Category Archives: Intentional Communities

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Dozens of people walked Saturday, June 20, 2020, down Main Street in Fond du Lac, Wis., during an Ebony Vision hosted march to commemorate Juneteenth, a holiday celebrating the emancipation of the last people enslaved in the United States.(Photo: Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

Daisy Frazier has been organizing Juneteenth Day celebrations for more than a decade, sometimes tucked away in one of Fond du Lacs shady parks, other years in a mall parking lot, at the local college and in front of the library.

There was always an abundance of soul food cooking, games for kids and an overall feelingof neighborliness.

This year is different. Black Lives Matter movements, diversity and inclusion initiatives and the overall treatment of people of color are sparking deeper conversations asthe holiday approaches.

On Saturday, inGreen Bay, there's spoken word poetry and a community meal. Milwaukee is hosting a50th anniversary extravaganza with a parade broadcast live and multiple events. Sheboygan's festivities will culminate inthe crowning of a teen royal court.

In Appleton,Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Musiq Soulchildperformed during a celebration held June 13,along with 100 carnival dancers from Chicago.

Some local governments and businesses have given employees a paid day off for the first time, to honor the African American day of freedom. And some communities, among them Wausau and Stevens Point, are hostingcelebrations for what is believed to be the first time.

These statewide events provide opportunities to take a serious look at the history of people of color in the United States, said Frazier, who heads Ebony Vision, a group workingto foster inclusion. Fond du Lacs festivities run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Buttermilk Creek Park.

RELATED: Milwaukee has long celebrated Juneteenth here's why, and what makes it different from other cities' events

To remember Juneteenth, USA TODAY staff members read an excerpt of the Emancipation Proclamation. USA TODAY

Juneteenth Day commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. The Emancipation Proclamation made slavery illegal, buteven today, Frazier believes true freedom is still only a promise.

Daisy Frazier, president of Ebony Vision.(Photo: Courtesy of Meghan Hyland)

The death of George Floyd while inpolice hands brought the problem of race relations to the forefront, demanding an honest and sincere examination of inherent racism, she said. I think a lot of people are now seeing things through a different lens. Its like a new day.

For fartoo longthe accepted norm has been todo or say something either throughwords or actionsthat exclude minority groups of people, Frazier said.

"Now I see that changing, I see awarenesschanging, andsomeday marginalized people will be included in every aspect of life. It willbecome as natural as breathing once we are able to acknowledge each time an actof exclusion happens," Frazier said.

People gathered June 16, 2018 in Buttermilk Creek Park in Fond du Lac to celebrate Juneteenth. A June 19, 1865, announcement of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. state of Texas.(Photo: Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

In 1863 during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring freedom for more than 3 million slaves living under Confederate control.

It wasn't until two years after the Proclamation on June 19, 1865 that General Gordon Granger and a troop of Union Soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas to enforce the end of slavery. At that time, Texas was isolated from much of the war and slaves were still being held captive. The announcement gave freedom to nearly 250,000 enslaved people in Texas.

Within a few years, African Americans in many states were celebrating Juneteenth, making it an annual tradition. It's now an official holiday in allbut three states: Hawaii, North Dakotaand South Dakota.FormerGov. Jim Doyle made Juneteenth Day a legal holiday in Wisconsin in 2009.

Efforts to have Congress declare Juneteenth a federal holiday have stalled.

Green Bay celebrations areslated for noon to 7 p.m. Saturday at Murphy Park, co-hosted by We All Rise: African American Resource Center and Black Lives United. The theme is: Black love, light and solidarity.

Robin Scott, executive director at We All Rise, said while the fight for freedom as a culture continues, Juneteenth Day serves asa catalyst for unity.

Young people will be able to engage and learn about domestic and global happenings for Black culture, and well have Black business owners sharing innovative ideas and products, Scott said. We want to show people its about more than just tolerating Black folks, its being intentional incelebrating, supporting and uplifting.

In Sheboygan, a new organization, Black Community Outreach, has stepped up tosponsorthe noon to 6 p.m. event at Kiwanis Park, said the Rev.Michael Thomas of Community Church. The group was formed to strengthenBlack leadership in the community.

During a time of racial unrest and a lot of tension, we wanted to do our part to unite and uplift the community, Thomas said. And as more people become aware of what we are doing, they are embracing our mission and joining in.

Juneteenth Day should be a celebration for all people, Thomas said, as anacknowledgment of past history and a way tospend time with folks who may be different than you.

Wausau communityactivist Kayley McColley is just 21 and helped organize a George Floyd march last summer that drew more than 1,500 people. On Saturday, she hopes the city's first Juneteenth Day festival will again bring the community together in solidarity.

"This has been an extremely trying year and a half. Between the pandemic and racial tensions, it has been both challenging and demoralizing at times," she said. "But this time, joy and celebration are the catalysts for coming together, as opposed to loss and grief. Im hoping people can come away from this event with a stronger sense of community and an expanded knowledge about Black history, heritage and legacy."

Adrian Johnson, 13, of Fond du Lac, says he wants to promote change through peaceful activism.(Photo: Courtesy of Amber Kilawee)

In Fond du Lac, Adrian Johnson, 13, a student at STEM Academy, said hes working to enact positive change in his community in peaceful ways. Heplans to attend the Juneteenth gathering and has participated inmarches with his family this past year.

He wants to see more young people getinvolved with promoting Black culture and history.

Theres an energy when we come togetherto support equity and some of these bigger issues people are talking about," Johnson said.

Contact Sharon Roznik at 920-907-7936 or sroznik@gannett.com. Follow her on Facebook atfacebook.com/reporterroz/

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Juneteenth Day festivities around Wisconsin give participants a time to celebrate, support and uplift - Fond du Lac Reporter

The General Assembly concluded its 2021 session on June 9th, and I believe we passed significant legislation to bolster the Connecticut economy, maintain the states fiscal stability, and improve the quality of life for all.

I sponsored, co-sponsored and had significant input on many bills this year. As Vice Chair of the Appropriations Committee I am particularly proud of a new state budget that holds the line on tax increases, supports small businesses, our local and state economies, invests in our communities, protects the environment, and supports hard working families.

Over the past 18 months, America learned that the U.S. justice system is not fair and just. We passed several pieces of legislation to ensure Connecticuts judicial system is equal for everyone.

SB 1019, known as The Clean Slate Bill, creates a path toward expungement of low level crimes, protection for undocumented individuals, and provides those with criminal records with the opportunity to support themselves and their families. The legislation is meant for those who have done their time, reentered society, and remained out of trouble.

We passed SB 753 which requires the state to use U.S. Census data in counting incarcerated individuals in the community where they lived prior to incarceration rather than the prison where they are serving time.

With SB 972 the state ends the practice of charging inmates and their families exorbitant fees for phone calls. By signing the legislation, all communications to incarcerated individuals will now be free of charge. This includes costs for communication by phone, video, email, or any other type of communication service.

SB 1 is in response to the pandemic and Washingtons ongoing attempt to restrict access to health care. The legislation includes various provisions related to racial disparities in public health, health care services, pandemic preparedness, and other related topics. The pandemic highlighted how health care in communities of color is not as accessible or of the same quality as health care available in other communities.

HB 5677 requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) commissioner to amend the state Medicaid plan to provide coverage for community violence prevention services. It applies to individuals who have received medical treatment for an injury sustained from an intentional act of violence committed in public by someone other than a family member or intimate partner, and to those referred to receive the services by a certified/licensed health care or social services provider. The provider must first determine that the individual is at a high risk of retaliation or violent injury from another act of violence.

SB 241 is of particular interest to New London. This bill allows the legislature to review the payment in lieu of taxes program (PILOT) to the Port Authority as compared to similar quasi-public agencies. The Port Authority Executive Director must submit a report on port projects and bond funding and an analysis of job gains and losses at State Pier in New London.

We did all this despite the unprecedented challenges resulting from the pandemic. For health and safety reasons, the legislature conducted its business from afar and used technology to remain engaged with citizens and hear their views on the issues. I look forward to putting pandemic restrictions behind us and holding a normal session in 2022 with face-to-face discussions with my fellow lawmakers and our constituents.

