TRUTH, RACIAL HEALING & TRANSFORMATION KALAMAZOO
IMPACT REPORT 2017-2020
Transforming Kalamazoo by centering racial healing, reshaping power and building community
402 E. Michigan Ave Kalamazoo, MI 49008
trhtkzoo.org trht@kalfound.org
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This impact report was made possible by the dedicated work of the design team leads and members and their willingness to collect data and share their time and insights with the evaluation team and TRHT and KZCF staff. The evaluation team, along with the TRHT leadership, would like to acknowledge and give thanks to Meg Blinkiewicz, the Evaluation Team lead from 2016-June 2020. Meg’s expertise and extensive work on the project built not only the instruments and data collection practices for the TRHT Kalamazoo, but was instrumental in the development of a positive evaluation culture that has made this work possible. The TRHT Evaluation Team Fernando Ospina, Lenore Yaeger and Viola Sawyer The evaluation work is currently being facilitated by TRHT Partner Eliminating Racism and Creating/Celebrating Equity (ERACCE).
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LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR To the Kalamazoo Community, TRHT family and supporters, It has been an amazing journey growing the Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) work here in my hometown. When the Kalamazoo Community Foundation leadership and some key community partners first learned about the opportunity to explore a new initiative for racial healing through the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, we couldn’t have imagined how much the work would resonate across the community. The work has grown year after year, simply responding to the desire of various community partners to participate in something that felt truly transformative and inspiring. As a community, we have learned the importance of centering healing in all our work — embodying healing principles expanded into our daily lives, our professional work, and our advocacy. This work transforms everyone it touches. It was so important from the early stage to find ways to engage people from many different vantage points in the community, to ask questions and discuss topics that felt off-limits and to let the strategies emerge from the collective wisdom that is shared. We are moving beyond having good intentions, to being intentional not just about what we do as a community, but also how we do it. This report attempts to capture what has grown within the TRHT network at this critical point in time — not only the core programs we have created together, but also the work being led by various partners that was catalyzed through our collective exploration of what transformation means. The work is an unfolding, lifetime work. As TRHT Kalamazoo becomes more established and the concepts of healing and transformation become more embedded across the community, it is vital to understand how it has emerged and to recognize all of the people and organizations that have been on this journey. We hope you will share in celebrating the accomplishments of our collective work and be inspired by the lessons learned as we together continue to foster the conditions for deep healing and transformation in our community. With immense gratitude,
Sholanna Lewis Director, TRHT Kalamazoo
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
2
LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR
5 6 7 10
TRHT NATIONAL OVERVIEW TRHT KALAMAZOO OVERVIEW TRHT KALAMAZOO IMPACT PROJECT AND DESIGN TEAM EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES
4
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
14 CREATING A SHARED VISION FOR TRHT KALAMAZOO
15 VISIONING 17 GROWTH OVER TIME
18 NETWORK STRUCTURE AND ANALYSIS
19 NETWORK STRUCTURE 20 SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS 26 TRHT ENDOWMENT
27 BUILDING SUSTAINABILITY 28 PRESS AND ADVOCACY
30 NATIONAL DAY OF RACIAL HEALING 38 PROJECTS AND DESIGN TEAMS
39 45 55 62 70
TRHT PILLAR: RACIAL HEALING TRHT PILLAR: NARRATIVE CHANGE TRHT PILLAR: SEPARATION TRHT PILLAR: LAW TRHT PILLAR: ECONOMY
72 ALL PARTNER SURVEY
75 ORGANIZATIONAL CASE STUDIES
78 APPENDICES
79 81 95 99
APPENDIX A: TIMELINE APPENDIX B: ORGANIZATIONAL CASE STUDIES REPORT APPENDIX C: TRHT MEDIA COVERAGE APPENDIX D: WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY COURSE FLYER
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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TRHT NATIONAL OVERVIEW National TRHT
TRHT Goal
Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) is a comprehensive, national and community-based process developed by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) and 174 national partners to identify and address the historic and contemporary effects of racism — to help communities heal and produce actionable, sustainable change.
" … to unearth and jettison the deeply embedded belief in a hierarchy of human value that sustains racism, to recognize the history and continued trauma resulting from that belief, and to create policy solutions that will sustain healing and structural change …”
TRHT NATIONAL FRAMEWORK
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TRHT KALAMAZOO OVERVIEW TRHT Kalamazoo Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation Kalamazoo, hosted by the Kalamazoo Community Foundation (KZCF), is a community-based movement to bring about transformational and sustainable change to address the historic and contemporary effects of racism.
Kalamazoo is one of the original 14 TRHT locations nationwide, and one of four in Michigan (the others include Flint, Lansing and Battle Creek). TRHT was launched in 2016 by W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Learn more at trhtkzoo.org.
Goals of Initial Grant from W.K. Kellogg Foundation TRHT Kalamazoo was awarded a grant totaling $816,000 that was a part of a $5 million grant to the Council of Michigan Foundations (CMF) to support all four TRHT places in Michigan, including Battle Creek, Flint and Lansing. CMF continues to convene the four sites for shared learning, networking and strategy. Each place was able to create its own workplan, timeline and budget.
The goals identified by TRHT Kalamazoo were to: Build / strengthen collaborative partnerships and infrastructure locally to carry out the TRHT framework; Map, build capacity and expand existing efforts in narrative change, racial healing, and racial equity in Kalamazoo; Establish growth fund as a sustainable funding source for the TRHT work; and Set a vision, goals (including identify community level outcome), key and strategic direction for the ongoing local work in Phases 1 and 2.
See summary timeline of activities in Appendix A.
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TRHT KALAMAZOO IMPACT
In the past few years, TRHT Kalamazoo has . . .
