Cafe Society will be meeting at Panera Bread on Thursday, October 6

From "Wangari Maathai and the Real Work of Hope" by Francis Moore Lappe and Anna Lappe

"We join millions grieving for Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai. She altered the course of our lives, and our one solace is in knowing that she has changed -- and will continue to change -- the lives of millions of others. She taught us about the work of hope...In Kenya we met many women wearing the Green Belt Movement's simple t-shirt adorned with the slogan: ‘As for me, I've made a choice.’ So simple, yet so powerful, are those words: To create the world we want, Wangari always embodied, we must choose to act, even if there is no evidence assuring success -- even if we face ridicule, oppression, and loss. Hope, she taught us, is not for wimps. It is not what we find in evidence, it is what we become in action."

Questions for Consideration 

How can we honor Professor Maathai’s life? How is each of our particular ways of life connected to the ecological systems of the globe? To sustain the planet, how can we modify our behavior? Prof. Maathai was widely regarded as a feminist as well as an environmental activist: how can women look to her life for inspiration?

Want to find out more? 

• Unbowed: legacy of the little girl from Nyeri
• Can one woman save Africa?
• Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai: If US Moves Forward on Climate Change, Rest of World Will Follow
• Wangari Maathai: The Mushrooms and the Canopy Both Need Light
• The Green Belt Movement