State Rep. Anthony L. Nolan39th District, New London

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Nolan Reflects on the 2021 Legislative Session The Connecticut Examiner - CT Examiner

They're popular. They're hated. They're everywhere. Can they be stopped?

Brian Gordon| USA Today Network

In North Carolina, youre rarely far from a Dollar General.

On average last year, a new location opened in the state every eight days. Asheboro, a Piedmont city of 26,000, now has seven stores, four of which are clustered in a three-mile area on the city's south end. Residents hear more are on the way.

Across North Carolina, chain dollar stores are popping up every month - filling urban blocks, rural highways, and suburban strip malls.

In New Bern, six stores sit along the same street, a pair facing each other. In one Wilmington neighborhood, a person can walk to each pillar of the dollar store triumvirate: Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, and Dollar General - in 10 minutes.

Through economic booms and busts, dollar stores have flourished. In fact, crises elevate the demand for their affordable home goods and groceries. The companys stock price has risen 935% since the 2008 recession. In its latest annual report to the Security and Exchange Commission, Dollar General said COVID-19 had a significant positive effect on sales and profits.

North Carolinanow has 930 Dollar Generals, nearly doubling its total since 2008. Only three states currently have more. In 2021, the Tennessee-based company has a goal of opening more than 1,000 new stores nationwide.

Dollar Tree and Family Dollar have smaller footprints in the Tar Heel State, but they too plan ambitious expansion. In its recent SEC filing, Dollar Tree (which boughtFamily Dollar in 2015)statedthe U.S. marketcould support 10,000 additional stores.

Tired of seeing dollar stores multiply unabatedin their backyards, some North Carolina residents have begun to push back. From one city's plan to ban new dollar stores in low-income neighborhoods to anothertown'smulti-thousand-dollar campaign against a single store (featuring a highly-produced music video), North Carolinians have - in just the past few years - galvanized to try to slow down these discount giants.

Propelling these movements are a variety of concerns:access to healthy foods, support for local retail, concerns about crime, and the change of charactersome argue these stores inevitably bring to their neighborhoods.

But whether this resistance will dent dollar storegrowth remains unclear, for while many complain about their ubiquity, people continue to shop at them. A lot.

Though each has dollar in their name, the three leading dollar store brands target different markets.

Dollar Tree sets up primarily in suburbs and sells everything at or close to $1. Dollar General andFamily Dollar focus on lower-income areas and sell a wide-range ofat discounts but for more than a buck. Holding the bigger market share, Dollar General skews more rural; 75% of its stores arelocated in towns with fewer than 20,000 people.

Dollar store aisles are stocked with a wide-range of stuff, from plastic snorkel sets to dog food, light bulbs to onion rings, hair dye to taco dinner kits. Customers typically have their pick between both brand name items and cheaperalternatives.

It's a consistent product, Rick Niswander of EastCarolina Universitys College of Business. When you go in, it kind of looks the same. The types of products that are for sale tend to be the same. It's something that's comfortable, and the price is very low.

Immenseeconomies of scale and detailed logistics, Niswander said, allow these stores to price products cheaply. And insteadof carrying perishable foods that go to waste if unsold, dollar stores focus on more profitable, high-margin items likecleaning products, toiletries, paper goods, drinks, and non-perishable foods.

The construction of new stores is also intentional.

They know exactly what they need, Niswander said. They're going to get better pricing on materials. They know exactly how to make it; they've done it 100 times before.

As of late February, North Carolina had 916 Dollar Generals. For comparison, the state has 192Walmart stores. More than 160 North Carolina cities and towns have at least one Dollar Tree orFamily Dollar. (Family Dollarused to be headquartered in Charlotte.)

Some residents see these stores as convenient. Others embrace them out of necessity.

Im still in college, and we're all broke, said Jessica Petty, a master's studentat UNC Wilmington. So, wego to Family Dollar.

Trends like automation, globalization, union decline, and stagnantwages have hollowedout Americas lower-middle class in a way that's made dollar stores more appealing said Shyam Gouri Suresh, an economics professor at Davidson College.

But while thestores are popular, many say their market saturation comes at the expense of local retail. According to Gouri Suresh, mom-and-pop stores have essentially closed down in part because their traditional customer base has shifted to discount chains.

Others fear the discount chains scare away traditional grocery stores, keeping chunks of the state as food deserts that lack access tonutritious fresh foods. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, close to 1.7 million North Carolinians live in such areas.

Another criticism of discount chains is that they don't do enough to preventviolent crimes. Recent reporting from national outlets like ProPublica, CNN, and NBC News presented claims that low staffing at the major dollar store chains- which tend to be located in higher-crime areas -left employees vulnerable to armed robberies.

North Carolinians have seen these threats firsthand.

One night in February 2018, Brittany Fitzgerald was closing down the Dollar Tree in east Burlington where she worked as an assistant manager. Like every evening, she was carrying cash from that evenings sales which she was to deposit at a local bank. But when she and another employee were leaving the store, she heard a deep voice say, Give me the money and saw a manflash a gun.

The person ran off before Fitzgerald could make a decision, but the experience left her shaken and frustrated. Before the incident, she said she'dasked her managerabout hiring a security guard several times.

We asked for it and nothing was done, she said.

Following the incident, Fitzgerald gave her two weeks notice and landed a new job at another area dollar store. A year later, her old Dollar Tree was the site of an armed robbery.

In a statement to the USA Today Network, Dollar Tree spokesperson Kayleigh Painter wrote: "Our Company recognizes that we sometimes open stores in markets where other retailers choose not to operate and we are proud to serve these underserved communities. We tailor our store operations, current best practices, and security protocols for each store."

Last June, the company partnered with ADT to enhance security monitoring at many of its stores nationwide. Dollar General did not respond to email and phone questions about its security.

Though she no longer works at a dollar store, Fitzgerald still routinely shops at the many around Burlington. Still, she's made a point of avoiding her former workplace.

More: NC mobile home residents take bold step after investment firm buys their park

In pockets of North Carolina, residents have startedfighting against incoming dollar stores, including recent grassroots effortsin thecity of Lumberton and in counties like Guilford and Iredell.

Kennedy Smith, a senior researcher for the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, an advocacygroup opposing corporate control in communities, has seen anti-dollar store movements nationwide gain momentum since around 2018, with "a significant uptick in the last year."

In September, north of Winston-Salem in the small town of Walnut Cove, residents banned togethertolobby local officials against a plan to add a second Dollar General in their community. Thetown only has a population of 1,600, but over the next several months, residents collected more than 1,000 handwritten signatures against thestore.

Many felt the Dollar General would be a terrible fitamid the surrounding residential neighborhood. If it opened, some vowed to boycott.In January, after an hours-long hearing, the towndenied the store's would-be developer, Teramore Development, a permit. Teramore has appealed the decision.

Ephraim Harrell, a Walnut Cove resident and lead organizer of the anti-store campaign, saidTeramore's local developer, who had previously builtmore than 60 Dollar Generals, told him they'd never received this much pushback from a small town.

Perhaps the developer had never been to Transylvania County.

In late 2019, residents in the mountainous western countyorganized against a prospective dollar store along Route 276 near the county seat of Brevard. Fearing the ramifications of another Dollar General in a county that already had six of them, began the No Dollar in the Holler campaign.

Over the next several months, the campaign raised at least $14,000, and thousands signed petitionsin opposition to the store. Some spoke of buying the property from Dollar General's preferred developer, though the price tag was too steep.

Residents packed intocounty commissioner meetings (until the pandemic hit)and gave testimonials ina series of YouTube videos. Some worriedthe stores corporate faade would ruin theregions county character; others argued the store would threaten local businesses. The new storewas to be builton a floodplain, leaving locals concerned more flooding would come to an area thatalready was often underwater.

A few months into the campaign, theBrevard-based band Pretty Little Goat collaborated with Asheville director James Suttles to produce a anti-dollar storeprotest anthem.

There are all these communities that are feeling like they have no voice in the conversation of a big company like Dollar General coming in and buying a piece of land and plopping a store down, said band member Josh Carter.