HOSTED OR PARNTERED ON
APPEARED IN THE NEWS
RECEIVED
50
92
189
EVENTS
TIMES
INDIVIDUAL GIFTS
TRHT Kalamazoo has hosted or partnered on 50 virtual and in-person events over the last three years. TRHT Kalamazoo has also appeared in the news 92 times from 2017 to early 2021, highlighting the impact of new programming and shifting the narrative about how racism and racial equity is reported. In addition to the initial gift from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, TRHT Kalamazoo has leveraged 5 grants from local and national funders and 189 individual gifts alongside direct investments from the Kalamazoo Community Foundation.
This has allowed operations to grow from a $180,000 annual programmatic budget with one part-time staff to an annual programmatic budget of more than $1M with four full-time staff, to create an endowment to permanently fund racial healing valued at $1,085,611.51 (28 individual gifts) and to raise $1,310,868.50 to fund TRHT operations (161 individual gifts) as of March 2021.
See a full list of TRHT media coverage in Appendix C.
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MAKING AN IMPACT WITH ORGANIZATIONS Partnership has grown since TRHT Kalamazoo started TRHT Kalamazoo has grown from 55 partners engaged in 2018 to 646 in 2021 with a network of 100+ organizations.
646 in 2021
55 in 2018 Organizations are changing because of TRHT 87% of TRHT partners in 2020 reported change in their organization as a result of TRHT participation.
87%
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MAKING AN IMPACT WITH INDIVIDUALS More people are seeing the impact of TRHT Kalamazoo The percentage of people who report that TRHT has had a moderate or great impact on the Kalamazoo community has increased from 26% to 83%.
83% in 2020
26% in 2017 Individuals' behaviors and habits are changing as a result 91% of people report a change in their personal behavior or habits as a result of TRHT participation.
91%
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PROJECT AND DESIGN TEAM EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES Racial Healing
TRutH Talks
The TRHT Kalamazoo Racial Healing Circle Practitioner Cohort, along with staff, has built an organizational structure to deliver in person and virtual healing experiences for the community.
44 individuals across the community have participated in a workshop to learn how to facilitate racial healing circles and become practitioners as part of the cohort or in their own community work. Of these individuals, 6 are lead practitioners who facilitate the workshop locally and help to train others to become practitioners. In the past three years, healing practitioners have hosted 17 healing circles and 12 virtual healing experiences. In partnership with Rootead Enrichment Center, racial healing work has also led to the creation of the Kalamazoo Black and Brown Therapy Collective, to connect residents to therapists of color.
TRHT has presented 32 TRutH Talks with 100 panelists. These conversations have been creating a space and platform for people to tell their stories, share their vulnerabilities, educate, and prompt advocacy efforts around the community and related to design team efforts. They also serve as a catalyst for further community action.
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Historical and Cultural Landscape Project
Narrative Change Arts Design Team
The Historical and Cultural Landscape Project seeks to highlight the local history of racism and resistance, with a focus on the social and physical locations of specific importance to communities of color.
The Narrative Change Education and History Design Team, alongside Dr. Michelle S. Johnson, has been gathering feedback on proposed locations and narratives to collectively identify places and locations that exhibit stories that highlight and inspire responses in the direction of justice. The project will help teachers, artists, parents, tour guides and visitors interpret specific narratives in a cultural and historical context. Additionally, using historical information and community conversations, artists, educators, and trainers will conceptualize, design and create proposals for large scale public art and teaching resources for social change.
Narrative Change Arts has helped plan and implement multiple art exhibits including Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts; the Make Room Exhibit at the Black Arts and Cultural Center; and the Lacrone Park anti-gun violence mural. The design team is also supporting the Historical and Cultural Landscape Project. These exhibits have broadened perspectives around history, culture and current events by sharing complex and more complete narratives. By centering and celebrating Black artists, artists of color, and artists from other historically excluded groups, Narrative Change Arts seeks to positively impact how community members communicate, perceive and interact with one another.
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Law Design Team
Housing Task Force
The Law Design Team is working to build bridges between community and law enforcement through racial healing and leading projects like the biannual Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC) Police Academy Expanding Our Horizons: A Cultural Awareness Experience and the Advocates & Leaders for Police and Community Trust (ALPACT) Kalamazoo group.
The joint ISAAC & TRHT Housing Task Force produced a report and recommendation that helped drive the unanimous passage of the Housing Equity Ordinance by the Kalamazoo City Commission. The Task Force's leadership and community organizing was instrumental in the passage of the countywide Housing for All millage. This millage will provide housing assistance, renovation of blighted properties, construction of new units of many types and paths to homeownership for county residents historically excluded from those opportunities.
The Law Design Team has hosted 5 Expanding Our Horizons workshops for the KVCC Police Academy with 214 participants, connecting law enforcement and community members through history and racial healing. These events helped participants build relationships and understanding between law enforcement and community members. Expanding Our Horizons is a powerful event capable of building community connections during a moment in history of great distrust in society.
In 2019, the Task Force won the Housing Design Challenge at Urban Institute’s national conference that paved the way for the Pathway Home program at Open Doors Kalamazoo to support housing stability. The Task Force is now working to aid surrounding municipalities in adopting their own housing equity ordinances.
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Economy Design Team
Education Separation Design Team The Education Separation team was relaunched under new leadership in December 2020 and is building the foundations for effective education advocacy. The team has created four working groups to address learning in the home, professional development for educators, youth-led advocacy and educational policy.
The Economy Design team is leading the work of the Coalition for Inclusive Communities grant, which is a national network of five local community foundations focused on workplace equity and funded through Community Foundations Leads (CFLeads). Recently, the United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region and the Society for History and Racial Equity (SHARE) have joined the design team. A three-module series has been created and is being piloted with a small group of businesses in the region to help them grow their understanding and practices to address both racial disparities and issues related to the asset limited, income constrained, employed (ALICE) individuals in their workforce.
The design team also joined the Michigan Education Coalition and is building strategies to engage the community in breaking down the separation that exists in local school systems.
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CREATING A SHARED VISION FOR TRHT KALAMAZOO
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VISIONING
TRHT Kalamazoo's first community-wide meeting, November 28, 2017 at YWCA Kalamazoo
On November 28, 2017, TRHT Kalamazoo held its first community-wide meeting. More than 100 community members attended a meeting at the YWCA Kalamazoo to learn about this new effort.
