ENCORE EDITOR'S NOTE
From the Editor T
here’s a lot of passion in this month’s issue, and not just the romantic kind — this February issue highlights several people whose passion for their work is making our community better. We are thrilled to feature Michelle Johnson in our cover story. Johnson is a historian, activist, public scholar, writer and disc jockey who brings her passion for history and social justice to everything she does, and she is doing a lot. She is simultaneously involved in many different projects, from establishing the Institute for Public Scholarship to working on an effort to develop markers throughout the city to tell the stories of Kalamazoo history that highlight Black, Latino and Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Potawatomi people to writing essays, screenplays and novels about the Black experience. While most of her efforts are local or Michigan-focused, she is gaining national attention and grant support for her work. Another individual whose passion drives her work is Sara Jacobs, director of Kalamazoo County Continuum of Care (CoC), whom we feature in this month’s Back Story. CoC coordinates local agencies’ efforts to solve homelessness in Kalamazoo, and Jacobs, who was homeless as a teen, works hard to “bring the right people into the room” to address the myriad issues of homelessness in our community. Lest you think we have missed the romantic aspects of February, we’ve got stories that highlight the two best things about the month of love: couples and chocolate. Historian Lynn Houghton highlights five couples from Kalamazoo’s past whose contributions have had long-term impacts on our community. And writer Jacquelyn Vincenta introduces us to Cherri Emery, whose love for art and chocolate has been a winning — and delicious — recipe for the success of her downtown Kalamazoo shop, Cherri’s Chocol’art. We hope you enjoy this month’s issue and thank you for reading Encore.
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From left to right: Michael D. Holmes, William B. Millard, Morgan L. Rogalke, Michele C. Marquardt, Charles S. Ofstein, Tyler J. Stewart
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