In May 2020, a group called the Concerned Citizens of Transylvania County sued Dollar General to preventconstruction, citing the threat the store posed to the local population of Appalachian elktoe mussels, a species protected by the federal Endangered Species Act. The sides settled the following month.

Under the settlement, the store could openbut Dollar General hadto take a series of actions -like planting more native trees and maintaining a sediment pond - that metsome local environmental demands. The company also agreed to put up alternative signage that more ascetically aligned with nearby stores.

I think they were extremely surprised with how relentless the community was about this location, said Elizabeth Thompson, aNo Dollar in the Holler organizer. If not for the pandemic, she feels her neighbors would've taken more collective steps against the site.

But while grassroots efforts in communities like Transylvania aimed to stop individual stores, one major North Carolina city has taken the bold step of trying to codify a dollar store ban into law.

More: For NC small towns, apartment boom marks transformative change

Wilmington is a city of beaches, history, and food deserts. The coastal city haseight food deserts,lower-income neighborhoods with no large grocery store within a mile.

Some areas of the city, like the historically Black Northside neighborhood, havent had a grocery store since the 1970s. Less access to fresh foods correlates to higher rates ofdiabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke.

Several economic factors may keep supermarket chains away, but city officials believe high concentrations of dollar stores - which sell many carb-laden, sugary, and salty foods - are a key cause.

Weve heard from some grocers that when there are certain types of competition nearby in their service area, it really limits what they can do, said Christine Hughes, the citys senior planner.

This year,the city is updatingits land development code, and officials proposedan amendment that would bar new discount variety stores from opening in food deserts. While no North Carolina city has taken this step,other places, like Tulsa, New Orleans, and Dekalb County near Atlanta, have recently passed similar restrictions. Hughes said results elsewhere have been promising.

Yet not everyone is bullish about a ban.

If youre not going to put up more (dollar stores), but youre not putting in Food Lion, then what am I going to do, Jessica Petty, the UNCW student, said.

Dollar Tree spokesperson Kayleigh Painter said, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar complement and operate side-by-side with grocery stores and bring economic development to every community we enter. Dollar stores help alleviate the effects of food deserts in urban communities by helping serve the underserved.

Two weeks ago, Family Dollar announced it would start selling fresh fruits and vegetables at a small number of its stores nationwide. And Dollar General, which did not respond to requests to comment about its impact on food deserts, has starteda higher-end line of stores called DGX that more resemble traditional grocery stores.

Yet it remains difficult, in many areas of Wilmington, to find a fresh piece of fruit for sale. The local city council plans to vote on the new land development code, which includes the dollar store restrictions, later this summer. With food deserts prevalent in urban and rural places across North Carolina, many other local governments may be eyeing Wilmington to see what a dollar store ban delivers.

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April Ziegler wasin the middle of the uproar around Transylvania's new dollar store. Already the manager at oneDollar General in the county, she was slated last year to head the new store her community was rallying against.

In her time as a manager, Ziegler had had a front-row seat to Dollar General's recent rapid expansion across Western North Carolina; the company sent her to soon-to-be-opened stores across the mountains to advise staff on logistics.

"They're not playing," she said of Dollar General's growth aims, noting the chain opened at least three new stores from 2016 to 2020 in Transylvania alone. But instead of backingthe "No Dollar in the Holler" movement,she saw another Dollar General as a simple byproduct of supply and demand.

If you dont want to shop there, then fine, dont shop there, she said. "If people stop feeding Dollar General, then Dollar General doesnt have the revenue to continue their growth. ButIll tell you right now, people that were part of the protesting, who were in the (music) video, they shop at that Dollar General, and that's a fact."

Ziegler remembersone customer, during the height of the protests, asking her to keep his patronage a secret because he was involved in the campaign against the other store. She left the company in the spring of 2020, soon after COVID-19 hit and a few months before the new locationopened.

Elizabeth Thompson said she hasnt shopped at that new Dollar General and has no plans toshop at any Dollar General anywhere in the U.S. ever in my life. Based on the settlement her group reached with the company, she is no longerable to specifically disparage the new Route 276 store.

Reflecting on the campaign,Thompson said she was exhausted".

As the dollar store chains look to enter new areas, the absence of local zoning laws in many rural regions prevents local officials fromstanding in the way.

"We're low-hanging fruit for (dollar store) developers to reach their number goals," Christy Blakely, another "No Dollar in the Holler" organizer, said of Transylvania County.

Even as resistance to new dollar stores strengthensstatewide, some predict the number of new stores will continueclimbing. The chains, and their developers, are motivated to hit their expansion metrics and the local opposition has been isolated.

In its latest SEC report, Dollar General said local government zoning restrictions - like the one proposed in Wilmington -have not materially impaired our ability to complete our planned real estate projects or growth.

Brian Gordon is a statewide reporter with the USA Today Networkin North Carolina. Reach him at bgordon@gannett.com or on Twitter @briansamuel92.

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Dollar store state: NC cities strive to halt new dollar stores in their backyards - The Fayetteville Observer

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. With goals to enable access to education, engage students, and foster and embrace a diverse world, thePenn State Equity Pedagogy Network(the Network) works to support and enhance the racial equity work of faculty, staff and administrators across Penn State by developing a community for resource-sharing, collaborative inquiry and reflective practice.

Fundedthrough Penn States Strategic Plan seed grants transforming education theme, the Network, via its professional learning communities and speaker series, serves as a central hub to connect Penn State initiatives aimed at institutionalizing equity education and culturally sustaining curricula. The project leads include Alicia C. Dowd, director of the Center for the Study of Higher Education and professor of higher education; Leticia Oseguera, senior research associate for the Center for the Study of Higher Education and professor of higher education; and Paula Smith, director for the Center for Intercultural LeadershipandCommunication and Abington Campus head librarian.

There has been this broad question on how universities can be more inclusive and support anti-racist teaching, admissions and curriculum practices; however, this question does not have a swift answer, Dowd said. We must rely on our facultys expertise and our administrators to help deepen and grow anti-racist education.

Dowd went on to explain that faculty and institutional efforts have been compartmentalized and spread out in the past. The creation of the Network makes faculty efforts in diversity, equity and inclusion across the University feel less isolated, according to Dowd, by bringing together resources for efficiency, creating solidarity and providing a sense of community for conversations on the topics of equity and anti-racist efforts.

Opportunities Abound: The Networks beginnings

Dowd, Oseguera and Smith submitted their proposal, Embracing Diversity by Institutionalizing Equity Pedagogy and Culturally Sustaining Curricula,during the fourth cycle of the Strategic Plan seed grants in 2019. For their proposal, the trio worked to identify underlying causes of racial equity issues, developed ideas to promote better understanding of inequalities in higher education, and aimed to provide solutions for more interconnectedness that would reinforce values across all the Penn State campuses.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Network has increased its reach to four campuses, nine collaborating centers and units and also hosts 130 faculty with about 100 members involved in one of their working groups. Currently involved in the Network are the University Park, Abington, Brandywine and Greater Allegheny campuses.

This is exactly the type of collaboration and innovative thinking that the seed grants were created to foster. The Network not only crosses unit boundaries, but it is also attempting to tackle head on issues of accessibility in education, as well as potential biases that may be hindering the success of students our ultimate goal. It also clearly speaks to our ongoing commitment to make Penn State more welcoming, equitable and diverse, said Nick Jones, executive vice president and provost and sponsor of the seed grants. To date, we have awarded 43 seed grants that have funded wide-ranging initiatives that are making us a stronger, more inclusive, more impactful and more strategic institution.

The Network hosts various working groups such as the steering committee named theLaunch Group, theGreater Allegheny Crossing Bridges Task Forceand theCollege of Education Equity Team. The organization also boasts eight professional learning communities, including field-focused groups inscience,educational policy,elementary and early childhood education,counseling, rehabilitation and human services, and multi-disciplinary groups at theAbingtonandBrandywinecampuses.

We wanted to create these learning structures so that our Penn State community can share models, agendas and learnings with one another, Dowd said. Ideally, we are building communities in which our faculty can hear from experts, both internal and external, and take these lessons into their classrooms. We have faculty teaching diverse subjects who are interested in proactively incorporating attention toracism and racial conflict in their courses, and they also recognize that when teaching diverse groups of students, its important to present such information in a way that feels safe.