TRHT Kalamazoo Design Team Visioning Session, May 24, 2018 at Douglass Community Association TRHT Kalamazoo Design Team Visioning Session, May 24, 2018 at Douglass Community Association
This meeting was the beginning of the visioning process, which was the first phase of establishing the work. At that time, TRHT did not have a defined structure beyond three volunteer working groups.
The goal of this period was to build analysis of the partnership, set shared goals, and determine a structure that would meet the early needs (see Phase 1 Process graphic on next page).
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TRHT Kalamazoo Phase 1 Process through June 1, 2018 Design TRHT Shared vision, trust and strengthened relationships Overview
Visioning Sessions
Choose one: March 1, 1:30-4:30pm March 2, 9:30-12:30pm
Part 1 Choose one: March 22 from 8am12pm March 26 from 1-5pm Review visioning from 11/28 Visioning Q, 3 (break out based on 5 design areas)
Updates, Q&A Partnership agreement Shared definitions Confirm reps, design teams, trainings sign-up Survey Data interpretation
Part 2 Choose one: March 28 from 8am12pm March 30 from 1-5pm Visioning Q, 4 & 5 break out based on 5 design areas
Design Team Creation 2-3 meetings in April-May: Narrative Change Racial Healing Law Separation Healing Circle offered for each team Refine info from visioning sessions to set initial focus goals and Phase 2 activities Plan to connect to current work—opportunities / leverage points Plan community engagement activities Determine structure, roles and co-leads
Visioning Part 3 May 24 from 1-5pm Visioning Session Results Review goals and focus areas from Design Teams Truth Statement Next steps, WKKF report Additional items TBD
Final Meeting June 1 from 8am-12pm Public share out of Phase 1 activities Finalize Phase 2 work, roles and structure Join YWCA in afternoon and evening for Stand Against Racism
Build Analysis
Additional offerings to build analysis and skills Offerings to Partnership National Day of Racial Healing — multiple events on 1/16 Unpacking the implicit bias test — 3/7 from 5pm-7pm ERACCE 2.5 day training — multiple date options SHARE Racial Healing Retreat — 3/8 from 9pm-5pm Youth Summit on Racism (Visioning) — 3/17 Justice + Equity Training Series — 4/19, 5/30, 6/13 from 1pm-5pm Kalamazoo County historical tour — 5/9 from 10am-3pm
Partner Events America Divided Film Series — 2/22, 3/19, 4/11, from 7pm-9pm Fair Housing Conference — 5/4 from 8am-3pm
Preparation for Phase 1 Activities Partnership agreement signed with org representatives Review implementation Guide, especially sections 2-4 Review design team recommendations for a design area of interest Review notes from practice visioning session on 11/28/17 Review adopted definitions list Take Implicit Bias Test Do one-to-one with other TRHT partners Get log on to Connected Communities site
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GROWTH OVER TIME TRHT Kalamazoo Process Phases 1-3
Over time, a structure that integrated the foundations of TRHT work with the organization of community partnership with independent contractors, volunteers, and organizations began to take shape. As this work began to grow and take on a life of its own, what was once tasked to a foundation employee splitting time between TRHT and doing traditional grantmaking grew to be insufficient. To meet the demands of increasing interest in racial healing and transformation, this part-time role became a full-time director position integrated into the foundation’s organizational structure. TRHT has grown from one to four full-time staff members as well as many other contractors supporting projects, leading design teams and facilitating healing circles and virtual healing experiences.
ALL OF THIS WOULDN’T BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT TRHT STAFF. STACEY RANDOLPH-LEDBETTER LAW DESIGN TEAM LEAD
TRHT seeks to grow even further by adding additional staff and developing strategies to deliver racial healing and support the community beyond what could have been imagined when initiated.
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NETWORK STRUCTURE AND ANALYSIS
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NETWORK STRUCTURE TRHT Kalamazoo Community Network Structure April 2018 TRHT Kalamazoo's Community Network was designed to be open to anyone from the community, including organizations and residents. The Community Network provides regular updates and opportunities to engage, including a few convenings each year. 2 Representatives and Site Lead to Michigan Statewide Advisory Council (CMF)
KZCF
Leadership Team
Site Lead (WKKF and CMF grantee) Coordination and support Growth Fund
Evaluation
Design Team leads, Michigan Statewide Advisory Council representatives and additional community members Provide overall leadership and accountability
Communications
Information Sharing and Decision Making Narrative Change Design Team
Youth Engagement
Law Design Team
Economy Design Team
Racial Healing Design Team
Healing Practitioner Cohort
Separation Design Team GARE Grant
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SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS
CONNECTIVITY IS THE LIFEBLOOD OF A NETWORK.
Relationships between members mean that knowledge, information and ideas can be exchanged. If a variety of connections are formed and strengthened, members are more likely to discover, learn from and collaborate with each other. And the more members discover, learn and collaborate with each other, the more they can align to drive positive social change. NETWORK IMPACT
In late 2020 and early 2021, Network Impact, with the support of Decision Information Resources and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, conducted a social network analysis of TRHT Kalamazoo. The goal of the analysis was to “document the number and quality of ties among local partners in TRHT work and their evolution over time.”
The analysis surveyed TRHT Leadership Team members to examine connectivity over time, trust within the Leadership Team, and connections between partners outside of the leadership team.
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Key Findings: Connectivity Since TRHT started, communication and collaboration among Leadership Team members has increased
CONNECTIVITY OVER TIME Communicate regularly
BEFORE TRHT
NOW
Legend
Business community Community volunteer Economy (local inclusion and growth strategy) Elected officials Faith community Grassroots activists Healing practitioners Law (civil, criminal, public policy) Media / narrative change agents Philanthropy Separation (housing, segregation, colonization) Youth leadership (18 years and above) Other Did not respond to survey Elements sized by indegree
Percentage change
Metric
Before
Now
Total connections
61
92
+50.8%
Avg. # connections
6.1
9.2
+50.8%
Network density
0.16
0.24
+50.8%
Source: “TRHT Kalamazoo: Social Network Analysis Results.” April 2021. Network Impact, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Decision Information Resources.
