“We are beyond grateful that ISAAC can bring Dr. Dyson to inspire Kalamazoo County,” says Elder Doug King, ISAAC President and pastor of Grace Covenant Ministries at WMU. ​​ “Dr. Dyson is in great demand right now because of his new book that’s just coming out.”

Rev. Dr. Michael Eric Dyson will be keynote speaker at the ISAAC “Virtual  Banquet” on Thursday, November 11th at 6pm.  Dr. Dyson is a Georgetown University sociology professor, an ordained clergy member, a New York Times contributing opinion writer, and a contributing editor of The New Republic and of ESPN’s The Undefeated website. His new book Entertaining Race: Performing Blackness in America comes out on November 2nd. His recent book Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America was an instant New York Times bestseller. 

The ISAAC event, “Grasping Change at the Root: Growing the Beloved CommUNITY”, will be on Facebook Live and YouTube Live beginning at 5:30 pm with an inspiring pre-show. Registration is FREE HERE.

Brooke Edwards, soloist from Galilee Baptist Church will perform.  She is an 11th grader at Kalamazoo Central High School where she’s in the National Honor Society and on the Cheer Team.  

ISAAC 2021 Awards will be presented that evening to:

• First United Methodist Church – Congregation of the Year
• Ms. Sholanna Lewis – Woman of Equity
• Ms. Kathy White from Galilee Baptist Church – Lifetime Achievement
• “Homes for All” campaign led by Stephanie Hoffman, David Artley & Chris Burns – Public Ally of the Year
• Rabbi Schicker from Temple B’nai Israel – Clergy of the Year
• Ms. Wendy Fields, NAACP President – Leader of the Year
• Vice Mayor Patrese Griffin – Elected Ally of the Year
• Mr. Adrian Vazquez, El Concilio Executive Director – Servant Leader of the Year 

In case you’re new to our work, ISAAC (Interfaith Strategy for Advocacy & Action in the Community) is an organizing network of 30 local congregations and organizations working together to build “a world where hope triumphs over fear, where God’s abundance meets the needs of all, where we live in sacred and beloved community instead of dehumanizing isolation, where the sun of equality has risen, in a land where love endures.”