social justice

Renowned Professor and Public Servant To Speak at Kalamazoo College

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Kenneth Marcus, the Lillie and Nathan Ackerman Chair in Equality and Justice in America at Baruch College of the City University of New York, will deliver a lecture titled “The Conundrum of Race: Civil Rights, Law, and Jewish Identity,” on Tuesday, January 29, at 7:30 P.M. in the Mandelle Hall Olmsted Room. The event is free and open to the public.

Marcus is a former staff director of the United States Commission on Civil Rights and was last month named to the “Forward 50,” the Jewish Daily Forward’s listing of the American Jews who made the most significant impact on the news last year. Marcus is the founder, president, and chief counsel of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights, which combats the resurgence of anti-Semitism in American higher education. He is the author of the award-winning book, Jewish Identity and Civil Rights in America (Cambridge University Press, 2010).

Marcus’s lecture is sponsored by K’s Jewish Studies Program and the Department of Political Science.

STEAKholders

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7 speakers from “Everyone Has a STEAK in It”
“Everyone Has a STEAK in It” speakers (l-r): Shadae Sutherland ’14, Lanna Lewis (ACSJL), DeAngelo Glaze ’14, Mariah Hennen ’15 (CES), Darwin Rodriguez ’13, Amelia Katanski ’92 (English, Farms to K), and Katherine Rapin ’15 (CES).

“Everyone Has a STEAK in It: Implications of How We Eat at K” was the theme of Winter Quarter 2013 Week One (Jan. 11) Community Reflection in Stetson Chapel. Sponsored by the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Institute for Service-Learning, several K community members spoke about the importance of food as part of the College’s food vendor selection process continuing this quarter.

Migrant Rights Action Civic Engagement Scholar Mariah Hennen ’15 addressed the crowd of more than 100 students and faculty members on the importance of the food vendor selection. “Decisions always have ramifications, and choosing a dining service provider for Kalamazoo College is no exception,” she said. Shadae Sutherland ’14 spoke about her experience of moving to Kalamazoo from Jamaica, where she was used to eating food her family grew and produced. “The food that I have had here tastes quite different from the ones I have had in Jamaica. The flavor is very diminished,” she said. She stressed that an ideal food provider for the cafeteria should offer more options for people with dietary restrictions.

Dining Vendor Selection Committee member DeAngelo Glaze ’14, Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (ACSJL) Administrative Assistant Lanna Lewis, Associate Professor of English and Farms 2 K faculty advisor Amelia Katanski ’92, Student Commission Vice President Darwin Rodriguez ’13, and Farms to K Civic Engagement Scholar Katherine Rapin ’15 shared their unique perspectives on food justice. By telling stories about their own gastronomic histories from a political, racial, epicurean, genealogical, biological, and cultural standpoint, each speaker encouraged audience members to evaluate their own relationship with food systems in order to participate in the food provider selection process. “We have the institutional buying power to redefine how our food system works,” said Katanski. “We can serve as a leader—an institution that puts our values into action.”

 “Everyone Has a STEAK in It” speakers were (l-r) Shadae Sutherland ’14, Lanna Lewis (ACSJL), DeAngelo Glaze ’14, Mariah Hennen ’15 (CES), Darwin Rodriguez ’13, Amelia Katanski ’92 (English,  Farms to K), and Katherine Rapin ’15 (CES).
Community Reflection offers a unique forum for discussion, worship, performance, and community expression each Friday at 10:50 AM (refreshments at 10:30) in Stetson Chapel. The entire campus community and general public are invited. The Week Two (Jan. 18) Reflection, “A Dream Deferred, a Dream Made Reality? Marking the 50th Anniversary of the “I Have a Dream Speech.”will feature Harvey Hollins III ’87, director of the Office of Urban and Metropolitan Initiatives for the State of Michigan.

Story by Elaine Ezekiel ’13.

Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership Will Host Summit on Social Justice in the Academy

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Kalamazoo College’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership will host “A Summit on Social Justice in the Academy,” January 17-19, 2013 on the K campus. Social justice scholars, thought leaders, activists, and program directors from the United States, Kenya, and South Africa will examine the integration of social justice into higher education.

