How can we change hiring practices and policies to remove barriers to employment? Most people believe that having a job is a means for people to get out of poverty. The Anti-Poverty Task Force has learned that people living in poverty experience multiple barriers to obtaining long-term employment. For example, people who experience food insecurity […]
How can we meet everyone’s need for a place to call home? Excellent work to increase the supply of affordable housing is being led by the City of Kalamazoo, in collaboration with many partners. Where does ISAAC fit in? Our Housing Task Force is most concerned about families with children, and others with very low […]
I am a GEM (“Give Every Month” donor) and I also donate to the ISAAC Endowment Fund. I have been involved with ISAAC for about 12 years. I learned about ISAAC when my children were 2 and 4 years old. At that time, I was teaching a full load at WMU, coordinating the early childhood […]
Al Dixon, long-time ISAAC leader, has published a delightful book for young readers! Al has been St. Barnabas Episcopal Church’s representative to the ISAAC Leadership Board since the early days of ISAAC, has served on our Housing Task Force from 2003-2015, and is now co-chair of our Anti-Racism Task Force. That’s Al presenting the flag […]
Thank you to Kerria Randolph, ISAAC Vice President for Fund Development, for bringing these prayers to the rest of us in ISAAC.
We are Building the Beloved Community Kalamazoo is one of only three locations nationwide to receive the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) Implementation and Innovation Fund grant to strengthen partnerships and develop a racial equity lens for fair housing. ISAAC’s Housing Task Force, led by Co-Chairs Tobi Hanna-Davies and Stephanie Hoffman, is doing […]
A very warm welcome to the new clergy at three of our ISAAC member congregations–Rabbi Simone Schicker at Temple B’nai Israel, Ms. Jess Davenport, Campus Pastor at Wesley Foundation, and Rev. Paul Neuchterlein, Interim Pastor at Lutheran Church of the Savior. We are very pleased to have each of you in our ISAAC Family! We […]
[su_quote cite=”Martin Luther King Jr.”]True peace is not merely the absence of tension. It is the presence of justice.[/su_quote] Writer’s note: On my recent visit to Tallahassee to visit my oldest daughter, Kelli, we ventured north to Montgomery, Alabama, on a beautiful Saturday with two of her co workers, to spend a day at the […]
Here are the powerful ads our three task forces put in the event booklet for the Run/Walk/Roll. Please plan to turn out on Thursday evening October 25 for the ISAAC Public Meeting to support their hard work discerning changes of policy and practice to advocate to help build the Beloved Community. Click on the flyers […]
Thank you to Tinashe Chaponda, the son of ISAAC Treasurer Andrew Chaponda, from Westwood United Methodist Church, for all these photos of our first-ever Run/Walk/Roll! It’s wonderful to have new photos of so many of the people who came out for the Run/Walk/Roll on June 30 despite the record heat!
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 […]
Rabbi Matthew Zerwekh, thank you for blessing and touching our lives as we continue to grow, learn and Become The Beloved Community. We are excited to see all God has in store for you and your family on this new journey. We are ISAAC Family for Life. – Elder Doug King & Dr. Charlae Davis, […]
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
