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 […]
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church sent this out about the “Be SMART for Kids” workshop. This is the workshop that ISAAC and Second Baptist Church hosted last winter. It is available for you to host for your members too. We all want kids to be safe. We want to be safe too. When it comes to […]
Save the Date! On Thursday evening, October 26, we’ll be voting on the top 3 issues for ISAAC to work on for the next two years! What social justices issues are most important for our community right now? If you and your congregation’s or organization’s members are present, you each get a vote! ISAAC 2017 […]
Psalm 103:2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits. (NKJV) Psalm 116:12 What shall I render to the Lord For all His benefits toward me? (NKJV) Lest we Forget! Are there a lot of bad things in your life going on? Are there a lot of unique and different things going on in the world today? Do you […]
Second Wave SW Michigan, MARK WEDEL Over the next five years, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation will be sending $24 million in grant money across the United States — $4.2 million of that to Michigan communities — hoping to make progress on the problem of racism that’s been at the country’s core since inception. The foundation’s Truth, […]
Listening is one of the most loving and just actions we can take. By listening, ISAAC creates new community and new hope. On Saturday afternoon August 12 and Sunday afternoon August 13, ISAAC congregations will fan out on Westnedge Hill and in the Milwood neighborhood to listen to our neighbors. We will listen to what is on their hearts and […]
Look at our beautiful, re-designed ISAAC T-shirt! This is the shirt we’ll all be wearing for Listening on August 12 (Westnedge Hill) and August 13 (Milwood Neighborhood.) They’re good for every other day too! Ordering your T-shirt ($20) supports ISAAC financially, and spreads our message. What size do you need? (S, M, L, XL, 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X) If you haven’t […]
You are invited to the “Make It and Give It Away” event on Tuesday, August 22, 6:30 — 8:00 at First Presbyterian Church.
The Future Leaders For Peace (FLFP) are asking youth from member congregations and organizations to join us in our own Listening Engagement for 2017. We will connect with youth in our community to understand the most important issues for our next two years’ work. FLFP will visit at least two congregations to ask their peers […]
Watch for your chance to see some of these projects in our area. And consider traveling to experience these projects around Michigan. Dr. Michelle Johnson has been very busy working here in Kalamazoo as historian for Exhibits for a New Century. Over the past two years she developed a network of cultural and historically based […]
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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