Two “Summit” events, a documentary film screening and a luncheon, are open to the public.

“Numerous colleges and universities have established social justice centers, institutes, offices, programs, schools, and prizes,” said Lisa Brock, academic director for Kalamazoo College’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (ACSJL), and a “Summit” organizer.

“Some have missions focused on social transformation and curricular infusion, while others concentrate on community involvement, solution-based research, and/or global engagement. Most are dedicated to some combination of these practices, and all work in some ways on progressive social change,” she said. “Although there have been many conferences to discuss social justice and public engagement, this is the first time these topics will be discussed by directors and leaders in the field of social justice.”

The documentary film Mountains That Take Wing—Angela Davis & Yuri Kochiyama will be screened in the Recital Hall Theatre, Light Fine Arts Building, on Jan. 17 at 7:00 p.m. “Mountains” chronicles 13 years in the lives of two women who share a passion for social justice: scholar-activist Angela Davis, and grassroots community activist and 2005 Nobel Peace Prize nominee Yuri Kochiyama. A conversation with filmmakers C.A. Griffith and H.L.T Quan follows the screening.

“Beyond Heroes and Holidays: Social Justice Leaders Reflect on the Civil Rights Movement,” is the theme of a luncheon discussion on Friday Jan. 18, 12:00 to 2:30 p.m. in the Hicks Student Center banquet room. Summit members will examine the values and work of three very different leaders of the Civil Rights movement—Martin Luther King, Jr., Ella Baker and Bayard Rustin—and discuss what inspirations and cautions others should take from them on building and sustaining movements today.

Attendance to the film and luncheon is free of charge, but reservations are required. Please RSVP to ACSJL@kzoo.edu.

“Summit” invitees are: Lisa Brock; Dara Cooper, ACSJL Fellow and Founding Program Director, Freshmoves, Chicago; Kenyon Farrow, Communications Director, The Praxis Project New Orleans; Jaime Grant, Executive Director, ACSJL; Crystal Griffin, Social Justice Filmmaker, Arizona State University; Donte Hillard, Assistant Dean of Students and Director Multicultural Student Center and Institute for Justice Education and Transformation, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Amber Hollibaugh, Executive Director, Queers for Economic Justice, New York City; Janet Jakobson, Director, Barnard Center for Research on Women, Barnard College; Joseph Jones, Director, Office of the Social Justice Initiative, Philander Smith College; Godwin Morunga, Associate Director, African Leadership Center, University of Nairobi and Kings College-London; H. L. T. Quan, School of Social Transformation, Arizona State University; Barbara Ransby, Vice Provost, Social Justice Initiative, University of Illinois-Chicago; Gail Smith, Communications Director, Institute for Strategic Reflection, Mapungubwe, Johannesburg, South Africa; Rhonda Williams, Director of the Institute for Social Justice, Case Western University.

Kalamazoo College Guilds Renamed and Expanded

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On the program’s fifth anniversary, the Guilds of Kalamazoo College announced the addition of two new guilds and the re-christening of two others. An open house to celebrate this growth and evolution will occur Wednesday, January 9, from 6 PM to 8 PM in the Center for Career and Professional Development resource room on the first floor of Dewing Hall. Birthday cake will be served, and attendees will get first look at the summer 2013 internship and externship opportunities. The Guilds are active communities of engaged professionals—apprentices and masters—supported by the College’s Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD). Membership in the Guilds groups on LinkedIn has surpassed 1,500 individuals, including more than 1,000 K alumni. The names of two Guilds have changed—the Justice & Peace Guild becomes the Nonprofit & Public Service Guild, and the Sustainability Guild becomes the Science & Technology Guild. The Nonprofit & Public Service name reflects the life work of the majority of that Guild’s members, allowing apprentices and masters to more easily recognize their career paths within that Guild. The Science & Technology Guild creates a Guild home for a group of students and alumni professionals that until now hadn’t determined where they fit in the Guilds. The two name changes in no way undermine those Guilds’ engagements with matters of peace, justice, and sustainability. Says CCPD director Joan Hawxhurst: “The CCPD remains committed to those core ideals. Working with Guilds members we will bring these topics into conversations across all Guilds.” The new  “all” includes two new entities: the Education Guild and the Arts & Media Guild. The Business Guild, Health Guild, and Law Guild complete the magnificent seven. CCPD will continue to work with the Environmental Studies concentration to co-host the annual Sustainability SIP Symposium, which showcases senior research that aligns with professional pathways in multiple Guilds. And, says Hawxhurst, “We also will continue to partner with the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership to address social justice issues across all the Guilds.”

