is screening the documentary film "Backpack Full of Cash," on the cost of privatizing America's public schools. 

Free. 

Performances from "The Thin Light of Freedom: The Civil War and Emancipation in the Heart of America"

Thursday, October 26th 2017, at 7:30pm at the Hippodrome (528 North 2nd Street, Richmond VA), the Black History Museum and Cultural Center is partnering with the American Civil War Museum to host a theatrical event for the release of Dr. Edward Ayers' new book, "The Thin Light of Freedom: the Civil War and Emancipation in the Heart of America." 

Tickets are $10 for Black History Museum members, $20 for the general public. 

For more info and to RSVP, see this link. 

"The Economic Impact of Large-Scale Property Losses Resulting from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War."

This Wednesday, October 25th 2017, at 6:30pm, in room 118 of the Jepson School (University of Richmond, 28 Westhampton Way, Richmond VA), Professor Michael Fischbach will be giving a lecture titled, "The Economic Impact of Large-Scale Property Losses Resulting from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War." The talk will address the fate of property abandoned by Palestinian refugees of the war, and the war's impact on Israel's ability to develop economically and accept immigrants from other countries.

Dr. Fischbach is a professor of history at Randolph Macon College and a member of Richmonders for Peace in Israel and Palestine. The event is free.

Note: still on hiatus, definitely until the end of October.

I'm adding a couple of things, but do not expect to be regularly maintaining this page until at least the end of October, possibly longer. Do not expect consistent or reliable updates. Thanks. 

"Can We Survive Mainstreaming? Trans Politics and Criminal Punishment Reform."

Thursday, October 26th 2017, at 7pm, at the VCU Singleton Center (922 Park Avenue, Richmond VA), the VCU Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies, in partnership with other entities at the university, is holding a lecture by Seattle University professor Dean Spade, titled "Can We Survive Mainstreaming? Trans Politics and Criminal Punishment Reform."

Free, open to the public. Street parking only. Professor Spade will be signing books afterwords.

To RSVP and for more info, see the link.