Ultimately, Dowd and Smith said, the Network wants to improve societal outcomes with the results of improved teaching and learning for all students and faculty.

Diverse faculty, diverse thoughts and equity education leads to better results, Dowd said. For example, STEM fields are important in racial equity issues. Nationally, we see that there are fewer Latinx, Black and Indigenous students in STEM fields, so we have been intentional in our attempts to involve STEM faculty with the Network.

Smith further noted that the group began by looking externally for funding; however, the internal seed grant funding allowed the Network to grow into a structure that can be used broadly.

Included within the Networks professional learning community are the Abington Equity Pedagogy Faculty Learning Community; Brandywine Professional Learning Community; Counseling Education and Rehabilitation Services Faculty Learning Community; Educational Policy Studies Faculty Learning Community, University Park; Elementary and Early Childhood Education Program Faculty Learning Community; Equity Team, College of Education, University Park; Greater Allegheny Crossing Bridges Task Force; and Science Faculty Learning Community.

Smith leads the Abington Equity Pedagogy Faculty Learning Community. Smith explained that the group has been reflecting on its own education and how the experiences of its members may carry over to the classroom.

Were working on being present and thinking of how we extend ourselves in our classes, Smith said. What practices do we do just because that is how we were taught? Do we have cognitive biases? Are there any language biases? We dont want to be in the category of this is what I do because this is what I was taught.

Each learning community is directed by a leader or co-leaders, who meet with each other periodically to share ideas and materials to deepen and improve on the learning designs. The community of participants learn from their own inquiries, through collaboration and interaction with each other, and from invited speakers who share their expertise through a moderated speaker series.

The Network offered a speaker series in which faculty members from Penn State and other universities presented and facilitated discussion of matters such as racial inequalities, inclusive syllabi, language identity, fostering belonging and national narratives surrounding discrimination.

Due to the pandemic, Zoom allowed us to expand in a way that we hadnt imagined initially by allowing people to join our events despite their geographic location, Smith said. We saw an expansion in faculty from various disciplines coming together to share ideas. Faculty dont always get these kinds of opportunities, so having bothintimate and large group conversations help to enlighten individuals on different teaching methods from an equitable perspective.

Expansion: The Networks future plans

For the 2021-22 academic year, Dowd shared that the Network has various plans for its expansion including an academy, new grants received by Network members, syllabus workshops and member evaluations.

Notably, from June 21-23, the Network is hosting an Academy for Equity Minded, Anti-Racist Leadership developed by faculty from the Center for the Study of Higher Education. Designed for administrative leaders at Penn State, the group aims to offer the event on an annual basis with a focus on providing a professional development opportunity.

The academy aims to develop critical leadership competencies, which include racial literacy, race- and racism-conscious schemas (equity-mindedness), and perspectives about how policies and practices at historically and predominantly white institutions may need to be altered.

As an outgrowth of the Network, faculty members in the Eberly College of Science and College of Education received a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to create a learning community that will be networked through the foundations Inclusive Excellence funding program. Mary Beth Williams, senior associate dean for instruction and curricula and professor of chemistry, and Nathan Brown, professor of mathematics, will collaborate with Dowd, as project co-leads, and a group of colleagues to investigate methods in which the University can make teaching evaluations more inclusive for faculty members across the institution. The team aims to limit the amount of biased and inequitable responses that faculty may receive from student evaluations by reimagining the current system.

The Network isnt something that you see being funded at other institutions, Smith said. Through imaginative use of resources, we have been able to highlight the importance of equity pedagogy and focus on deeper conversations. The grant helped us gain traction and I am hopeful for the future of this Network and what we can achieve.

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Seed grant funding leads to creation of equitable education network | Penn State University - Penn State News

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Black Future Co-op Fund, University of Washington Foster School of Business Consulting and Business Development Center (CBDC), and Bank of America today announced a new partnership to build generational sustainability of Black-led businesses and nonprofits across Washington state.

Black businesses and organizations have long been vital contributors to Washington state, yet purposeful and persistent anti-Blackness has undermined their opportunity to thrive, says Angela Jones, J.D., Fund architect and Washington STEM CEO. Through this partnership, were intentionally investing in Black well-being and building the infrastructure for generational wealth.

With support from the Black Future Co-op Fund and a $500,000 grant from Bank of America, the CBDC is working with Black-led businesses and organizations across Washington to provide tailored technical assistance, leadership development training, financial management guidance, and help accessing funding.

The CBDC was founded 26 years ago by the first Black tenured faculty member at the Foster School and the first Black Dean of the Foster School, said Frank Hodge, Orin and Janet Smith Endowed Dean of the UW Foster School of Business. This partnership with the Black Future Co-op Fund and Bank of America will enable us to take the next big step in removing systemic barriers and creating opportunities for wealth creation in Black-owned businesses. The initiative also brings crucial support to Black-led organizations that are leading powerful work to enrich Black generational prosperity and well-being.

A recent listening tour conducted by the Black Future Co-op Fund identified more than 500 Black-owned business and Black-led organizations across Washington, and found at least 65 of identified businesses have closed in the last six months.

The Fund interviewed Black business owners who shared they have been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting economic recession. Most are under-resourced and operating with little to no profit margin. Black-owned businesses also face significant hurdles accessing resources, such as small business grants, loans, or lines of credit, or culturally informed technical assistance.

While Black small business owners in particular have been disproportionally impacted during the pandemic, recent research from Bank of America based on a national survey of 300 Black business owners found those still in operation remained resilient and flexible as they navigated through an evolving and uncertain business landscape. In response to the impacts from the pandemic, 48% of Black entrepreneurs reported retooling their operations double that of the national average. However, Black business owners have overcome numerous obstacles with 82% reporting that they have worked harder to achieve success than their non-Black counterparts.

In response to the Black communitys feedback, this partnership is working to build the kind of support that will bolster Black prosperity over generations.

As part of this initiative, CBDC is expanding its board fellows program. Black graduate students at the UW will be matched with Black-led nonprofits for a 9-month board placement, bringing new skills and building the next generation of Black nonprofit board leaders.

Artists in Activism in Snohomish County and Takeall Foundation in Spokane are two of the Black-led organizations recently paired with graduate students. Both organizations are also working with the CBDC to strengthen their financial management and operations through the newly-formed partnership.

Pervasive economic and social disparities only intensified during the global health crisis, and we see a clear and urgent need for intentional investment in and resources directed to Black businesses and nonprofit organizations, said Jeremey Williams, market executive, Bank of America Seattle. This investment is a further demonstration of Bank of Americas commitment to build local partnerships that help foster job creation, economic growth, and stability for Black-led Washington businesses that contribute so much to our community and economy.

Bank of Americas contribution is aligned to the companys $1.25-billion, five-year commitment to advance racial equality and economic opportunity. This commitment builds on steps the company has already taken, including program support for nonprofit community partners and lending assistance for small and minority-owned businesses through community development financial and minority depository institutions. Bank of America also recently increased its goal for equity investments in minority-focused funds to $350 million, including an equity investment in Portland-based Elevate Capital, which will put capital to work supporting minority and women entrepreneurs with early-stage funding across the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

ABOUT THE BLACK FUTURE CO-OP FUNDCreated by and for Black Washingtonians, the Black Future Co-op Fund is a new paradigm for philanthropy to ignite Black wealth, health, and well-being over generations. Through intentional investment, the Fund works to connect Black communities for collective power, promote a truthful Black narrative, and uplift Black-led solutions that foster Black generational prosperity. For more, visit: blackfuturewa.org.

ABOUT UW FOSTER CONSULTING AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERUW Foster is a world-class business school in a pioneering city perched on the Pacific Rim. The worlds best and brightest leaders are here, applying ingenuity to better humanity. The Consulting and Business Development Center, now in its 26th year, advances student careers and grows businesses and jobs in communities where theyre needed the most with a core focus on supporting the growth of businesses owned by people of color. For more, visit: foster.uw.edu/consult.