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68% reported that they receive valuable advice about racial equity from other Leadership Team members
CONNECTIVITY OVER TIME
Communicate regularly, work on a project and receive valuable advice for racial equity work
Legend
Business community Community volunteer Economy (local inclusion and growth strategy) Elected officials Faith community Grassroots activists Healing practitioners Law (civil, criminal, public policy) Media / narrative change agents Philanthropy Separation (housing, segregation, colonization) Youth leadership (18 years and above) Other Did not respond to survey Elements sized by indegree
Percentage change
Metric
Before
Now
Total connections
22
77
+250.0%
Avg. # connections
2.2
7.7
+250.0%
Network density
0.06
0.2
+233.3%
Source: “TRHT Kalamazoo: Social Network Analysis Results.” April 2021. Network Impact, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Decision Information Resources.
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Key Findings: Trust Leadership Team members “offered a highly favorable assessment of fellow Team members on most trust-related measures.”
TRHT & TRUST How to read this chart
Example: For the connection type "The person's values and beliefs align with mine", 50 percent of survey respondents (8) reported "Always" or "Frequently" for more than 75 percent of the 19 other Leadership Team members. Of those, 2 respondents (or 13 percent of total respondents) reported "Always" or "Frequently" for 100 percent of other members. An additional 13 percent of the survey respondents (2) reported "Occasionally" for more than 15 percent of other members.
Legend Respondents reported only "Always" or "Frequently" for 100% of members Respondents reported only "Always" or "Frequently" for more than 75% of members Respondents reported "Occasionally" for more than 15% of members Respondents reported any "Rarely" or "Never" connections
The person treats me with respect In general, I consider this person to be a trusted partner in TRHT work This person's values and beliefs align with mine
This person's vision for TRHT is similar to mine
The person communicates openly and transparently with me about things that are important to TRHT work
Source: “TRHT Kalamazoo: Social Network Analysis Results.” April 2021. Network Impact, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Decision Information Resources.
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Key Findings: Network Partners Network Partners span multiple sectors This map shows all named individuals and organizations merged by organization. Nodes are colored by the primary sector assigned by survey respondents and confirmed by the Kalamazoo Place Lead. Additional affiliations are noted in brackets.
NETWORK PARTNERS
Leadership team member connections — organization level
Legend
Business community Media / narrative change agents Community volunteer Philanthropy Economy (local inclusion and growth strategy) Separation (housing, segregation, colonization) Elected officials Youth leadership (18 years and above) Faith community Other Grassroots activists Did not respond to survey Healing practitioners Elements sized by indegree Law (civil, criminal, public policy) Strength of relationship has increased since TRHT Strength of relationship has stayed the same since TRHT Source: “TRHT Kalamazoo: Social Network Analysis Results.” April 2021. Network Impact, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Decision Information Resources.
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Leadership Team members are mobilizing many networks, with minimal overlap between members
This map shows all named individuals and organizations merged by organization with Leadership Team respondents merged into a single node in the center. Node color corresponds to the primary sector assigned by survey respondents. Additional affiliations are noted in brackets.
NETWORK PARTNERS
Leadership team member connections — organization level (merged)
Legend
Community volunteer Economy (local inclusion and growth strategy) Government Faith community Grassroots activists Healing practitioners Law (civil, criminal, public policy)
Media / narrative change agents Philanthropy Separation (housing, segregation, colonization) Youth leadership (18 years and above) Other Did not respond to survey Elements sized by indegree
Strength of relationship has increased since TRHT Strength of relationship has stayed the same since TRHT Source: “TRHT Kalamazoo: Social Network Analysis Results.” April 2021. Network Impact, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Decision Information Resources.
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TRHT ENDOWMENT
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BUILDING SUSTAINABILITY A significant component of building sustainability for racial healing is the TRHT Endowment. With the support of individual donors, the Kalamazoo Community Foundation (KZCF) and the Stryker Johnston Foundation, TRHT has helped create Kalamazoo’s first ever endowment with a focus on racial equity and healing. Transformative work is neither quick nor linear. Systems of racism have been built and sustained over generations and will require generations to dismantle. The TRHT Endowment will serve as a permanent source of funding to sustain efforts aimed at systemic change in the community.
The initial W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant to Kalamazoo included a $250,000 growth fund that was to be matched by local funds. The initial match of $250,000 was made by the Stryker Johnston Foundation and KZCF contributed an additional $500,000 by transferring funds from unrestricted endowment funds. Additionally, in 2020, the TRHT Endowment was featured in the KZCF year-end appeal to their donor base. KZCF donor relations staff continue to work alongside TRHT staff to raise funds from various grant sources and individual donors. More information on how to give to the endowment can be found at trhtkzoo.org.
As of March 2021, the endowment has received a total of $1,085,611.51 in gifts and transfers, with a current balance of $1,336,645.19 1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
0
Total gifts and transfers ~ $1.1MM
Current balance ~ $1.3MM
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PRESS AND ADVOCACY TRHT Kalamazoo has appeared in 92 news stories in the last five years 50 40 30 20 10 0
2017
2018
TRHT understands that in order for racial healing and transformation to take hold, it needs to reach beyond those who are already actively involved and engaged in this work. It needs to reach out to and be accepted by the community more broadly. To extend the reach of this work, TRHT Kalamazoo has worked to gain media coverage of its events, efforts and impacts. TRHT has released 19 press releases in support of efforts to increase equity in Kalamazoo including in support of the Housing Equity Ordinance, in support of expanding antiracism training in Michigan police academies and calls to action in support of racial justice.
2019
2020
Early 2021
TRHT Kalamazoo has presented at multiple conferences including the Council of Michigan Foundations Conference, the Unity Summit, the Building Michigan Communities Conference, the Rotary Club, the Kalamazoo Summit on Racism and the Upswell Conference. TRHT Kalamazoo also participated and spoke at the Breonna Taylor rally hosted by Uplift Kalamazoo.