K Alumna Arianna Schindle ’08 Is Still a Social Activist

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Arianna Schindle ’08 is committed to improving peoples’ lives, whether in an impoverished Thai village or along Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. Read about this social justice crusader from Kalamazoo College in a profile by author, historian, and columnist John Hallwas in the McDonough County (Illinois) Voice.

K Alumnus’ Documentary Film Nominated for an Oscar

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A documentary film by David France ’81 titled  “How to Survive a Plague,” about the early years of the AIDS epidemic, is one of five in the category to be nominated for an Oscar Award. Oscar nomination is not the only recognition France has received for his film. The Gothic Independent Film Awards and the Boston Society of Film Critics voted it the best documentary film of 2012. And the Independent Spirit Awards, which occur the day before the Oscars, has nominated “How to Survive a Plague” for Best Documentary. France’s film chronicles the tireless efforts of activists in the 1980s and early 1990s bring attention to the disease and mount a response appropriate to it–in terms of research, social policies, and human dignity compassion. An article on France and the film appeared recently in the New York Times.

Just Lead: K’s Jaime Grant Pens Huffington Post Op-Ed

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Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership Executive Director Jaime Grant
Jaime Grant, Ph.D., Executive Director, Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College.

Jaime Grant, executive director of K’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, wrote an op-ed piece entitled “Just Lead” that appears in the Dec 6, 2012 Huffington Post. In it, she praises “the power of community in motion; the power of innovative, just collaboration.” Grant’s piece coincides with the launch of the Kalamazoo College Global Prize for Collaborative Social Justice Leadership, a biennial $25,000 prize that honors an innovative and collaborative leadership project in the pursuit of social justice and human rights anywhere in the world. 

Kalamazoo College Establishes Global Prize for Collaborative Social Justice Leadership

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Kalamazoo College officials announced today the establishment of the Kalamazoo College Global Prize for Collaborative Social Justice Leadership, a biennial $25,000 prize that honors an innovative and collaborative leadership project in the pursuit of social justice and human rights anywhere in the world.

The inaugural $25,000 Social Justice Leadership Prize will be awarded May 11, 2013, following a juried competition administered by the College’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership. Jurors include author, political activist, and University of California—Santa Cruz scholar Angela Y. Davis; former Executive Director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission Cary Alan Johnson; and Detroit-based author, educator, and columnist Shea Howell. Howell is also a board member of the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership, in Detroit.

A $5,000 Social Justice Leadership Prize, also juried, will be awarded to a project in Southwest Michigan. Jurors include a panel of K students, faculty, staff, and Kalamazoo community members.

“The Kalamazoo College Global Prize for Collaborative Social Justice Leadership provides an unparalleled leadership development opportunity for K students and faculty, the Greater Kalamazoo community, and for frontline social justice scholars, activists, and leaders everywhere,” said Kalamazoo College President Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran. “For every seemingly intractable social justice problem, there is a collaborative leadership solution to address it. Through this prize competition, we will welcome the world to our campus to showcase some of these solutions.”

Entries—in the form of 8- to 10-minute videos—must be received by March 8, 2013. Entry information, FAQ, and more may be found at www.kzoo.edu/SocialJusticeLeadershipPrize. Twenty finalists selected by jurors will be announced April 20. A Prize weekend at Kalamazoo College on May 10-11 will showcase the finalists and engage attendees in dialogues about them. President Wilson-Oyelaran will announce the winners during an awards ceremony the evening of May 11.