ABOUT BANK OF AMERICAAt Bank of America, were guided by a common purpose to help make financial lives better, through the power of every connection. Were delivering on this through responsible growth with a focus on our environmental, social and governance (ESG) leadership. ESG is embedded across our eight lines of business and reflects how we help fuel the global economy, build trust and credibility, and represent a company that people want to work for, invest in and do business with. Its demonstrated in the inclusive and supportive workplace we create for our employees, the responsible products and services we offer our clients, and the impact we make around the world in helping local economies thrive. An important part of this work is forming strong partnerships with nonprofits and advocacy groups, such as community, consumer and environmental organizations, to bring together our collective networks and expertise to achieve greater impact. Learn more at about.bankofamerica.com, and connect with us on Twitter (@BofA_News).

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New Partnership With Black Future Co-op Fund, UW Foster, and Bank of America Invests in Washington Black-Led Businesses and Nonprofits - Business Wire

[author: Tierney Toussaint]

Many businesses have taken time over the last year to examine their workplace culture. As leaders, we always knew but were reminded of the importance a good workplace culture holds and its direct correlation to the success of an organization. Until recently, this may have sounded a bit clich, right?

Get the culture right, and everything else will follow. Well, to say that the last year has tested that sentiment in many ways would be an understatement; however, amid social and economic challenges, some companies have soared, in part, due to good workplace culture.

People are faced with the daily decision to rise with courage and to put forth their best work in trying times.

People are faced with the daily decision to rise with courage and to put forth their best work in trying times. But, it makes you think, what type of culture causes people to commit and actively engage daily?

In many instances, whether in their community, at work or even in their own home, some people do not feel their experiences are recognized or that they can be their whole, authentic selves. On top of this, being immersed in a workplace culture where they feel they are unable to be their whole selves can be exceedingly deflating. What is the price to the organization when some, perhaps many, employees feel deflated? The better question is: what is the likelihood of that person continuing to make the same decision to rise and commit in a culture where they cant be their whole self? This is where the conversation begins in understanding the impact of culture.

We often utilize Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs as a vehicle to get the conversation started by creating space through awareness. And awareness is often overlooked as a useful tool to understand and improve communication and comprehension. But even as many people express they want to be heard, they do not honestly know where to begin. What is more, many companies do not know what to do when it comes to building a more inclusive culture. How do you build bridges to connect the broad spectrum of experiences that create a diverse culture?

It all comes back to awareness. When awareness of DEI is intentional, there is space to share stories, ask questions and build relationships. Then you can hear the collective voice of your organization.

Here at NAVEX Global, one of our core values is BRING IT! You cannot have such an action-driven value and not challenge yourself again and again. We have committed to BRING IT by recognizing, supporting, and celebrating our diversity through our DEI Team. This team is one of the strongest voices within our company though by no means the only voice that encourages everyone to bring their whole selves to work every day.

Most recently, our DEI Team has worked diligently to create awareness around diversity, equity, and inclusion, specifically with respect to racial justice. One of our strongest tools is the production of our DEI Minute videos. Each 60-second video points to educational, informative resources on diversity that are curated by our team or others here at NAVEX Global to help us all become more aware and informed. (These videos are quite brilliant, if I do say so myself.) The team crafts these videos to recognize and honor our diverse communities while also encouraging all employees to use their annual ACT (Acting and Changing Together) Day of Service to promote racial justice in their community.

This month, our DEI minute is all about recognizing and celebrating Juneteenth. Creating this awareness has opened a wonderful space for employees to share how they celebrate this day and stories of other employees around the globe being inspired to learn more.

Expanding awareness while being intentional about understanding others perspectives creates space for all of us to share experiences and be more authentic. It is also where wonderful conversations begin.

For us to learn and grow together, we must keep the conversations going. Understanding the voices and the experiences that comprise all of your culture can help foster a committed and engaged workplace, giving each individual space to be their whole selves.

Build a Workplace Culture Where Employees Can Thrive

View original article at Risk & Compliance Matters

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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Creating Space Through Awareness - JD Supra

For the last six years, Robin Turner, a 49-year-old author and educator who lives in Atlanta, has been single. It just happened, she told me. She said she started feeling a lot more comfortable with her relationship status at the start of 2020. Really right before COVID, when all of this stuff was happening, I was just like, you know, Robin, I'm glad I don't have anybody thats up under me all the time, she said cheerily. There was also her mothers response to the death in 2018 of Turners father, her husband of 50 years. I saw how strong she's been, Turner said, [and] how she's able to deal, and I'm just like, if she can go on and crack jokes and be content, I can do that too.

Turners last relationship, which lasted about five years, was going swimmingly until it wasnt. When she and her former partner met, they were both on the same page about not having children, something Turner has known about herself since she was 16 years old. We meshed, we clicked, like everything was perfect, she said. And then, as time [went on], he just changed his mind, which he has a right to do. While it was devastating, Turner was adamant: She did not want to have children. I can't be mad at him for changing his mind, she said.

In choosing to be single and child-free, Turners relationship with herself has blossomed. All my time is for me. I don't have to dress up for anyone but me. I don't have to shave. It's so freeing to go out and not worry about how I look, will someone find me attractive or not, she said. I find that I have more confidence and security within myself. I am not looking to [a partner] for validation.

Turner is just one of hundreds of singles who responded to a BuzzFeed News callout asking the unattached if they were happy. The submissions were varied, from people who had been single for just a few months to those who had been going solo for much of their lives. There were people who had suffered one heartbreak too many, people who had become disillusioned with the dating scene, and former self-proclaimed hopeless romantics, but there were also submissions from people who were aromantic or asexual (yes, theres a difference), as well as those whose lives were already so full that they did not necessarily see the need for the addition of a romantic partner.

To be clear, theres nothing wrong with wanting a romantic relationship. As human beings, we all desire connection and companionship, but there is a dominant narrative in American society that theres one perfect match for everyone and, once we find this person, life will, presumably, all fall into place. But being single, especially for the millennial generation and the oldest members of Gen Z, is a growing trend. According to a 2019 Washington Post article, more than half of people between the ages of 18 and 34 do not have a steady romantic partner. Additionally, celebrities like Tracee Ellis Ross have publicly embraced their singleness, helping to destigmatize being single and childless past a certain age.

It's so freeing to go out and not worry about how I look, will someone find me attractive or not.

When she was in graduate school for creative writing, Jessie Atkin, 32, met a guy who would eventually propose to her. He was a good person who checked all the boxes that you assume need to be checked to go forward, have a serious relationship, possibly get married, have a family, she said. Though the relationship seemed perfect, Atkin said there was something off with how she was feeling internally. Friends and family told Atkin that this feeling was going to change, but it never did, and as a result, she called off the engagement.

For Atkin, who has been single for three and a half years, that nagging feeling was a lack of certain sexual attraction. She had finally come to terms with her asexuality. There was no sort of change in my wanting or my desire for that aspect of a relationship, she told me, referring to her lack of sexual attraction. She also realized that communication in the relationship was a significant issue between the two. Whether you're asexual, whether you're heterosexual, communication and being able to be honest and fully yourself with someone is important, she said. If I can't share how I'm feeling or who I am with you, then obviously spending my life with you is not going to be the best choice.

Coming out as ace, Atkin said, has made her less selfish. She prioritizes her needs and makes the conscious choice of being more present and involved with friends and family. I'm more available, and that's a choice. I've definitely been able to expand my friend circles and divide my time in a different and more meaningful way, she said. Atkin doesnt think holding one type of relationship, especially a romantic or sexual relationship, is really healthy. I think it's much healthier to have a number of incredibly important relationships in your life.

I think it's much healthier to have a number of incredibly important relationships in your life.

Similarly, theres Oliver, a 27-year-old project manager living in Germany who has been single for the last seven years. Oliver is trans and identifies as panromantic asexual. I can feel romantic attraction towards people regardless of their gender, but I feel no sexual attraction towards people of any gender, he said. Oliver said his last relationship was tumultuous, as he was with someone who didnt accept him being trans or his lack of desire to not have sex. And though that relationship was some time ago, he is still very much affected by it. To be honest, I feel like maybe I haven't [healed], he said. I feel like the good answer here would be that I have and am fully certain that my decision to stay single is not influenced by me not being healed but that wouldn't be the truth.