See a full list of TRHT media coverage in Appendix C.
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NATIONAL DAY OF RACIAL HEALING
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NATIONAL DAY OF RACIAL HEALING National Day of Racial Healing by the numbers
250 3000 1000
ATTENDEES IN 2020
VIEWS OF 2021 ONLINE EVENT
55
VIRTUAL HEALING ATTENDEES
Kalamazoo celebrated its first National Day of Racial Healing (NDORH) on January 17, 2017. The purpose of this annual event is to “offer opportunities to people, organizations, and communities across Kalamazoo County to recognize the need for racial healing. By bringing the community together to inspire and push for collective action for a more just and equitable world.” The event has been held every year, in person, except for 2021 which was virtual.
TRUTH TALK VIEWS
40
BOOK DISCUSSION PARTICIPANTS
In 2020, 250 individuals attended the National Day of Racial Healing event with more than 50 others on the waiting list. In 2021, the online event had more than 3000 views within a week of airing on Facebook, YouTube and Public Media Network channels. A TRutH Talk held as a part of this celebration had over 1000 views. The Virtual Healing Experience had 55 attendees and the book discussion had 40 participants.
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In 2018, as a direct result of TRHT Kalamazoo's efforts, the City of Kalamazoo recognized the National Day of Racial Healing. On the 2018 NDORH, one of TRHT Kalamazoo's events was a Youth Hip Hop and Yoga class at Rootead Enrichment Center.
In 2019, the City of Portage also recognized the National Day of Racial Healing.
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2019 National Day of Racial Healing Celebration at Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan (Photo credit: Reflect Media)
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2020 National Day of Racial Healing at Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan (Photo credit: Precision Productions LLC)
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2021 National Day of Racial Healing broadcast virtually from Kalamazoo State Theatre (Photo credit: Derek Ketchum Photography)
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As a result of TRHT's National Day of Racial Healing efforts, Governor Gretchen Whitmer recognized January 19, 2021 as Day of Racial Healing in Michigan
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PROJECTS AND DESIGN TEAMS
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TRHT PILLAR: RACIAL HEALING Racial healing and relationship building are at the core of the TRHT process. TRHT seeks to create an environment of trust, healing, and strengthened relationships. Over the past three years, TRHT has been building its capacity to spread racial healing throughout the community by building a cohort of healing practitioners and creating the structures to deliver this work to the community. Tools for Racial Healing Circles
Racial Healing visioning
Through healing circles, virtual healing experiences, and community-wide events, the racial healing process has been creating meaningful relationships between people who otherwise might never have crossed paths. The community is becoming more interconnected in a way that Kalamazoo has never been before. People are broadening their knowledge of the community, their shared histories and the impact that racism has had on keeping community members separated, physically and spiritually. Racial healing has created new relationships and opportunities for collective action to reshape the community.
The racial healing circle process has impacted many significantly. The practitioner cohort collectively defined what racial healing means to the community... Recognizing past and current harm and trauma that racism has caused, both individually and collectively Being committed to one's own personal healing journey Entering into a process that requires listening, acknowledging mistakes, and building accountability Recognizing shared humanity And what it looks like in practice... Different people and communities must drive for themselves what healing looks like Transforming relationships with oneself, others, and society Envisioning and working towards the creation of a world that we all want to live in Unique from but connected to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice, all are needed Racial Healing Circle process creates space to begin
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Building a Network of Racial Healing Practitioners
Racial Healing Practitioners Kama Tai Mitchell, Caren Dybek, Gabriel Giron, Stacey Randolph-Ledbetter, Denise Evans and Xiaoan Li
TRHT has trained more than 40 racial healing practitioners across the community. TRHT is giving people broader exposure to the community that is increasing personal and organizational connections, as well as a broader knowledge of the community. Networks are expanding and becoming more strongly connected.
What started out as a group without a clearly delineated leadership structure has, according to racial healing co-lead Caren Dybek, “has grown ... like a garden. Organic. Each person with their own plot." The Cohort has been developing processes to be able to respond to demand for racial healing throughout the community and in organizations.
When asked if he’s been impacted by the Racial Healing Cohort, co-Lead Xiaoan Li responded: “Big time! Many members have formed deep friendships as a result of engaging in healing practices.”
This network of practitioners also plays a key role in supporting the work of other design teams and projects by facilitating healing circles and healing experiences that strengthen efforts to bring about community transformation.
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Responding to COVID-19 When COVID-19 radically changed the ability for people to come together in person, the Racial Healing Cohort did not stop its work. It transitioned quickly and seamlessly into a virtual format, creating new ways to support healing across the community. To support frontline workers, risking their lives to care for the ill and provide for the community's essential services, the Virtual Healing Project launched the Essential & Frontline Worker Webinar Series. The series provided practical tools for holistic wellbeing and a space to discuss health, wellness and relationships for oneself and the community. The purpose was to create opportunities for healing, empowerment and resilience during this challenging time.
The series featured Ruth Garcia of Gryphon Place, and TRHT Kalamazoo healing practitioners Kama Mitchell, Gabriel Giron, Rev. Denise Evans, and Jacob Pinney-Johnson.
Post-Event Survey Responses What was the most impactful part of the training?
The support group-like feel of the check-ins. It felt like a very safe space to share. Knowing that I am not alone, there are others in the same situation as me. What will you be changing in your life after this?
Lots. Self care. My insight to the fights of others.
A moment in the Virtual Healing Project
The four-part series included sessions titled: “Purpose: The Reason We Work”; “Burnout and Work Life Balance: How We Carry Our Work”; “Holistic Wellbeing: Supporting our Mind, Body, Spirit”; “Social Connection: Creating Community Wellbeing”.
More self-awareness of the need for self-care. The priority is higher after this session.
Stress, balancing work and home life. Ending toxic relationships.
