Find out what's happening this session SUBSCRIBE ‌ ‌ Dear Neighbors and Friends, A lot has happened during this first month of session and as we begin to settle into a rhythm, I’m cognizant of the multiple priorities being juggled by myself and my caucus. Ensuring federal COVID relief funds are being used in the best way possible to help the people of Alaska, my legislation Senate Bill 10 – Free Tuition for Frontline Workers – has passed out of the House Education Committee and its next stop is the House Finance Committee. I’m hopeful that the legislation will complete its journey to the Governor’s desk soon. This is a great example of how our state can leverage COVID relief funds in the way they were intended to be used – to help those most impacted by the pandemic. Also still being considered by House Education is a version of the universal, voluntary pre-K and comprehensive reading intervention legislation I originally introduced. Built off years of work by education stakeholders and legislators, the Senate and House versions of this bill address the issues outlined in the landmark 2007 Moore court decision. I’ve been providing technical and policy expertise to House Majority Leader Chris Tuck, the sponsor of HB 164, and to the Senate Education Committee, sponsor of SB 111. You might have seen a few opinion editorials from myself, Representative Tuck, and others on this topic. Finally, I’m looking forward to the continued consideration of my legislation on community property trusts, settlement trusts, and SJR 15, a resolution recognizing the friendship between Alaska & Canada. For more information, visit akleg.gov to learn where a bill might be in its journey through the legislature. These bills are making their way through their respective bodies, and I am confident these pieces of legislation will continue to move forward. Finally, for those of you who live in District 19, Representative Tarr and I will be hosting our first in-person constituent gathering on Saturday, March 5th, from 3:00 - 4:30 pm at the new Shiloh Community Housing building in Mountain View. As always, my office is here for you anytime. All my best, Senator Tom Begich Senate District J Around the District Dr. Etheldra Davis Scholarship Gala Saturday, February 26 Join us for a formal affair honoring the legacy of trailblazing educator, Dr. Etheldra Davis, Anchorage's first black teacher and principal as we celebrate approval of the renaming of Fairview Elementary School! More information Youth Art Exhibition - ASD 50th Anniversary Student Art Show On view March 4 - April 3, 2022 The 50th annual Anchorage School District youth art exhibition is a collaboration between the Anchorage Museum and the Anchorage School District celebrating young artists in the community. This presentation of student art gives kindergarten through high school students the opportunity to showcase their artworks in a museum. Teachers select the pieces, which include drawings, paintings, multimedia works, photography, jewelry, and sculpture. The exhibition is presented in conjunction with National Youth Art Month (March), an acknowledgement of visual arts programs in American schools. In addition to the Anchorage Museum, exhibition locations include Anchorage municipal buildings and libraries. Iditarod Ceremonial Start – 50th Anniversary March 5 The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is one of Alaska’s iconic winter events, and the excitement traditionally starts in Anchorage on the first Saturday of March each year. The race start is set for Anchorage on March 5, 2022 — marking the 50th anniversary of the "Last Great Race." More Information Bill Tracking To find out more about a specific piece of legislation, visit akleg.gov and simply type the bill number (e.g. SB 10) into the search bar at the top. You can also enroll in SMS Bill Tracking by texting a bill number (e.g. SB 17) to 559-245-2529. You will receive enrollment confirmation and instructions on how to stop receiving alerts. Public Testimony Are you interested in providing public testimony on a specific piece of legislation? There are several ways to send your thoughts to your legislator or to a committee. Submit an Alaska State Public Opinion Message: [link removed] Submit an email to your legislator or to a specific committee. Call in during an open public testimony opportunity (use the call-in information below). Dear Friends and Neighbors, It’s Black History Month. I like history so I started researching a small detail I had read in a novel many years ago. It was about an African boy who lived a small democratically run community and had memorized the Koran and could read and write Arabic before being kidnapped and sold into slavery. Of course, some slave owners credited themselves with rescuing these ‘stupid, half-naked heathens who were little better than monkeys’ as they said, so this character had peaked my interest at the time…not that I thought that the characterization of slave owners about the people in Africa was ever true to me, but also I had little understanding of what African literacy was like back then. I’ve read a little here and there over the years about highly developed civilizations, etc., but for this writing I dug in a little deeper into African literacy before the American slave trade. Language, according to anthropologists, started 50,000 - 70,000 years ago in Africa so it’s no surprise that written language started there as well, 3,200 years ago, long before the American slave trade started in 1619. Written language started in Egypt, but it was not alone. For example, Lusona was written as hieroglyphics starting in the sixth century BCE in an area which became the Angola and Congo and eventually those areas became a stomping ground for slavers. As for them being “heathens,’ I read a bit about the religions of the Bible as they made their way across the continent. It began either with Queen of Sheba and her large retinue who converted to Judaism and then brought it to Ethiopia after their visit with King Salomon or by Jews leaving Egypt and settling in Ethiopia about the same time…one alluded to in the Bible and the other supported by anthropologists. In either case, they came before the Bible was even completed. Christianity came to Africa in the 1st century and Christian communities there were among the earliest in the world. Islam came to Africa while Mohammad was still living. Christians and Muslins came, converted, then the religions supplanted each other here and there. As I said, all this was long before Africans arrived in America as slaves. Two things I’d like to add about religion. First, just to be clear, to me all religions are based on faith and that’s the bottom line. So, if someone believes the earth and all its creatures, trees, and rocks have a spiritual resonance or if someone worships in a building where they understand they are closer to God, and anything in-between, to me, it all should be respected. And second, there was no great expansion of Judaism. Jews stopped looking for converts in the year 407. My first husband shocked me by insisting he wanted to convert and only changed his mind after being discouraged by a rabbi…a common practice used to weed out people not serious about living a Jewish life or who will wilt when they see how prejudiced people will perceive them as a Jew. Anyhow, I ended up making my letter to you a detailed history lecture and I am not pleased about that. While this fascinated me it may not be your interest. So, I’ll suggest you do as I did, find something out of your interests and take a bit of time to follow through with Black History as a focus. I had fun doing this and learned a lot. I think you might as well. - Kayla Contact Me! (907) 465-3704 (Juneau / session) (907) 269-0169 (Anchorage / interim) [email protected] ‌ ‌ Sen. Tom Begich | State Capitol Building, 120 4th St, Room 11, Juneau, AK 99801 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]