The relationship caused trust issues, he said. As a queer person, it can be very hard to find help after a toxic relationship, and I mostly dealt with my feelings all on my own, which isn't the best way to heal. Still, Oliver told me he feels more of a sense of freedom now that he has leaned into hobbies, such as writing and singing. I don't have to worry how dateable my hobbies make me or if they are interesting enough for a potential partner, he said.

William Ryan, 65, a Brooklyn-based psychologist who specializes in couples therapy, would agree. We can find all kinds of companionship, he told me. It's not [just] with a romantic or sexual lover. Ryan wants to support and facilitate the idea of autonomy, he said, especially for people with romantic love, who may not deem themselves complete or whole without a romantic relationship. [Therapists] want people who can stand on their own two feet. We dont want people who are jonesing for a relationship like a fix that they can depend on, he said.

Grant, a 25-year-old gay man based in Dallas who has been single for the last four years, became much more at ease with his life as a single person after a lot of self-reflection. He told me that while in college, romantic relationships were most definitely a focal point in my life that caused me a lot of stress and anxiety. This unease manifested as he looked at people around him mostly family who went to college, got married, and had children. A lot of times you kind of start to think like, Oh man, like if everybody else is doing this and this is what their path is, why is it not mine? What am I doing? What do I need to do differently so that I can also relate and have the same experience that my friends and family are going through? he said.

We can find all kinds of companionship, not [just] with a romantic or sexual lover.

Because of his job working in operations at Amazon, Grant typically moves every six to eight months, which is what helped him realize how self-sufficient he has been on his own. It's hard when you're not put into a position where you have to have a good relationship with yourself, [and] to really understand what that means and how to go about doing that. For me, it was a lot of like, how do I fill my time? What are my interests? What are the things that I can do by myself to really like thoroughly, and organically, entertain myself? he said. While he has embraced his single life, Grant has begun to date more regularly and would like an intimate relationship one day when he finds someone who truly complements him. Although I would like companionship, I am not willing to settle for someone, even if they are a great person, he said. I cannot accept being with someone if I am not finding myself desiring to spend my free time alongside them.

While there are singles who are content with being by themselves until they find a match, there are a faction of folks who are single and have completely divested themselves of the idea of romantic relationships altogether. This was the case for Lisa, a 37-year-old therapist based in Colorado.

The pandemic was the defining moment for Lisa, who has been single for most of her life, for her to accept that being in a relationship wasnt what she actually wanted. Before the pandemic, she had been in a relationship with someone for two years, and last March it finally became clear what she wanted her life to look like. I don't want kids, so the traditional family trajectory wasn't something that I was going to do. I've known that for a while, she told me. And then something this last year really clicked in and the whole traditional, romantic, sexual, whatever partnership, one person is your everything. Yeah, I'm not interested in that. That's not what I'm doing. Lisa said her partner wanted to be prioritized above the other relationships she had in her life, which wasnt going to work for her. I've already built up these other relationships that are just as important, if not more so, and that led me to recognize, Oh, wait a second. I could actually structure my life so that I don't need that one person.

Right now, Lisa lives with two other people. They were all working from home and naturally shifted into more of an intentional living space, which I think we all were looking for. Together, they cook and share meals together, have deepened their bonds, and have tentatively discussed plans to live in a communal environment long term. We have very similar values, we want very similar things for ourselves, she said.

Breakups can be especially brutal to the mind, but especially the heart and for some, it can be hard to pursue romantic love with the same amount of enthusiasm once youve been burned. This was sort of how it went for Elyse, 35, an administration analyst living in California who has been single for eight and half years. I grew up on romantic comedies just like everyone else and I always believed in the happy ending, but now at this stage, I know that it's not the rule, she told me. It's more of the exception.

Her ex-boyfriend, Elyse said, was someone she had dated, on-again, off-again, for about a decade. They had progressed to a point where she thought this relationship would be forever, but when all was said and done, the vibe from her ex was pretty much an I love you, but... kind of thing on his part. For a while, the fact that she had thought this person loved her unnerved Elyse, which made her doubt herself and her own feelings generally. The thought that I felt loved, even though it wasn't there, I didn't trust my judgment anymore. You know, it was kind of like, if I believe that, what else will I believe that isn't true? she told me. Time has helped Elyse get over the breakup and, in the last few years, she has been able to dispel some preconceived notions about relationships that werent helpful.

She credits reading articles from the Every Single Day series by the former Refinery 29 dating and relationships writer Shani Silver, as well as simply allowing herself to view the idea of relationships from a different perspective. She ditched what she calls her woe is me attitude and began to be inspired by how her single friends were living their lives. I saw that [being single] wasn't something to fight against. It was something to experience.

Like Elyse, a lot of singles I spoke with had had revelations about themselves and what they want out of life. Silas Atkins, 42, does business-to-business customer service for a living, and for the last two years, he has been divorced from his wife of nearly 20 years. I realized I did not know what I wanted for myself, he said, let alone in a relationship. I felt it was time to explore what I needed and could bring to a relationship. The relationship had been rocky in its waning years, he said, and it became especially clear they were no longer a match because they had different views on social issues. Atkins told me he had become more invested in causes typically championed by marginalized communities, including being an advocate for Black Lives Matter and paying closer attention to systemic issues that plague minorities in the US. I've just seen [the] other sides of things, that prior to this, I was privileged enough not to have to. I want to be able to know exactly what I want romantically, as well as have these passions and find someone who will be a better match for that, because my ex is very much on the other side of [social issues].

I was like, I'm in a relationship. I should be happy. So this should fix me. This should make me feel better. And of course not at all what happened because that's not how life works.

Now that hes single, Atkins said he has been able to recall unhealthy patterns around dating that he wants to squash before getting into another intimate partnership. I approached every relationship in the past as if they were the one that I was going to marry and be with for the rest of my life, whether the signs were there or not, he said. In fact, before he met his ex-wife, he said he had just gone through a bad breakup and admits he stayed in the relationship for so long because of comfortability and familiarity. I'm taking time being single to realize that I need to broaden the type of person I'm looking [for], because I recognize that I grew up looking to date people that were like me, he said i.e., other white people. And so broadening my scope is an important aspect of being single right now, he said, really resetting everything about the dating scene and really recognizing for myself what is it I need and how can I find someone who is willing to provide space for me to get what I need, not necessarily give it to me, but provide space. And so if I can do that and find that person that should get me to the place where I can, then, also provide that space to them, and have it be an actual, mutually beneficial relationship instead of a crutch.

Like Atkins, a woman named Willow, 28, who has been single for seven and a half years a fact she said that garners both confusion and awkward silences once thought of herself as a hopeless romantic, but not anymore. Her depression and anxiety were exacerbated after the breakup, but there was another issue: She had come to believe that a romantic relationship should make her feel whole. I was like, I'm in a relationship. I should be happy. So this should fix me. This should make me feel better. And that's of course not at all what happened because that's not how life works, she said.

It took Willow a couple of years to get over that breakup, and in the intervening years, she simply hasnt had much of a desire to actively pursue a committed, intimate relationship. Life has opened up for her in ways that it likely wouldnt have or would have been more difficult to navigate had she been with someone. Before the pandemic and everything, I moved to a new place, I got a new job, and a lot of things in my life changed for the better, she said. I don't know if I would have had the strength to do all of those things had I been trying to appease both myself and someone else.

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Heres Why More People Are Choosing To Embrace Being Single - BuzzFeed News

June 17, 2021

The NYC Juneteenth Economic Justice Plan builds generational wealth and confronts the persistently growing racial wealth gap in America

NEW YORKMayor Bill de Blasio and the Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity (TRIE) today announced the NYC Juneteenth Economic Justice Plan: Building Generational Wealth. The NYC Juneteenth Economic Justice Plan seeks to build generational wealth and confront the persistently growing racial wealth gap in America.

Juneteenth marked the end of slavery, but not the end of systemic, structural racism in America, said Mayor Bill de Blasio. To begin to repair harms of the past, New York City is investing in the future and building generational wealth.