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Affinity Group Healing Spaces Healing is a complex process. It can involve the repairing of relationships between groups, within oneself, and within one's own social groups. The history of racism in the United States has led, even coerced, many People of Color to experience trauma and internalize beliefs about all groups in society, even one’s own. To respond to something so challenging, the Racial Healing Cohort developed a plan to support community members in healing through experiences focused on people with shared identities. The goal of these affinity groups is: “Through building relationships, sharing our collective wisdom, and using our radical imagination, we will envision the community we want to thrive in and formulate action steps to get us there.”
A poster from the Fatherles(s) event
Considering that there are many ways to begin the healing process, in 2019 practitioners began creating and supporting events that would reach different audiences, including Fatherles(s), an event discussing the impact of growing up without a father.
The event was hosted by Leadership Team Member Ed Genesis, and Black and Brown Weekend, featuring shared history and healing discussions for Black and Brown community members sponsored by ISAAC and El Concilio. In 2020, formal ongoing affinity groups began. Each affinity group will receive support from TRHT staff and Leadership Team members to identify facilitators, share critical information, and assist host organizations and/or a lead coordinator in shaping a series. The host organization/lead coordinator has flexibility to cover topics and convene in a way that is relevant to their group but generally should include opportunities to: Share, try out, and learn from one another about personal healing practices; Build relationships using Racial Healing Circles or Virtual Healing Experiences; Analyze and understand root causes of issues related to racism and systemic injustice facing that group; and Envision the community the group would like to see and action steps. The Racial Healing Cohort plans to expand the number of affinity groups and specific populations reached, including essential workers, the health care system, the education system, and people experiencing trauma as a result of COVID-19.
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Youth Leadership
TOUCHSTONE
Youth leaders Karis Clark, Destiné Price and Trevon Reason at a TRHT event
In 2018, three youth leaders — Abigail Antias, Trevon Reason, and Destiné Price — attended the final visioning session and joined the leadership team to represent the youth voice directly on the core decision-making body of TRHT. They also worked as a group to plan youth engagement activities and engaged with design teams.
Another member, Karis Clark, interviewed participants and organizers at the Expanding Our Horizons event at the Police Academy. The following year, as the youth transitioned to college and other endeavors, an additional youth leader joined for the summer of 2019. In partnership with Kalamazoo Public Library (KPL), the youth leaders helped to facilitate the Great Stories Club, which stemmed from a nationwide sector based grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to the American Libraries Association that KPL was a partner in.
Destiné Price and Trevon Reason during a Great Stories Book Club meeting
Youth leader Abigail Antias at a TRHT event
In 2019, youth leaders helped to host the Youth Summit on Racism with the Society for History and Racial Equity. One member created a youth advocacy toolkit that is being implemented in the out-of-school time sector.
In 2021, a Youth Affinity Group was hosted virtually by TRHT staff and racial healing practitioners to create a deeper discussion on the challenges facing Black youth today. The series offered skills and healthy coping mechanisms to address the concerns youth may have due to recent and life obstacles.
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Touchstones Touchstones are group agreements for TRHT healing circles and virtual healing experiences. They serve as a way to encourage the connection and vulnerability necessary for personal and interpersonal healing to take place.
They also serve as a ritual to connect processes to a larger movement. They are also reaching beyond TRHT events and activities. Individuals are bringing the touchstones into their own organizational contexts. TRHT Kalamazoo touchstones will appear throughout this section, starting with the first below.
Trust the healing process, your own heart, and the hearts of others. The process of healing is a lifetime commitment, both individually and collectively. Know that it is possible to leave with whatever it was you needed and the seeds planted here can keep growing in the days ahead.
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TRHT PILLAR: NARRATIVE CHANGE TRutH Talks
A selection of moments from recent TRutH Talks
TRutH Talks are panel conversations streamed online where community members and experts discuss topics that are important and relevant to the community. TRHT presented 32 TRutH Talks with 100 panelists.
These conversations have been creating a space and platform for people to tell their stories, share their vulnerabilities, educate, and prompt advocacy efforts around the community and related to design team efforts.
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TRHT Kalamazoo's TRutH Talks also serve as a catalyst for further community action.
Ed Genesis, TRutH Talks host and moderator A sampling of recent TRutH Talk topics
Panelists have discussed issues ranging from Black History Month, COVID-19 safety measures, gun violence in Kalamazoo, managing grief and the state of housing during COVID-19.
Host and moderator of TRutH Talks, Ed Genesis, has helped develop a format that has been reaching the community and leading to action beyond the TRutH Talks themselves. They start conversations that continue in the community.
TOUCHSTONE Speak your truth. Say what is in your heart, trusting that your voice will be heard and your contribution respected. Your truth may be different from, even the opposite of what another in the circle has said. Speaking your truth is not debating with, or correcting, or interpreting what another has said. Own your truth by speaking only for yourself using “I” statements. Be aware that the impact of your words on others may be very different from your intent.
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Narrative Change Education & History The Narrative Change Education design team supported the creation of a TRHT course conceptualized by Mimi Adbul TRHT Leadership Team member and staff member of the Lewis Walker Institute for the Study of Race and the WMU Ethnic Relations and taught by Dr. Doug Davidson and graduate student Winifred Wilson at Western Michigan University to 25 undergraduate and graduate students in Spring 2019. TRHT staff and Leadership Team worked with the Lewis Walker Institute to organize racial healing circles and give guest presentations that address issues of racism relevant to the local community and design team work.
narratives involving race are created and circulated in the United States." Students also learned to have productive conversations to participate in community-based change.
WMU students Shane Harden, Crea Taylor and Jazimin Williams on the final day of class
HONESTLY, THIS CLASS WAS SOMETHING I NEVER KNEW I NEEDED.
I didn't expect my eyes to be opened so wide. I knew I wasn't getting a complete education on American history. Getting that information now is beneficial.
