KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) Tuesday, Western Michigan University (WMU) announced that it will be holding a series of virtual events and readings for Martin Luther King Jr. Day beginning this week.
The virtual event series will begin on Thursday, January 7, continue through MLK Day on Monday, January 18, and later throughout the month.
WMU officials say this year’s theme is “None of Us is Free Until All of Us Are Free.” Other sponsors of the series include the Bronson Healthcare System, the city of Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo Community Foundation, Kalamazoo Public Schools and Kalamazoo Valley Community College.
A full list of events can be viewed below:
Events to honor Martin Luther King Jr. will be held virtually by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion this year due to COVID-19, according to a press release from Western Michigan University.
The events will begin Jan. 7 and will last throughout the month with a virtual convocation Jan. 18.
The theme for this yearâs events is âNone of Us is Free Until All of Us Are Free.â
The events are as follows:
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Thursday, Jan. 7, 4-5:30 p.m.
   TRutH Talk: Racial Healing is a virtual discussion about the racial healing work that has been transpiring in the Kalamazoo community, what Racial Healing Circles and Virtual Healing Experiences are and how the community can participate in the 5th annual National Day of Racial Healing. Register here.
The Berryville City Council approved the citys 2021 budget resolution at its regular meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 15, and also got some good financial news from Mayor Tim McKinney.
McKinney told the council that the city has been approved to receive two separate grants, one for $242,000 and the other for $100,000.
The $100,000 grant, from the Arkansas Department of Transportation, will be used to build a trail from the Berryville Community Center to the historic Berry Spring, which is being restored by the city.
The larger grant, which was awarded by the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, will be used for playground equipment at the citys new soccer fields as well as adding some sidewalks and parking places to make the facility compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Warren: Day of Racial Healing By: Shannon Warren Guest Columnist December 18, 2020
Shannon Warrensha
Jan. 19 will mark the fifth anniversary of the National Day of Racial Healing, a day to emphasize the need for continued recovery from the painful impact of systemic racism.
Sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, practical suggestions are offered by leaders in business, education, nonprofit and religious organizations. Their collective impetus is to eliminate apathy and propel momentum toward overcoming racial inequities.
The Kellogg Foundation’s research indicates, “Businesses with a more diverse workforce have been shown to have more customers, higher revenues and profits, greater market share, less absenteeism and turnover, and a higher level of employee and customer commitment to their organizations.”
When U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced a concurrent resolution on the floor of the Senate on December 3 to establish a United States Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT), his proposal sounded very familiar to some fellow New Jerseyans. That’s because his bill is a federal model that lays the framework for actions and conversations already occurring at Rutgers University–Newark’s TRHT Campus Center. Established in August 2017, the TRHT Campus Center at Rutgers-Newark is one of 24 campus centers formed to engage and empower campus and community stakeholders to dismantle racial hierarchies and create transformational and sustainable change that addresses the historic and contemporary effects of racism in the United States.