Can you join us Monday evening August 19 at the Kalamazoo City Commission meeting to support our Fair Chance and Fair Housing ordinance proposals? Come well before 7:00 to get a seat, in your ISAAC T-shirt if possible. We’d love your support for our Public Comment speakers and for City Commissioner Patrese Griffin, the primary […]
This month Anti-Racism Task Force members engaged in racial healing one-on-ones. The conversations helped us know and understand one another more deeply. We expect this will enhance our effectiveness as a task force. We as ISAAC members understand that we must engage in self-transformation so that we can equitably transform institutions. This month ISAAC and […]
A very warm welcome to Pastor Sean Kidd, the new pastor at Westwood United Methodist Church, which is a founding member of ISAAC and has very actively supported our work together ever since 2002! Rev. Sean K. Kidd has been serving congregations in Michigan since 1993. He comes to Westwood United Methodist Church after serving […]
God of Life, Creator of the universe, Sustainer of all, we come before you bearing deep sorrows. We despair at the killing happening in our homes and in our streets, in our schools and in our workplaces, in our shopping centers and in our parking lots, and in our houses of worship. We come repenting […]
“Socially Responsible Investment” is now possible at the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, and ISAAC is the first to request transfer our Endowment Fund to this investment option! This means that our money will now be invested in ways that are much more in line with our faith values of equity and community. Hallelujah! Here’s an example. […]
With a sad, but also loving and glad heart we say farewell to Dr. Wayne Price! Kalamazoo has been blessed by The Reverend Dr. Wayne Price, Pastor of Westwood United Methodist Church. We thank God for Dr. Price’s servant leadership, justice work, prayers & for being a blessing to ISAAC. We know God will continue […]
The Anti-Poverty Task Force is hosting a forum with Representative Jon Hoadley and Senator Sean McCann to have a community conversation about the state budget. Everyone is invited. You can register at this link. The forum will be held on Monday, July 22 at 5 PM at the Borgess Lawrence Education Center at 1521 Gull […]
Hold Fast to Love and Justice! Did you miss the ISAAC Banquet or want to relive that wonderful evening? Place your order today! We will contact you when your DVD arrives. A special thank you to our awesome Videographer Michael Lawler.
Even if we built 3000 or 6000 affordable housing units, we’d still have a homelessness crisis, since so many people are denied housing because they have a voucher or a past eviction or a criminal record. And those denials are often a proxy for racism. Redlining is not just history–it continues today in many less […]
The Anti-Racism Task Force in June celebrated progress on its two “asks”—one from the October 2018 Public Meeting, and one from the May 2019 banquet. From our federal elected officials, the Anti-Racism Task Force in October 2018 asked for commitment to prioritizing adoption of a humane process to gain permanent resident status and then citizenship for long-term […]
God of the rich and poor, God of the high and lowly, God of all people, we pray today that you would stir in our hearts the desire to see your kingdom come in the relationships between us. May we responsibly address the disparities we see and seek the restoration of all who are marginalized. […]
Dr. King’s Beloved Community work charges us to continue organizing and advocating until all individuals in Kalamazoo are held as Beloved. While organizing and impacting policy and practice changes, we at ISAAC must be intentional to ensure policies are equitable, anti-racist and hold no unintended consequences. In 2018, we were so happy to be introduced […]
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.
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