Racial inequity is not only about bias and trauma it is perpetuated by an enormous wealth gap, said First Lady Chirlane McCray. The median net worth of white households is approximately eight times as much as that of Black households, for example. That gap represents generations of underinvestment and generations of unrealized dreams and potential.Our announcement today that 529 College Savings Accounts will be provided to every NYC public school student entering kindergarten is an enormous stride forward. Combined with the announcement of scholarships for CUNY students and a wide-ranging Brooklyn Recovery Corps program, we are continuing to write a new ending to New Yorks tale of two cities.

Juneteenth celebrates what wasand continues to bea worldwide struggle against oppression, said Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives J. Phillip Thompson. Our ancestors believed education would be the key to Black liberation, andthat is why it is so right to invest in education today in honor of Juneteenth. It is an investment in making NYC a true symbol of freedom.

Juneteenth serves as a lesson in perseverance for all Americans. While we have made much progress, the legacy of slavery still impacts our society and is much of the reason why we still see significant gaps in wealth and opportunity for African Americans, said Sideya Sherman, Executive Director of the Taskforce on Racial Inclusion & Equity. With todays announcement, we are honoring Juneteenth by investing in our young people at each end of the educational spectrum. Through CUNY scholarships and 529 savings accounts, were ensuring that they have the financial support and assets they need to get ahead.

"Intergenerational racial disparities are the deliberate and intentional outcome of structural and institutional racism beginning with slavery and continuing today", said Jennifer Jones Austin, Esq., Chair of the NYC Racial Justice Commission. "Mayor de Blasio's Juneteenth Economic Justice Plan with educational investments is a welcomed and much needed down payment by government on a debt long owed to Black persons and other persons of color. The Mayor's initiative evidences his commitment to ensuring racial equity in power, access, and opportunity."

Juneteenth is a time to recommit ourselves to equality and the work of creating a more just New York City for all, especially our students, said Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter. Investing in the educational journey of our youngest learners is an apt way to mark this Juneteenth and Im grateful to all who have come together to make this possible.

"Marking Juneteenth by making meaningful investments to advance equity is appropriate and important, and our office is proud that Kids Rise and ACE, two initiatives we have funded and helped champion, are going to scale," said Matt Klein, Executive Director of the Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity. "These initiatives are rooted in evidence and will help make our city a fairer place, where more New Yorkers are able to fulfill their full potential."

The NYC Juneteenth Economic Justice Plan includes:

Universal NYC Baby Bonds: Expand NYC Kids Rise to every public school child New York City will directly confront the racial generational racial wealth gap by expanding savings plans to every single public school kindergarten student next school year. This initiative will both open accounts and put a minimum of $100 into every account.

In 2016, Mayor de Blasio launched a baby bonds 529 college savings pilot in Queens School District 30 in partnership with the non-profit, NYC Kids Rise (NYCKR). Children in this district now have over $6 million to go toward their college and career training.

Building on success of the pilot, the Juneteenth Economic Justice Plan expands NYCKR through public-private partnerships to all school districts, providing universal 529 savings accounts to every public-school child, starting in Kindergarten this upcoming school year. The City will invest $15 million annually through 2025. Every public dollar is estimated to leverage 15-20 times in philanthropy, family savings, community scholarships, and investment returns by the time a child graduates from high school.

CUNY Scholarship Fund: Over 2,800 four-year CUNY scholarships for Black and low-income studentsNew York City will promote the education and career success of Black and low-income students by providing over 2,800 four-year CUNY ACE model scholarships valued at $4,000 per year. This $45 million investment will help cover gaps in financial aid, books, transportation, and advising for eligible students.

The program will serve 1,000 students at Medgar Evers College and 1,800 low-income students in the Taskforce neighborhoods hit hardest by COVID, NYCHA housing developments, and other low-income zip codes.

The Brooklyn Recovery Corps at Medgar Evers College: Paid internships, work experience and career prep for over 200 students a yearMedgar Evers College will launch the Brooklyn Recovery Corps to provide over 200 students annually with the opportunity to contribute to the ongoing economic recovery of Brooklyn, focusing on experiences that integrate science, business, public health, or the green economy.

The $900,000 annual investments ($4.5 million over 5 years) will student fellows will gain technical skills, academic credit or paid internships, work experience, career preparation support and engagement with the community, and STEM-focused career placement opportunities.

The Taskforce on Racial Inclusion & Equity brings an equity-based approach to COVID-19 response and recovery efforts in the city's hardest-hit communities. Services and supports are tailored to meet the unique challenges of New Yorkers in communities of color that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. More specifically, the Taskforce has made a series of announcements to build generational wealth including:

"On this eve of Juneteenth, we thank Mayor de Blasio for this timely investment in CUNY and Medgar Evers College that will expand access to top-quality postsecondary education to African American and other New Yorkers most disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. What has made CUNY an essential New York City institution is the opportunity it has afforded to generations of low-income, underserved and immigrant communities to succeed and climb the socio-economic ladder. We are grateful for this affirmation of CUNY as an engine for social mobility, academic excellence, affordability and social justice, as well as a vital and catalyzing partner in the recovery of our city and state," said CUNY Chancellor Flix V. Matos Rodrguez.

"We are exceedingly grateful to be named as a beneficiary of funds delineated in Mayor de Blasio's Juneteenth Economic Justice Plan. As we celebrate Juneteenth, it is fitting that our College named for Medgar Wiley Evers, the civil rights icon who gave his life for the rights and freedoms of others, would be the recipient of this historic and far-reaching investment in education. The founders of our College recognized that higher education is the one of the most effective paths for underserved populations and those from challenged socioeconomic backgrounds to gain social mobility and acquire wealth. With this funding, our students will be better equipped to intentionally prepare for their futures and realize their dreams while contributing to the post-pandemic economic recovery of Brooklyn and New York City. We look forward to working with the New York City Mayors Office, our CUNY partners, and our other supporters to continue this important work, said Dr. Patricia Ramsey, president of Medgar Evers College.This grant will ensure that current and future students of Medgar Evers College will continue to have access to a quality education without the worry of having to disrupt their education due to lack of financial resources. It also underscores the Citys commitment to recognizing and correcting the unique challenges that Blacks face as a result of historical systemic injustices that still impact our communities today, said Brooke Smith, student at Medgar Evers College.

The racial wealth gap is a crisis created by policy and must be undone by policy. We cannot celebrate Juneteenth without doing the hard work of upending all polices that are the legacy of chattel slavery, said Representative Jamaal Bowman.

156 years after the emancipation of enslaved people, I am proud to work alongside my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus in passing legislation to declare Juneteenth a national holiday, said Representative Ritchie Torres. However, there is significant work to be done to achieve racial equity and close the racial wealth gap in America. I am encouraged by the Juneteenth Economic Justice Plan and look forward to working with the Mayors Office to fight against systemic racism by ensuring Black Americans have equal opportunities to build generational wealth.

The Gray Foundation is proud to partner with the hundreds of community members and leaders that came together over the past five years across industries, sectors, and neighborhoods to help build the NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program, and pilot it throughout Community School District 30 in Queens. This wealth-building platform exemplifies the Gray Foundations dedication to expanding access to education and opportunity for youth across New York City. We are grateful to Mayor de Blasio, Chancellor Meisha Porter, the NYC Department of Education, the Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity,Councilmembers Daniel Dromm and Francisco Moya, and the entire City Council for their partnership,said Mindy and Jon Gray, Co-Founders of the Gray Foundation. As we move beyond the pilot phase and complete the fourth school year, we are incredibly excited to deepen our partnership with the City of New York and the NYC Department of Education to expand this platform to every kindergarten student in New York City public schools.

The NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program was designed by hundreds of public, private, philanthropic, nonprofit and community partners coming together across School District 30 and beyond to create a tool that would help students and families build wealth, reinforce expectations of success for all our children, and prepare them for their educational and economic futures, said Debra-Ellen Glickstein, founding Executive Director of NYC Kids RISE. Weve come together to create an infrastructure that allows every part of a childs neighborhood -- from schools, to their local businesses, to community based organizations and places of worship -- to visibly and tangibly demonstrate support for their children and invest in their futures together. We look forward to continuing this public-private-community partnership, and realizing the vision that every public school student in New York City will graduate with a meaningful financial asset for their future.

