ISAAC
On October 25th, Kalamazoo Community Members, Leaders, Clergy, Elected & Public Officials, and Candidates showed up in support of Cultivating the Beloved Community! We would like to issue a sincere thank you to ALL who attended ISAAC’s 2018 Public Meeting! It was an awesome night!
We are thankful to our hardworking Co-Chairs, (Stephanie Hoffman, Tobi Hanna-Davies, Dr. Regena Nelson, Nicholas Baxter, Kristin Duffy and Al Dixon) and all Task Force members and partners who worked diligently to prepare for this event. We also appreciate all Clergy, ISAAC Member Congregations & Organizations, Public/Elected Officials and Community Leaders who participated during this event. This work continues so that we see rooted policy/practice changes in Kalamazoo in the areas of: poverty, racism and housing. This work continues until all individuals in our Community are held as Beloved!
Unfortunately, two days later, a gunman opened fired on worshipers at the Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. 11 Jewish individuals were tragically murdered, and a number of other community members including first responders were injured. We pray for the Tree of Life Synagogue’s family and community. We pray for an end to this violence and hatred that devastates our communities and families. We pray for our political and religious leaders to act compassionately, responsibly and courageously.
We at ISAAC (and our National Organization, Gamaliel) stand against this hatred and violence! We commit to stand strong, bold and unwavering in support with our Jewish Brothers, Sisters and Family Members. Family members near (Rabbi Schicker and the Temple B’nai Israel Family; Rabbi Spivak and the Congregation of Moses Family; and Rabbi Zerwekh and the Temple Emanu-EL family) and everywhere!
As we pray, we commit to practice: justice, peace, unity, love and equity to build religiously, politically, racially, and socially diverse neighborhoods and communities. The Beloved Community: is free of violence and a place in which our deepest values of abundance, equity, community, hope, and most of all love are infused into our policies and practices, so that every individual is held as beloved!
– Elder Doug King, President & Dr. Charlae Davis, Executive Director
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.