Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance: e-Newsletter 2009-10

e-Newsletter 2009-10

Diversity Alliance e-Newsletter

October 2009

The Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance seeks to dismantle racial, socioeconomic, and institutional barriers to ensure that people of all ethnic backgrounds have equal access and opportunity to participate fully in the life of the community.

Interns Begin; Conferences Just Around the Corner

Hope interns Kelly Garcia (left) and Melanie Weimer (right) assemble dialogue packets for the upcoming conference

Calling All Colors

The two Fall Calling All Colors conferences will be held back-to-back on October 19 (middle schools) and October 20 (high schools). Thank you to Hope College for hosting the conferences and providing an opportunity for these students to become familiar with the experience of being on a college campus.

The Diversity Alliance welcomes Kelly Garcia and Melanie Weimer, both interns from Hope College, and is glad to have them working one-on-one with school groups in developing and planning their action plans to promote diversity in their schools.

Kelly Garcia grew up in Holland and is currently a senior at Hope College majoring in Social Work.
"I am eager to work closely with students and see all their different ideas for promoting diversity."

Melanie Weimer grew up in Holland and is currently a senior at Hope College majoring in Social Work. "I am excited to intern with the Diversity Alliance because racism and discrimination are real problems that need to be addressed in our community."

Calling All Colors is a diversity awareness program for middle and high school students in
which students attend conferences, learn tools for increasing appreciation of diversity in their
schools, and creatively collaborate to implement action plans all year.
[learn more]

Making Connections within our Community

Mentees Ximena Zuniga and Luis Gomez Jr. having fun in the sun with Mentor Chris Cannon's children, Kyle and Kayla

Migrant Mentoring Program

Caseworker Jessenia Martinez-Olmeda has begun completing this year's evaluations which collect data for the program's indicators of success. Results thus far are showing many positive outcomes, as Evelia Frias, mother of mentee Jackie Frias, states, "My daughter's mentor is very caring and supportive and visits us frequently. She has also helped our family connect with events in our community, like when she took Jackie to the circus - she had never gone before."

The Migrant Mentoring Program provides social supports for children of migrant farm
workers and their families, and creates opportunities for cultural exchange between
volunteers and migrant families.
[learn more]

Fall Conversational Spanish Classes

Participants of the Fall Community Level One Conversational Spanish course practice pronunciation and greetings

Community Conversational Spanish

A Level One course comprised of individuals from throughout the community began September 14 and will continue until December 07.

Business Conversational Spanish

In a matter of minutes, Ottawa County employees filled three Spanish courses (one Level One; two Level Two) scheduled for this fall. The Diversity Alliance applauds Ottawa County for their commitment to providing these classes which allow increased service to the Spanish-speakers in our community.

Grand Haven Area Public School employees will also be practicing their rolled "r"s this fall as they begin their first Level One course.

[image]

The Language Academy provides courses for adults, youth, and businesses
interested in learning and practicing a new language.
[learn more]

Great New Partnership with Great Start

A child's success is often measured by how well they succeed in school; however, many students start their academic careers on an unlevel playing field.

For youth of color and "at-risk" children there are often barriers, recognized or unrecognized, that stand in the way of success.

The Great Start program of the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District has partnered with the Diversity Alliance to conduct a research project to answer this question: "What are the barriers to success for youth of color and "at-risk" children ages zero to five?"

From now until the end of the year, the Diversity Alliance will conduct focus groups and door-to-door surveys in target areas to confirm previously identified barriers and successfully identify new barriers along with possible implementable solutions. The Diversity Alliance is excited to expand our work with the 0-5 population and welcomes Zahabia Ahmed-Usmani as Special Projects Manager.

Gail's Reading List

A New Favorite
The Help: A Novel
by Kathryn Stockett

Twenty-two year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss in the year 1962. Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her 17th white child. Minny, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. Why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed. In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women--mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends--view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

The Fair Housing Center of West Michigan Book Club will be discussing this book starting October 01 at 11:45am
[read more]

An Old Favorite

The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel

by Barbara Kingsolver

In 1959, Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist, takes his four young daughters, his wife, and his mission to the Belgian Congo -- a place, he is sure, where he can save needy souls. But the seeds they plant bloom in tragic ways within this complex culture.
Set against one of the most dramatic political events of the twentieth century -- the Congo's fight for independence from Belgium and its devastating consequences -- here is New York Times-bestselling author Barbara Kingslover's beautiful, heartbreaking, and unforgettable epic that chronicles the disintegration of family and a nation.

He's Finally Here!

The Diversity Alliance extends our congratulations to Program Director Sarah Salguera and her husband, Neco, on the birth of their first child, Daniel. He was born on September 04.

Save the Date

The 2010 Summit on Racism will be Thursday, May 20, 2010.

Stand Up. Sign Up.

Local Voices are individuals, businesses, and organizations committed to promoting, supporting, and affirming the value of diversity and inclusion. Let your local voice be heard.
[learn more]

Highlights: News & Resources

Below are highlights of this month's News & Resources.
[click here] to view more.

2009-09 MI Department of Civil Rights Press Release
Kelvin W. Scott, Director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR), has issued the following statement on behalf of the Department following the alleged assault of a 16-year-old Muslim girl in Ann Arbor.
[read more]

2009 "Listening to Latinas: Barriers to High School Graduation"
Forty-one percent of Latina students do not graduate with their class in four years-if they graduate at all. Many Latina students face challenges related to poverty, immigration status, limited English proficiency, and damaging gender and ethnic stereotypes. In their new report, the National Women's Law Center and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund went straight to the source - Latina students and the adults who work with them everyday - to explore the causes of the dropout crisis for Latinas and identifies the actions needed to improve their graduation rates and get them ready for college.
[download executive report]
[download full report]
[additional resources]

Highlights: Events

Below are highlights of next month's diversity-related events and programming throughout our community.
[click here] to view more.

Prom Night in Mississippi
Airing on HBO in October
This documentary tells the story of Charleston, Mississipii, where high school students ended their school year with their first racially integrated prom - in 2008.
[view trailer]
[view airing schedule]

Hispanic Heritage Month: September 15-October 15
Diversity Awareness Month: October 01-31
International Day of Non-Violence: October 02

"Mystic India, Land of Color and Tradition: Folk Art and Miniature Paintings"
October 09-30
Held at Grand Valley State University

Disability Network presents "Disability Etiquette"
October 13 8-9:30am
Held at Holland Michigan Works!

[visit website]

Latino Food Festival
October 14 4:30-6:30pm
Held at Hope College, Phelps/Cook Halls
Non-Student Price is $5

2009 Interfaith Dialogue presented by the Kaufman Interfaith Institute
October 15
A full day devoted to presentations and discussions on "Region and the Challenges of Modernity."
Held at Grand Valley State University
[visit website]

Storioni Trio Performance
October 17 7:30pm
Held at the Knickerbocker Theatre
[ticket information]

Mobile Mexican Consulate in Holland
October 17
Mexican citizens will be able to apply and receive a passport and/or matricula consular. Persons must obtain an application and appointment with Latin Americans United for Progress.
Call (616) 392-5058 for more information.

African Children's Choir Performance
October 18 7-8:00 pm
Held at Hope College Dimnent Memorial Chapel

Native American Pow Wow
October 24, 1pm & 6pm
Held at Hope College, DeVos Fieldhouse.

Support Our Work

The demand for our programs far exceeds our capacity.
We must, and can, reach more people in the next years - a time of dramatic community change.

[learn more]