Education, Poverty, Housing, Racism, Health Care, Immigration. Which 3 of these should the 28 congregations & organizations in ISAAC work on together for the next two years? Come vote! ISAAC 2017 Issues Convention Thursday Evening, October 26 6:30pm Registration – 7:00pm Presentations & Voting Christian Church – Disciples of Christ 2208 Winchell Ave, Kalamazoo 49008 These six issues […]
Voter suppression—making more difficult our right to vote—undermines our democracy. Voting is what makes each of us equal to the other. In our democracy, it is the one exercise that is our ultimate expression of citizenship. Mt. Zion Baptist Church and ISAAC are hosting The League of Women Voters Kalamazoo’s “Stand Up: Protect the Vote”, […]
The citizens of Kalamazoo have expressed concerns about the funding model for public schools. The current model has resulted in under-resourced public schools that are not able to adequately address the needs of children in poverty or English Language Learners. If you would like to advocate for more resources to provide high, quality K-12 public […]
The Anti-Racism Task Force is working to provide a challenging skit for the issues Convention. We are trying to incorporate the Kalamazoo Public Library’s anti-racism team to support us. Our goal is to continue our work. We are inviting everyone who has a desire to combat racism to vote for Anti-Racism at the Issues Convention. […]
A very warm welcome to the newest members of the ISAAC family–Lutheran Church of the Savior and First United Methodist Church of Kalamazoo! Click on their names to learn about their faithful presence in Kalamazoo County: Lutheran Church of the Savior Pastor Andrew Tengwall 3616 East G Avenue Kalamazoo, MI 49004 269-342-0069 First United Methodist […]
‘We Make Things Right’ ISAAC tackles issues of social injustice ISAAC was featured on pages 20-23 of the October 2017 issue of Encore Magazine! You can read it online or pick up your free copy at a theater or arts venues and news stands now. Thank you to Encore editor Marie Lee for spreading the word […]
James 1:19 – Understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Let everyone be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a speaker of carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving]; (Amplified Bible) Thoughtful Listeners: A heartfelt thank you goes out to all of the volunteers who participated in […]
There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens… Ecclesiastes 3 A time to pray A time to talk A time to work together A time to rally A time to march… And NOW more than ever it is TIME TO GIVE to the organizations who are in the trenches doing the work […]
GROUP VIOLENCE INTEVENTION Hallelujah! “Group Violence Intervention” began in Kalamazoo this summer! Our Youth Violence Prevention Task Force has worked for over five years for this day! “Group Violence Intervention” strategy is an innovative one that brings community members together with our law enforcement and community leaders to give a powerful message that the violence must stop […]
SUPPORTING SELF-REGULATION FOR KIDS WITH TRAUMA Thanks to all participants for the successful “Make It and Give It Away” event last month with our volunteers and YWCA partners. Together we made sensory resources – ocean-in-a-bottle, weighted lap pillows, jars with essential oils, hand fidgets made of hair ties, and de-stress balloon balls. These items for students […]
ISSUES CONVENTION Coming October 26 is the ISAAC Issues Convention, and at our August meeting, the Anti-Racism Task Force leaped into preparations. ARTF member Deacon Karen McDonald shared copies of the first draft of an issues convention skit. It will show why anti-racism work ought again be an ISAAC issues focus for the coming two […]
This one-day training on October 6 is designed to help health professionals and community members alike, to develop the common language necessary to explore how discrimination and social identities impact health outcomes. It will address how racism, sexism, able-ism, and other oppressions lead to negative health outcomes, and how discrimination enters the body to damage […]
Ed Genesis is an artist, poet, musician, organizer, entrepreneur, and community leader. Born and raised in Gary, Indiana and moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan permanently in his early 20’s, his love of art/music, his passion for his people and community, and his gift of creativity are evident in all areas of his work. In October 2018 Ed Genesis released a song to accompany the campaign he was working on around school push out, entitled Junior High, which was distributed nationwide including on his own iHeart radio station, Spotify, and iTunes.
In 2017 Ed Genesis created Poetic Justice, a monthly open-mic that was hosted/led by 5 local poets. He has performed as well as hosted several events such as the Black Arts Festival, the Kalamazoo Poetry Festival, and the National Day of Racial Healing.
Ed Genesis is Lead Mentor and head of community relations at Speak It Forward where he teaches youth at Lakeside Academy, Starr-Commonwealth, and the Kalamazoo County Juvenile home healing through music and art. In 2017, he started WE ACTIVE! a community organization aimed at fighting against mass incarceration and the school to prison pipeline. The organization was recognized by the State of Michigan and presented with a Special Tribute by Representative Jon Hoadley for its work on Criminal Justice Reform and Mass Incarceration in the Kalamazoo Community. Ed Genesis has been a panelist and featured speaker in Washington D.C., Chicago, and Milwaukee. He has and continues to collaborate with artists local to Kalamazoo, youth included, to create music to address social justice issues. In 2018 Ed Genesis joined Truth Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT). He leads the Racial Healing design team with a focus on healing justice and is also part of the Law Design Team.
ISAAC
