Urban Action 11/28

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This week's calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.)

Housing issues

The Episcopal Church of St. Luke and St. Simon Cyrene will hold a community forum on Rochester's housing problems on Saturday, December 1. The focus: substandard housing and the shortage of affordable housing.

The speakers: Rev. Peter Peters and Sarah Peters, Rochesterians Engaging in Action for the Chronically Homeless; Anna Valeria-Iseman, Open Door Mission; Christy Post, Sojourner Home; and Ryan Acuff, St. Joseph's House of Hospitality. The event will be held at the church, 17 South Fitzhugh Street, 2 to 4 p.m.

Douglass author speaking here

David Blight, author of the new biography "Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom," will be in Rochester next week for two free public programs co-sponsored by the Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Rochester.

On Monday, December 3, at 7 p.m., he'll speak at Hochstein Performance Hall, the former church where Douglass's funeral was held. Reservations recommended. (On Hochstein's website, click on the Douglass listing on the events calendar.)

On Tuesday, December 4, Blight will join Douglass descendant Kenneth Morris Jr. as part of a program at RIT's MAGIC Spell Studios building, 10 a.m. to noon. The first hour: a discussion by Robert Benz, Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives; Carvin Eison, Rochester's Douglass Bicentennial Committee; and sculptor Olivia Kim. The second hour, Blight and Morris will discuss Douglass's life. Reservations required: (585) 475-2030.

Rwandan survivor speaks at MCC

Monroe Community College's Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Project will present a lecture by human-rights advocate and author Dydine Umunyana, Wednesday, December 5.

Umunyana's memoir, "Embracing Survival," tells of her escape from the Rwandan genocide and how she learned to cope with its reality. 7 p.m., Warshof Conference Center, MCC's Brighton campus, 1000 East Henrietta Road. Parking: Lot M. Tickets: www.monroecctickets.com.