“Through the two social justice leadership prizes, the College intends to emphasize the critical importance of collaboration in creating effective social justice leaders here in Southwest Michigan and around the world,” said Jaime Grant, executive director of K’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (ACSJL). “We’re certain to receive many entries for innovative social justice projects. Finalists for the prizes will be those that also raise the voices and leadership skills of those affected so that they may take strategic action.”

According to ACSJL Academic Director Lisa Brock, entries must describe the social injustice that will be addressed, show how the project will take a fresh approach in addressing it, and demonstrate that the project’s leadership structure is collaborative.

“Projects that take on entrenched social justice issues from fresh vantage points, or combine issues and communities in unexpected ways and via unanticipated vehicles are especially encouraged to apply,” said Brock. “The Kalamazoo College Global Prize for Collaborative Social Justice Leadership will lift this work into view and provide a significant reward for these social justice innovators.”

The Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (www.kzoo.edu/socialjustice) was launched in 2009 with support from the Arcus Foundation (www.arcusfoundation.org), including a $23 million endowment grant in January 2012. Supporting Kalamazoo College’s mission to prepare its graduates to better understand, live successfully within, and provide enlightened leadership to a richly diverse and increasingly complex world, the ACSJL will develop new leaders and sustain existing leaders in the field of human rights and social justice.

Kalamazoo College (www.kzoo.edu), founded in Kalamazoo, Mich., in 1833, is a nationally recognized liberal arts college and the creator of the K-Plan that emphasizes rigorous scholarship, experiential learning, leadership development, and international and intercultural engagement. Kalamazoo College does more in four years so students can do more in a lifetime.

 

Hop On K Art

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Kalamazoo College has FOUR stops on tonight’s monthly Art Hop around downtown Kalamazoo.

William Morris and Kelmscott event advertisementWilliam Morris & Kelmscott: Works by the 19thCentury British Artist, writer, textile designer, and founder of Kelmscott Press. In the A.M. Todd Rare Book Room, Upjohn Library – 3rd Floor, on the K campus, 5-8 pm.

Fear into Fire: Reclaiming Black Male Identity through the Art of Tattooing. Presented by the Black Arts & Cultural Center and Kalamazoo College’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership. Epic Center, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall – 2nd> Floor Atrium, 5-8 pm.

Paths Revisited: Paintings by Bernard Palchick, Professor of Art, Emeritus. Funded with support from the Kalamazoo Artistic Development Initiative and the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. Epic Center, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall – Suite 203, 5-8 pm.

Untold Stories: Works by six K seniors from Professor Sarah Lindley’s Advanced Studio course (Annie Belle, Lizz Caputo, Hannah Knoll, Annie Swanson-Nystrom, Katherine Smith, and Elizabeth Yang). Park Trades Center, 326 W. Kalamazoo Ave., Studio 209-L, 6-9 pm.

Kalamazoo College Political Science Lecture Features Joan Mandle

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Joan Mandle, executive director of Democracy Matters and professor emeritus of sociology, Colgate University will deliver the 2012 William Weber Lecture in Political Science at Kalamazoo College on October 24 at 8 P.M. The event will take place in the Mandelle Hall Olmsted Room; it is free and open to the public. The title of the lecture is “Who Owns Democracy: The 2012 Elections.” Since 2001 Mandle has directed Democracy Matters, a non-partisan campus-based national student organization committed to and commended for getting big private money out of politics. At Colgate she directed the college’s women’s studies program and founded the college’s Center for Women’s Studies. She has been actively involved with many efforts to reform the political system. Her activism is rooted in her participation as an undergraduate in the civil rights movement and her leadership in both the women’s and anti-Vietnam war movements. Mandle served as campaign manager for Congressman Robert W. Edgar of Pennsylvania’s races for the House of Representatives and the United States Senate. She spearheaded grassroots organizing drives in Oakland and San Francisco that resulted in the successful passage of significant campaign finance reform. Mandle has received widespread recognition for both her academic and political work, including awards from Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS) and the League of Women Voters of Oakland, Calif.