We were absolutely humbled by the enormous turnout for our 3rd annual Indigenous Peoples’ Day Family Celebration on Monday, October 9. We are incredibly grateful to our sponsors the Winchester Cooperative Bank, Wright-Locke Farm, FAN of Winchester, and Melrose Highlands Congregational Church; and our dozens of volunteers representing the Arlington Human Rights Commission, Lex Farm, NFSJ, Winchester … Read more
On June 21st, the Network for Social Justice and community partners welcomed over 60 people to Mill Pond to celebrate Juneteenth! The event began with a community reading of the Frederick Douglass speech, “What to the Slave is the 4th of July?” Following the community reading, the Network was excited to welcome back to Winchester … Read more
What a day! For as much as we worried about the weather, the skies cleared and the sun shone down (and maybe even the Canadian wildfire haze dissipated?) on Tuesday, June 6th on the Winchester Town Common for our 3rd annual PRIDEfest. With more than 20 faith communities, businesses, organizations, and student groups; drag queens … Read more
On Wednesday, May 17, we welcomed the community to our third celebration of AAPI heritage. In 2021 we hosted a Stop Asian Hate vigil, in 2022 we welcomed Yazhi Guo and Shin Daiko for an evening of music, and this year we enjoyed a student-led festival! These types of events are at the core of the … Read more
On Tuesday, June 6, the Network for Social Justice—along with event co-sponsors the Winchester Cooperative Bank and Crawford United Methodist Church—will host PRIDEfest 2023 on the Winchester Town Common. Now in its third year, PRIDEfest draws hundreds of people from Winchester, Woburn, Arlington, Lexington, and surrounding towns for an educational, inclusive, joy-filled, family-friendly celebration. The … Read more
By Harrison Zeiberg, SCI AmeriCorps Fellow serving with NFSJ On Monday, January 16th, the Network for Social Justice and our community partners were honored to welcome hundreds of residents from Winchester and the surrounding area to the 4th annual MLK Day of Community Service at Winchester High School! Attendees of all ages were able to … Read more
Wednesday evening, May 18, was a beautiful one for our special Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month concert, featuring taiko drumming ensemble Shin Daiko and suona (Chinese oboe) player Yazhi Guo. We are so grateful to our co-hosts — CAN WIN and the Chinese School of Art and Culture — as well as the Griffin … Read more
After months of planning–including weekly 7:30AM meetings with a dedicated group of WHS students–we were very excited to bring our 3rd annual MLK Day of Service to the community in person. Of course, the pandemic had other plans, and within just a few weeks, we had pivoted, re-imagined, and reframed the entire event as a … Read more
In 1862, a group of Winchester residents invited renowned abolitionist Frederick Douglass to speak at Lyceum Hall (across the street from present-day BookEnds). Explore the speech and its implications today with archivist Dr. Ellen Knight, author Nathan Richardson, and a member of the Mystic Valley NAACP. Hosted by the NFSJ, Winchester Historical Society, and Winchester … Read more
By Arya Ramachandran, NFSJ Intern On Dec. 16, 2021, the Network for Social Justice (NSFJ), in collaboration with the Winchester High School Social Justice Club (SoJust), hosted an event called “Unity Amongst Diversity” on the Winchester Town Common. The tagline was “Festivities of light that delightfully transform the world together.” The goal was to bring … Read more
