Young dancers from El Concilio opened the program with beautiful, traditional Danza Folklorica. Click on any photo to enlarge it. Nick the Drummer & Jesselyn inspired with his songs and her spoken word poetry: “This is the year that I stop worrying about my black family–that my family has access to clean water, and no one […]
ISAAC leaders Amy Peterson and Rick Johnson took fabulous photos, as always! Click on any photo to enlarge it.
These wonderful photos were taken by Amy Peterson from St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and Rick Johnson from People’s Church. Click on any photo to enlarge it. Then read about all that happened at the “Awesome Public Meeting!” in the next article.
THANK YOU to everyone who helped make “Moving Toward Justice” such a success! The first ever ISAAC Walk/Run/Roll “Moving Toward Justice” bought people of all ages together from many different parts of the community on Saturday, June 30, at Spring Valley Park. “We are becoming the Beloved Community, where every person is held as beloved, as […]
The photos tell the story of our joyful Annual Meeting on April 10. Public Safety Chief Karianne Thomas and three of her four Assistant Chiefs came to speak with us, and there was wonderful progress to celebrate in 2017. (see our April 6, 2018 news articles) Thanks to Amy Peterson for all these great photos!
THANK YOU to everyone who turned out so early for the December 12 Breakfast –in a snowstorm! And to all the wonderful speakers who shared their stories about deciding to be a GEM (Give Every Month donor)—Paula Willson, Jo Brown, Emily Hazel, Jeremy Sabella, Steve Barber, and Venessa Collins-Smith. Thanks to Wendy Flora for leading […]
President Elder Doug King, Executive Director Dr. Charlae Davis and the whole ISAAC family want to thank everyone who worked hard on issues presentations and all who attended to vote and support this work of justice. You are awesome! Here’s Mlive’s coverage: “ISAAC chooses poverty, racism, housing as top Kalamazoo issues“ And here’s our media advisory […]
Huge thanks to everyone who made the May 6, 2017 Banquet such a success—by being there yourself or donating tickets for others, by encouraging your congregation or organization to come, by donating or bidding on silent auction items, by speaking on stage or working behind the scenes, by ushering or working at the VIP or […]
Huge thanks to everyone who helped make the 2016 Public Meeting so powerful! Special thanks to Amy Peterson and Charlae Davis’ Uncle Johnny for capturing the event in these wonderful photos.
As our Development Consultant Lauren Fitzmaurice brainstormed with us, she recommended that we develop a summer camp component as an extension of our Youth Violence Task Force’s Future Leaders For Peace round tables.
What a successful fundraiser! Paint, food, fellowship and fun for all ages! ISAAC would like to send a special thank you to the Miller family, Bell family and Fitzmaurice family for all their help with our Paint and Cheese Fundraiser! Thank you to Vanessa Miller (Community Organizer) for this wonderful fundraising idea, for organizing the […]
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
