The immigration crisis: What can one community do?

with Richard MacMaster, coordinator of Gainesville’s Interfaith Alliance for Immigration Justice
September 13th from 11:30 pm – 1:00 pm
Note: Luncheons will now be held at the Holiday Inn Gainesville-University Center, 1250 West University Avenue

Join guest speaker Richard MacMaster as he discusses our communities’ response to the immigration crisis over the last dozen years. From supporting farm workers and the Fair Food Program, to the protocols around undocumented students at UF and Santa Fe and how they are implemented, to visiting immigrants held at Baker Detention Center. MacMaster will discuss the systems in place and how we can make Gainesville and Alachua County a more welcoming community for people from around the world including suggestions for language access, police procedures, and sponsoring asylum seekers.

ZOOM details

To attend the event via ZOOM please use this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88240493823

Welcome Back to our Live-and-In-Person Free Speech Luncheons!

We can’t wait to meet all together again, so here’s some things you might want to know:

• New location: Holiday Inn Conference Center, at University Ave. and 13th. Banquet Room on 2nd floor.
• Same schedule: Every 2nd Monday, with meal service at 11:30, speaker at 12:00, Q&A at 12:30
• Same great price: $20 per meal!
• Same full Luncheon, but new format: Instead of buffet style, our meals will be plated and served, and will include salad, entrée (with vegetarian option), and dessert, along with water, tea, and coffee.
• Parking: Available all around the building as well as in the parking garage. Pick up your parking pass at our table just inside the main lobby, which you will then place on your dashboard.
• Want to come to listen, but not to eat? You are always welcome to join us–No charge!
• Covid Concerns? We will carefully follow all CDC guidance, including food service and socially-distanced table settings for those who wish to sit a little farther apart. If you aren’t comfortable in person, a ZOOM option is still available. Furthermore, depending on conditions each month, in-person luncheons may be cancelled in an abundance of caution. We appreciate your understanding as we navigate a challenging time.

About the speaker

MacMaster was a history major as an undergraduate at Fordham University, where he earned his Masters degree. After he earned a Ph.D from Georgetown University 1968, he taught American history at Western Carolina University and James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Influenced by his major professor at Fordham, Robert Remini, he was initially focused on the era of Andrew Jackson. However, he eventually became more interested in 18th century Chesapeake. His first published book was a social-economic study built around the family of George Mason of Gunston Hall, the author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights. After that he studied German and Scotch-Irish migration to the Colonies. His most recent book is Scotch-Irish Merchants in Colonial America: The Flaxseed Trade and Emigration from Ireland, 1718-1755. He came to Gainesville in February 2001 since his wife Eve had been called as pastor of Emmanuel Mennonite Church.

Please register by Thursday, Sept 9th.

Registration