I’m working to coordinate a National Day of Repentance, Remembrance and Re-Engagement for Racial Conciliation and Justice.
The date is Sunday, May 25th which is the five-year “anniversary” of the murder of Mr. George Floyd.
Here’s a web link – nationalrepentance.org
Latasha Morrison and Be the Bridge staff are inviting the community to a Community Prayer Call on MLK Jr. Day, for a sacred space to honor Dr. King’s legacy of justice, love, and hope. In the spirit of his faith and commitment to equity, we’ll come together in prayer and reflection, holding space for our collective emotions during this pivotal time. Guided by the Beatitudes, let us seek strength, unity, and inspiration as we recommit to the work of creating a more just and loving world.
In alignment with the National Day of Racial Healing 2025, this initiative seeks to promote truth-telling, reconciliation, and unity by exploring and preserving our shared heritage. Join us for the inaugural in-person meeting to:
🕊️Uncover and honor the untold stories of descendants and local communities.
🕊️Share discoveries about enslaved burial grounds and stories of resilience that have shaped our collective history.
Tuesday, January 21, 2025, at 6pm CST
St. John the Baptist Parish Library (Reserve Branch)
1482 Highway 44
Reserve LA 70084
For more information, please contact Jack Green at JackGreen@risestjames.org.
Join Us for a Community Breakfast in Celebration of the National Day of Racial Healing
The Douglass Community Association and ISAAC families invite you to a special community breakfast on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, from 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM at 1000 W Paterson St, Kalamazoo, MI 49007.
This complimentary event is a welcoming space to recognize and share our common humanity, connect with one another, and reflect on #HowWeHeal as a community.
Through a shared meal, and interactive dialogue led by the leaders of both organizations – we will explore ways to foster understanding, build stronger relationships, and take actionable steps toward collective healing. Together, let’s celebrate the power of connection and the journey toward a more unified and equitable community.
We look forward to seeing you there!
The 2025 National Day of Racial Healing (NDORH) will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 21. It is an annual observance that follows Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
This year, the ELCA, in partnership with Augsburg Fortress, will join the movement of racial healing for our church and the nation. On Jan. 21, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Central time, the ELCA will feature a free online educational event that centers the voices of ELCA leaders of color. We invite you to join us in this collective effort for a more just and equitable world. This event is open to all ELCA rostered ministers, lay leaders and members. We welcome all ELCA synods, congregations, colleges, universities, seminaries, separately incorporated ministries and antiracism teams, as well as the church’s affiliate organizations and ecumenical and interreligious partners.
The day is designed to:
Raise awareness of the need for racial healing.
Inspire collective action to build common ground for a more just and equitable ELCA and world.
The NDORH is hosted by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and encourages community organizations, institutions and individuals to participate in this national day. It was created with and builds on the work of the Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation community partners.
Racism is a heart issue. Only a Master Healer can offer real solutions. So we invite you to pause with us as we offer our hearts to be viewed through the lens of God's Word in hopes of fostering authentic conversations that lead to a heart-healthy community.
The summit is taking place in conjunction with National Martin Luther King Jr. Day, with activities including two blocks of breakout sessions. It is being sponsored the college’s Office of Campus Ministries and Center for Diversity and Inclusion. The theme for 2025 is “Mission Possible: Protecting Freedom, Justice, and Democracy in the Spirit of Nonviolence365”.
Registration is required for the event.
Every January, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s vision and legacy inspire people across the U.S. to do something that lives up to his dream. The National Day of Racial Healing is observed each year on the Tuesday after Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Advocating for Indigenous Rights: Understanding Sovereignty & the Rights of Nature"
This workshop aims to empower community members with the knowledge, tools, and strategies to advocate for Indigenous sovereignty and the recognition of the Rights of Nature. Participants will learn how Indigenous rights are connected to the environment, how to engage with local and global advocacy platforms, and how to take concrete action to protect natural resources and sacred sites.
Black Land In White Hands: Reflecting on the Millican Massacre and the National Day of Racial Healing
Fort Worth, Texas – January 21, 2025
The National Day of Racial Healing will feature a powerful presentation titled Black Land In White Hands: The Lynching of Pastor George Edwin Brooks and the Massacre in Millican, Texas in 1868. Hosted at the Kirk Franklin Chapel of New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church, this event promises to shed light on a lesser-known chapter of Texas history, rooted in racial violence and resistance during Reconstruction.
The National Day of Racial Healing, established in 2017 by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, aims to foster conversations on the effects of racism and to chart paths toward transformational change. This year, the focus will turn to the Millican Massacre, a tragic episode of racial violence that claimed up to 300 Black lives in July 1868 and left an indelible mark on Texas history.
The Millican Massacre: A Legacy of Resistance and Tragedy
Millican, a small town 15 miles from present-day Texas A&M University, became the site of what scholars have called “the worst incident of racial violence in Texas during Reconstruction.” As tensions mounted, a rumor that a Black man, Miles Brown, had been lynched spiraled into a counter-rumor that Black residents were planning retaliation. What followed was a massacre orchestrated by white vigilantes that decimated Millican’s Black community.
Dr. Amy Earhart of Texas A&M University has been instrumental in researching the massacre and working with her students to establish a historical marker to honor its victims. “The Millican Massacre was a calculated act of violence designed to dismantle Black civil rights, particularly voting rights, in Texas,” Earhart explains. “The aftermath ensured African Americans were disenfranchised for nearly a century.”
The Heroism of Pastor George Edwin Brooks
Central to the story of Millican’s Black resistance is Pastor George Edwin Brooks, a former soldier in the United States Colored Troops and a Methodist minister. Pastor Brooks was a leader in organizing voter registration and community defense efforts in Millican. When the Ku Klux Klan marched through the town, he trained men in military tactics and set up protective perimeters for the community. Tragically, Brooks was lynched en route to Austin, where he had sought federal intervention to protect his congregation.
“Pastor Brooks was not only a victim but a hero of this history,” says Earhart. “His leadership symbolizes the agency and courage of Millican’s Black community, which fought to protect its rights and dignity in the face of overwhelming violence.”
Commemorating the Past, Confronting the Present
The presentation on January 21 will include a discussion of the ongoing efforts to preserve the history of Millican and honor figures like Pastor Brooks. Earhart and her team are completing a digital archive and preparing to install a historical marker to ensure this history is remembered. “Markers force us to engage with the past and reckon with how it shapes our present,” she states.
Rev. Kyev P. Tatum, Sr., Pastor of New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church and a leading advocate for racial justice in Texas, underscores the importance of events like the National Day of Racial Healing. “Understanding our history is essential to healing our nation. The story of Pastor Brooks and the Millican community reminds us of the cost of racial injustice but also of the resilience of those who stood against it.”
Join the Conversation
The National Day of Racial Healing invites all to reflect on these histories and engage in dialogue about the path forward. The event will begin at 12 noon at New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church, 2864 Mississippi Avenue, Fort Worth, Texas 76104.
For more information about the event, visit www.newmountrose.com or contact Rev. Kyev P. Tatum at 817-966-7625.
NewCORE, Inc [New Conversation on Race and Ethnicity], in partnership with WHYY News, will host the annual Conversations of King. An intergenerational and multicultural conversation about the legacy, leadership, and cause of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. based upon his writings, sermons, speeches, books, and activism revisited and appreciated by 21st-century advocates, activists, and leaders toward addressing current civic opportunities and challenges. A moderated panel of local civic leaders will prompt and enhance the conversation with reflections.