Vote YES for Kids! is a campaign to significantly reduce homelessness for children and their families in Kalamazoo County. 1586 school-age children experienced homelessness during the 2013-14 school year, from every one of the nine school districts in in Kalamazoo County. The Kalamazoo County Public Housing Commission, chaired by David Anderson, has asked the County Commissioners […]
Get the Facts Before You Vote August 4, 2015 Sunday Buses! Late night buses! That’s what we will get if enough people vote YES for the Aug. 4 Transit Millage. But the ballot language does not mention this! Think of all the places open on Sundays–stores, restaurants, theaters, hospitals, churches, etc.–that people who need the […]
The Kalamazoo Community Foundation has given ISAAC a huge compliment by granting us funds to support our social justice work. That shows a deep trust in our process of congregation-based community organizing to build a just community–and a deep trust in the abilities of our Executive Director Dr. Charlae Davis, Community Organizer Vanessa Miller, and […]
Vote YES on May 5 on the KRESA millage! “If approved, this millage will be used by the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency (KRESA) to substantially or fully reimburse school districts for the existing shortage in special education funding. This will improve the funding for ALL our students.” See the letter from ISAAC President & Executive Director, and KPS Superintendent.
A growing number of ISAAC partners are supporting Proposal 1 [su_list icon=”icon: check” icon_color=”#9602ca”] Michigan’s Children has a well-written one-page handout The May 5th Proposal 1 Road Package: Protecting and Supporting Michigan Children & Families The City of Kalamazoo City of Parchment Kalamazoo County Transportation Authority (see the April agenda packet page 8) Michigan League for Public […]
Early Childhood and K-12 Education funding in our County is at risk in the state budget! As an advocate for children and education, you know that the first years of life are most critical to school success! There are 3 ways to get involved: 1. Contact our Legislators 2. Attend “Are We Crazy About Our Kids?” […]
“On the Road to Justice” was the theme of ISAAC’s 12th annual banquet and a record number of people were on hand Saturday night as part of the journey. More than 500 people were attended the event in the Bernhard Center Ballrooms at Western Michigan University for the event. Several were praised for helping the […]
KALAMAZOO, MI — Rev. John C. Welch, chairman of the Gamaliel Foundation, said that this year’s ISAAC banquet theme of “On the Road to Justice” cannot ignore the conversation of race. “Pursuit of justice is still race-centered,” said Welch, keynote speaker for this year’s banquet. “We can’t forget about recent issues with Ferguson, and also […]
[su_list icon=”icon: check” icon_color=”#9602ca”] “Ceasefire” initiative is moving forward This February, thanks to support from the Kalamazoo Community Foundation and leadership from the City, a group of community leaders and KDPS officers are going to “Ceasefire” training together at John Jay University, where David M. Kennedy teaches his approach to reducing youth violence — called […]
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