JAZIMIN WILLIAMS COURSE ATTENDEE
Additionally, the class conducted assessments to understand the knowledge gaps in local education in regards to race and the local and national BIPOC history. The aim of the course was to “expose students to the national movement which is attempting to initiate deep societal transformation by changing the ways
Course Objectives:
To examine the hierarchy of human value in the United States and in our local community of Kalamazoo through the lenses of: Truth
History, social and political structures and prevailing cultural narratives Racial Healing
Understanding our own explicit and implicit biases, as well as any false narratives we may have accepted; reaching a common understanding of race as a component of group and personal identity through healing circles Transformation
Change strategies
See Appendix D for course flyer.
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Trainer Convening
January 2020 Trainer Convening
In January 2020, TRHT held a trainer convening to gather trainers around the community and identify needs and gaps to support racial equity work and capacity building. Thirty-six individuals with experience with racial equity training attended.
Participants discussed a vision for a community of practitioners, attending to burnout from engaging in social justice work, managing power and privilege in social justice work, and practical skills for interrupting racism.
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Historical and Cultural Landscape Project The locations and content that will be included in the project are guided by the team, community knowledge holders and stories collected in collaboration with the Kalamazoo Public Library, the Society for History and Racial Equity (SHARE), WMU Lewis Walker Institute, and others.
In a society constructed by enslavement, Native American genocide and colonialism, history is ever-present to those who continue to live under the structures that created the separation and segregation currently experienced. Much of history learned is told from the perspective of white Europeans and their descendants. In order to capture an accurate history, it is necessary to capture the experience of all peoples who lived this history. The Historical and Cultural Landscape Project seeks to bring about narrative change through the telling of local history around racism and resistance to racism with a focus on locations of specific importance to communities of color.
CAPTURING THIS FULL AND ACCURATE HISTORY requires us to re-situate the narrator in the stories of indigenous, and Black and Latinx people in the area. DR. MICHELLE S. JOHNSON
PUBLIC SCHOLAR, HISTORIAN AND PROJECT LEAD
Through a variety of research projects, discussions and storytelling opportunities, narratives and feedback are being gathered on proposed locations that elevate resilience, resistance and persistence. The project will serve as a resource to help educators, community members, and visitors to place specific narratives in a cultural and historical context and as a starting point for the creation of large scale public art and teaching resources for social change. The Narrative Change Education and History Design Team also contributed to the Black Arts and Cultural Center's Make Room Exhibit with the presentation of the Historical and Cultural Landscape Project's “Snapshot News: an Interconnected History of Black Cultural Empowerment Experience Kalamazoo from 1841 to the Present” - a photographic timeline of a journal, city directories, a state manual and newspapers from across the state and country.
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Black Empowerment Week In November 2020, The Narrative Change Education and History Design Team hosted Black Empowerment Week to celebrate and share stories of the resounding resilience, resistance and persistence of the Black Community in Kalamazoo.
CULTURAL EMPOWERMENT STANDS AS A PILLAR OF OUR LIBERATION STRATEGIES. This resistance finds its roots in Black insistence that refuses to abandon autonomous vision and, at the core, contributes beautiful and awesome refrains of American Cultures. DR. MICHELLE S. JOHNSON
PUBLIC SCHOLAR, HISTORIAN AND PROJECT LEAD
TOUCHSTONE No language of the soul is privileged over any other language of the soul. Say what is in your heart, trusting that your voice will be heard and your contribution respected. Your truth may be different from, even the opposite of what another in the circle has said. Speaking your truth is not debating with, or correcting, or interpreting what another has said. Own your truth by speaking only for yourself using “I” statements. Be aware that the impact of your words on others may be very different from your intent.
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BLACK EMPOWERMENT WEEK INCLUDED THE FOLLOWING EVENTS:
“It's Our Black Business: Remembering the Entrepreneurial Spirit of the Northside”
“Organizing Belonging: The Douglass Community Center and Interfaith Homes”
"TRutHTalk: Reparations”
“Your Park, Your Story: Memories of Spring Valley Park”
A discussion recalling the many Black businesses on Kalamazoo's Northside. From upholstery shops to restaurants to newspaper offices, current and former residents discussed how these many endeavors allowed for cultural empowerment and responded to racism in Kalamazoo's vital neighborhood.
A panel conversation about reparations at the local level; a night of togetherness, wonder, and learning with TRHT and the Black Arts & Cultural Center at the Make Room Exhibit.
Storytelling about how and why the Douglass Community Center and Interfaith Homes created spaces for Black people on Kalamazoo's Northside. Residents and other affiliates discussed the many ways these organizations allowed for cultural empowerment and responded to racism over the last 100 years.
Interviews about our beloved place of refuge, respite, and reflection. The show aired on "Speak On It with Double A" on The Touch 95.5 FM.
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Narrative Change Arts The purpose of the Arts Design Team, led by Yolonda Lavender, is to use the arts to encourage the creation of new, complex and complete narratives with authentic representation to positively impact the way community members communicate to influence perspectives, perceptions and behaviors about and toward one another. The team's work includes curation and implementation of public art, immersive exhibitions and visual and performing arts experiences. The projects that have emerged from this team have helped the expand the narrative of the Black experience, not only sharing pain and discomfort, but also joy, hope, and triumph. Many community arts projects have arisen in response to current events and partnership opportunities.
Yolonda Lavender, Narrative Change Arts Design Team Lead
The Narrative Change Arts design team has contributed to various art exhibits and public art projects around the community. In 2019, the Design Team partnered with the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts to highlight a traveling exhibition, Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem.
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This traveling exhibit celebrates artists of African descent from the 1920’s to the present. The Design Team participated in the planning and promotion of the exhibit, as well as contributing interactive installations within the exhibit that promoted racial healing.
Narrative Change Arts also contributed to the Black Arts & Cultural Center's Make Room Exhibit in conjunction with the Historical and Cultural Landscape Project.
The team will also support the Historical and Cultural Landscape Project with a monthly event series to engage with and shape discourse with the national artists community about Black artists’ role in social justice, cultural empowerment, and public space and place.