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Recovery for All of Us: Mayor de Blasio and Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity Announce Junete - nyc.gov

Congress voted Wednesday to make Juneteenth a federal holiday -- commemorating June 19 in 1865 when slaves in Texas learned they were freed, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

Friday in Indianapolis, Martin University honors that history with a new National Center for Racial Equity and Inclusion. It aims to foster, support and sustain equity through workshops, lectures and other programs. WFYI's Terri Dee spoke with President Sean Huddleston about that work.

WFYI Reporter Terri Dee: Let's talk about the connection between racial equity and inclusion and what Juneteenth represents. I understand that Martin University will be holding a program this month, in honor of that historic day.

Martin University President Sean Huddleston: Its really exciting for us to work in collaboration with other organizations that are looking to help to address some of those racial equity gaps that have been persistent not just in our region, but really around the country.

We think that by working with other organizations who have been doing this work, and have really, really been committed to trying to resolve these issues that have been facing us for some time, we do believe that we can arrive at some solutions that will truly help us get to racial equity. But the symbolism or I think importance of a pattern this right around Juneteenth is really significant. But I would argue that in other ways, it is the beginning of a lot of the structural and systemic racism and racial inequity that our country has faced for some time.

So, for us, launching our National Center for Racial Equity and Inclusion, on that day, is in many ways symbolic of us trying to address, what was meant to be dealt with Juneteenth, which is a true effort to begin to try to resolve issues of racial inequity, especially in Indianapolis. So, we're really excited about that.

Dee: Dr. Huddleston, Martin University will host a community wide Juneteenth event, how would you like to see the community's response and participation, as the university honors a time in history as you just described, that does not receive its deserved recognition?

Huddleston: We see it as a day on and not a day off. We want to use that moment to really start getting right at the heart of some of the matters that still cause persistent racial inequities. Through a very generous grant from the Central Indiana Racial Equity fund, we have been able to develop some programming that will start those conversations.

We're working in great partnership with Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, who I think really wants to make some very intentional steps and helping to resolve some of the racial tensions and some of the structural issues that have been happening, as we all know, in law enforcement. We've seen so many issues, unfortunately, over the last a couple years, where the ideas of Black lives being snuffed out at the hands of law enforcement have come to a crescendo.

IMPD really wants to take some very strong steps and work with us in our center for racial, equity and inclusion, and having those conversations and find out how we can get to the heart of matter and work together to resolve some of these issues. It is not just a matter of Black lives mattering. It's also Black livelihood mattering. We're going to start off our series and our Juneteenth celebration by trying to address a real issue that's been affecting our communities for some time in partnership with those who want to see the solution.

So, our hope is that the community will come out and engage in those conversations with IMPD and others and begin to help to construct a solution that will help to address this really important issue.

Dee: Dr. Huddleston, thank you for your time today and much success to the launch of Martin's National Center for Racial Equity and Inclusion.

Huddleston: Thank you, Terri.

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Martin University Celebrates Juneteenth With Opening Of National Center For Racial Equity And Inclusion - WFYI

With the grave worry of many Christians about living in a culture that seems to be antagonistic to Christianity itself, we ought to consider the radical alternative of intentional communities.

In these days of the rise of the nones, said to be the fastest growing religious body in the country, and with the grave worry of many Christians about living in a culture that seems to be antagonistic to Christianity itself, a new book allows us to consider the existence of and tradition behind the radical alternative of Christian intentional communities.

Charles E. Moore, current pastor of the Bruderhof community, one of the modern intentional communities, has produced a book, Called to Community: The Life Jesus Wants for His People (2016), which is an anthology of writings about intentional communities by authors who are experienced practitioners. The book is designed as a manual for and self-examination by and for community members. And each of the fifty-two chapters, one per week, has a question for group discussion.

Nevertheless, since the editornotes in the introduction that the book is also addressed to Christians thinking about communal living, those of us who would simply like to know more about the experience of community/communal living are included in its audience as well.

In the modern world, American theologian and ethicist Stanley Hauerwas says in the foreword, we share no common story and no corresponding judgments about what is true, good, and beautiful, and we have confused freedom with the isolation of the self. And as editor Moore says, we live in a post-familial, disconnected culture where self is king, relationships are thin, and individuals fend for themselves. Also cited in the book is the mysterious visitor in Dostoyevskys Brothers Karamazov (1880) predicting the modern world as self-realization arriving at complete solitude.

What is an intentional community? Although the book contains numerous references to reaching out to the poor and marginalized, to social justice and to social action, to socialism, and even has two entries on Christian communism, it is not fundamentally based on a social or political agenda nor inspired by the communes and counter-culturalism of the group living or hippie communes of the 1960s (for those of us who remember that decade). Following Jesus Christ is the inspiration.

The fundamental scriptural reference is to the two passages in Acts (2:42-47, 4:32-37) where it is stated that the first Christian communities held everything in common, and not one of them said that anything he possessed was his own. The new Christians sold their property and placed the proceeds at the feet of the apostles who distributed the property to each as had any need. They had what Charles Moore callsa material life of unity and sharing.

The core view here is that we are bodily creatures. We are not angels. Thus, the bodily and material aspects of our daily lives should be more closely integrated with what is in our hearts and minds. Christoph Blumhardt, a German nineteenth-century pastor, is quoted as denigrating the idea of mere spiritual communities, which, he maintained, do not last. There must be community in the flesh, and only such a bodily community will result in a spiritual community. Community is an embodiment, several chapter authors maintain, and that is the founding principle of intentional communities. Or, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer is quoted, it was the Word made flesh which had called them and created their bodily fellowship with Jesus Christ. Wherever we are, whatever we do, everything happens, in the body, in the church, in Christ. An intentional community, as distinguished from a church or parish community, means living together.

Editor Charles E. Moore has assembled twenty-one different passages from the Epistles in which he quotes the Epistles authors as repeatedly maintaining that people in community live for one another. As in Romans, 12:25, that there may be no disunion in the body, but that the members may have care for one another. And he points out that almost all of the epistles are written to churches, not to individuals. Another author points out the several references in Acts to houses, such as Acts 21:8, the house of the evangelist Philip. Another argues that the new thing that happened on Pentecost is the new community.

So, what is the requisite state of mind for forming communities? Communion is not mere collaboration, it is not visionary dreaming or romantic visions and fantasies. Three of the included authors specifically regard community as a divine call.

Bonhoeffer called it a gift of God which we cannot claim. Eberhard Arnold, founder of the Bruderhof community, emphatically held that Christian communities cannot be based on human relationships and goodwill; it must be a calling by God to live in love and unity. Bonhoeffer, again, from his book Life Together: True Christian brotherhood is different from some wishful idea of religious fellowship and from the natural idea of the devout heart for community. Several of the authors directly or indirectly point out that community can be a place of pain; the price of community is a turning away from self-centeredness.

A most informative chapter traces the history of Christian communities from the time of St. Anthony of the desert to St. Benedict and his Rule, still probably the foundational document on the idea of Christian community. In the modern world, there are community movements like Taize and LArche, both founded in France, and the Bruderhof community in Germany. And current leaders of such communities are featured.

References are made to the American experiences of the Pilgrims, and the Hutterites and Mennonites of this country and Canada. The book is ecumenical, based on no specific church or denomination. Bonhoeffer and the founders and leaders of the Bruderhof community predominate. Although no leaders of exclusively Catholic communities are included, there are chapters excerpting the writings of St. Benedict, Mother Teresa, Thomas Merton, and Dorothy Day. No mainline Protestant pastors or ministers are included.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity, begins Psalm 133. This review has concentrated on the basics and has omitted numerous issues and questions raised in the book with regard to, for example, hospitality, social action, the inevitable personal conflicts, and the psychology and emotions evoked by communal living, as well as the different kinds of participation in intentional communities by married couples, single persons, and children.

Republished with gracious permission ofAleteia (March 2017).

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The featured image is Laborare est Orare, by John Rogers Herbert and is in the public domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

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Intentional Communities: Living a Radical Christian Life ...