Welcome to the conversation!


Welcome to the conversation!

Harriet Beecher Stowe's (1811-1896) best-selling anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), made her the most famous American woman of the 19th century and galvanized the abolition movement before the Civil War.

The Stowe Center is a 21st-century museum and program center using Stowe's story to inspire social justice and positive change.

The Salons at Stowe programs are a forum to connect the challenging issues (race, gender and class) that impelled Stowe to write and act with the contemporary face of those same issues. The Salon format is based on a robust level of audience participation, with the explicit goal of promoting civic engagement. Recent topics included: Teaching Acceptance; Is Prison the New Slavery; Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North; Creativity and Change; Race, Gender and Politics Today; How to be an Advocate

This blog will expand the reach of these community conversations to the online audience. Add your posts and comments to keep the conversation going! Commit to action by clicking HERE to stay up to date on Salon and social justice news.

For updates on Stowe Center programs and events, sign up for our enews at http://harrietbeecherstowe.org/email.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

#GivingTuesday

While Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become ingrained in consumerist lexicon, Giving Tuesday, a recent addition to the post-Thanksgiving, pre-Holiday shopping schedule, serves as a day to encourage giving across the globe.  Giving Tuesday asks individuals to not just contribute monetarily, but to also donate time, services, and ideas to national and global causes as well.    



Looking for ways to take part? Blog site Gawker, compiled a list of charities most effective at helping the word's most vulnerable.  The Guardian created a list of ways to get involved on Giving Tuesday that don't require fiscal contributions. 

While ostensibly good, Giving Tuesday has drawn slight criticism for its inclusion of large for-profit corporate entities, who while promoting charity, do so under the guise of their own company brand and marketing platform. Companies like Macy's, CVS, and Paul Mitchell all promoted Giving Tuesday, but through asking patrons to re-tweet their logo. thus serving as another marketing tactic.    
What are you doing in honor of #GivingTuesday? Are there ways to encourage giving without promoting corporate entities? What compels individuals to give money, time, or service? How can we spread these actions throughout the year?  

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