NATIONAL DAY OF RACIAL HEALING
“Open Mic Read Out”, Reading of Dr. King's writing
GCSU Front Campus • 1 – 3 p.m.

Honoring the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Register for our January 16th training on Acknowledging Implicit Bias to Support a Culture of Inclusion: Social-Impact Edition. This interactive training will be facilitated by members of our local P&G Albany Plant's African Ancestry Leadership Network (AALN) and explore ways that implicit bias – including microaggressions – affects our lives and our relationships with others in the nonprofit sector.

The Be the Bridge Leadership Summit is a series of Be the Bridge gatherings with Latasha Morrison, the BTB team, and other justice leaders to start off the year with intention to equip, encourage, and activate the community with information and resources to continue the work of biblical racial justice.

There are four events available for the community to attend:

Thursday, January 11th – Training Day, 9am-2pm – Experience training surrounding racial justice and restorative justice with racial justice leaders and the Be the Bridge team.

Friday, January 12th – Summit Day 1, 9am-5pm – Come for contemplative prayer, worship, breakout sessions with the Be the Bridge team and others, and main sessions with Dr. Terence Lester and Darryl Ford.

Friday, January 12th – Discussions & Desserts, 7pm-9pm – We are hosting a Discussions & Desserts for all – adults, college students, high school students, whether you’re attending other Summit events or not! Please join us for an evening of deep and healing conversations open to the community.

Saturday, January 13th – Summit Day 2, 9am – Come for contemplative prayer, worship, breakout sessions with Be the Bridge team and others, and main sessions with Latasha Morrison, Dr. Will Gravely, Eloise Sepeda, and BTB Group Leaders.

Join us to grow as servants, leaders, and builders together! All the information, including registration links, can be found at: https://bethebridge.com/summit/

On Sunday, January 14, the Austin Justice Coalition will host a free community event in recognition of the National Day of Racial Healing. Co-sponsored by the Hogg Foundation, the event will place a spotlight on the profound connection between race, racism, and mental health by fostering engagement and facilitating healing activities.

Together with The Encouraging Place and the Triangle MLK Committee, the YMCA of the Triangle will co-host a local interactive conference, open to the community, for the Kellogg Foundation’s National Day of Racial Healing. The event at First Baptist Church is an opportunity to bring all people together in their common humanity and inspire collective action to create a more just and equitable world. The morning will feature continental breakfast, speakers and small group breakout sessions.

The event focuses on widening charitable perspectives for addressing hunger to include approaches that recognize the root causes of food insecurity. It explores engaging holistic, person-centered approaches to increase the collaborative and collective impact of community efforts. It is co-organized by Actions in Faith & Justice and The Reach Church.

"The Kruizenga Art Museum will be featuring the exhibition “Deep Roots, New Shoots: Modern and Contemporary Art from the KAM Collection,” showing 40 African artworks created between the 1960s and the early 2020s, from Friday, Jan. 12, through Saturday, May 18. The Kruizenga Art Museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and there will also be a reception at the museum on Thursday, Jan. 18, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. " Press Release by Greg Olgers

This year’s National Day of Racial Healing at Hope College will feature “Black Man,” a documentary film produced by a Muskegon, Michigan native about Black men in Muskegon County, on Tuesday, Jan. 16, at 6 p.m. in the Knickerbocker Theatre.

The public is invited. Admission is free.

“Black Man” is a raw, honest, riveting, kaleidoscopic view of 32 Black men in a small community in Muskegon sharing their thoughts on life, love, longings, losses and their place in America. The men range in age from 21 to 91. A panel discussion will follow the screening, and will include Covington and a few of the men featured in the film. – Press Release by Greg Olgers

In observance of the 2024 National Day of Racial Healing the Hope College Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation Campus Center will host a Racial Healing Circle on Tuesday, January 16th that will bring together members of the local community to engage in the sharing of stories, relationship building, and continue to work toward narrative change in our community.

What is a Racial Healing Circle? The Rx Racial Healing® Circle methodology emphasizes active listening, being open to the perspectives and experiences of others, and helps to provide a foundation for “building a national organizational network and activating local action to promote racial healing and racial equity.” (www.aacu.org/event/2022-institute-on-truth-racial-healing-transformation-trht-campus-centers)

The circle structure incorporates multiple segments, including a circle opening and closing, an introductory segment, group agreements, re-introductory prompt(s), and deep reflection prompt(s). Participants are encouraged to share their authentic stories in dyads as well as in small- and large-group settings.

Please indicate your interest on the form and you will receive a response as to whether space is still available to participate. If space is available, you will receive confirmation for the Racial Healing Circle.

Due to the nature of a Racial Healing Circle, we ask that participants be present for the whole event. 🙂

11:00am – 11:30am Gathering time (light refreshments)
11:30am – 1:00pm Circle Time (circle will begin promptly at 11:30)

"This year’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Rights Lecture at Hope College will include national as well as local perspective. Hope Professor Emeritus John Yelding, a specialist in diversity in education who continues to be active at the college as a teacher and mentor, will present “Reflections on MLK, Civil Rights, and DEI at Hope College” on Monday, Jan. 15, at 2 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.

The public is invited. Admission is free.

The lecture will examine King’s legacy in his efforts to attain dignity for all people, provide a brief overview of civil rights movements in the history of the United States, and take the audience on a historical tour of the work and achievements of Hope’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion in honor of the 40th anniversary of its creation. A reception will follow from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the college’s van Andel Huys der Hope. The presentation is one of multiple events taking place during Civil Rights Celebration Week at Hope, and is also launching a year-long commemoration of CDI’s anniversary that will include several events across the spring and fall semesters in 2024." Press Release by Greg Olgers