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A TRutH Talk about gun violence inspired the creation of a mural supporting the end of gun violence. In collaboration with the Kalamazoo Black Artists Initiative, artists created an antigun violence mural at Lacrone Park in the City of Kalamazoo in October 2020. This mural is one way in which the Narrative Change Arts team is seeking to reshape the narrative in Kalamazoo and respond at a moment's notice to community needs.
TOUCHSTONE Value feeling as much as knowing. Emotions are welcome here, and we give ourselves permission to share vulnerably and authentically — but always at our own pace. Many feelings are not valued or accepted by our society, however they are all a part of our humanity. We each commit to witnessing, engaging, and learning from our own emotions, intuitions, joys, passions and triggers as a part of the healing process.
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TRHT PILLAR: SEPARATION Housing Task Force
Signs from a Housing Task Force Presentation
In 2018, TRHT formed a partnership with the ISAAC (Interfaith Strategy for Advocacy and Action in the Community) Housing Taskforce, co-chaired by Stephanie Hoffman and Tobi Hanna-Davies as a continuation of the research and data collection partners that began the year before. In February 2019, the partners hosted a workshop about the history of redlining and segregation in Kalamazoo for elected officials and housing providers. Purpose: “…Through historic practices of redlining, through an educational system void of a people’s history, through people in power, including teachers, administrators, elected officials, and gate keepers of our institutions who lack awareness of their own bias, we remain separated on the basis of race and thereby perpetuate and uphold a false hierarchy of human value…”
“….Kalamazoo urgently needs to revamp its housing policies. Through controlled housing developments and data-driven inclusionary housing and equity driven models, anti-racism training of staff, teachers, and administrators of schools and by using health and education data to inform those in power how our separation of housing leads to the health, wealth, and education gap, we can hold each other, institutions, and government accountable...” (Separation - Housing: Phase 2 Project Plan)
Housing Task Force Meeting
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As the Task Force was identifying the policy changes they would ask local elected officials and candidates to publicly support at the ISAAC Public Meeting in October 2018, TRHT Director Sholanna Lewis and ISAAC Executive Director Dr. Charlae Davis brought a key community member, Patrese Griffin, to the Task Force. Her family’s experience of homelessness and her analysis of the barriers to stable housing in Kalamazoo refocused the Task Force towards advocating for the Housing Equity Ordinance.
Housing Equity Advocate and Kalamazoo Vice Mayor Patrese Griffin
Griffin was appointed to the City Commission in June 2019 and ran for the commission the following election. She received enough votes to be elected Vice Mayor of Kalamazoo. She has continued to serve as a strong advocate for housing equity in her new role, as well as serving on the Housing Task Force. With Griffin’s consistent leadership, and support from the Housing Task Force, the City Commission passed the Housing Equity Ordinance unanimously in September 2020. Prior to the passage of the Housing Equity Ordinance, TRHT collaborated with The City of Kalamazoo, The Fair Housing Center, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, and ISAAC to conduct a survey to explore issues of fair housing in Kalamazoo, using funding from the Government Alliance for Race & Equity’s Innovation Fund. The report found that affordability issues impact Black residents the hardest. Residents experiencing discrimination did not know where and how to report it. As a result, significant amounts of discrimination were not being reported. Black residents experience more barriers to housing as a result of previous evictions and convictions, and Black residents were more likely to report that landlords would not make repairs.
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The partners presented the results of the survey at several public forums where housing providers and advocates were present, as well as at the Building Michigan Communities Conference. Ultimately, the findings were published in the City of Kalamazoo’s Analysis to Impediments to Fair Housing, which is a report required of cities receiving federal dollars by the Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
ADVOCATES KNOCKED ON
1700+ DOORS
While working on passage of the ordinances, the Task Force was also working on the passage of the Housing for All millage that “provides temporary financial housing assistance and support services that lay the groundwork for ongoing housing stability as well as invest in the construction of quality affordable housing” in Kalamazoo County.
The Housing Task Force at work
These findings were vital for gaining support for the City of Kalamazoo Housing Equity Ordinance. This ordinance sought to expand housing protections, create a Civil Rights Board, protect against predatory application fees, protect against blanket rejections, and remove religious exemptions for public accommodation-type housing. The Housing Task Force led this work by hosting workshops and healing circles around housing equity, meeting with residents, landlords, and advocates. Advocates knocked on more than 1,700 doors to gain support for this proposal, and held the first virtual community engagement with the City of Kalamazoo as COVID-19 started causing shutdowns.
The Task Force has now turned its attention to supporting other municipalities surrounding the City of Kalamazoo to pass Housing Equity Ordinances for their own communities in order to ensure consistency across municipalities.
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Intentions of the Housing Ordinances Expand housing protections for:
Evaluate impact of anti-discrimination efforts Decide disputed cases of discrimination after investigation by the City Manager
Educational affiliation Source of income Status as a victim of domestic violence Protect against predatory application fees: Personal identification method Application fees would be limited to the any government-issued ID would be actual costs of conducting a background permitted as identification when applying check for housing Protect against blanket rejections of any Prior arrests or conviction record
Create a Civil Rights oversight board that will:
Foster mutual understanding and respect among the people in the City Discourage and prevent discriminatory practices Strengthen enforcement for discrimination against gender and sexual orientation
protected group
The maximum penalty for violating this ordinance would be increased from $500 to $2,000
Remove religious exemption for public accommodation-type housing
TRHT created a media kit to inform the community about the housing ordinance and organize collective action to show support.
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The media kit included housing data from the Housing Equity Report in addition to calls to action.
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Housing Design Challenge Winners The team’s plan addresses housing instability among residents of color while tackling high vacancy in low-income neighborhoods in Kalamazoo County.
TRHT Separation Design Team and a group of local partners won the Housing Design Challenge at the Urban Institute’s 2019 national housing conference.
In 2019, the Housing Task Force was selected as the design challenge winner at the Urban Institute’s national housing conference. Out of 100 participants, the Kalamazoo design was one of three plans selected to receive technical and financial support from the Urban Institute to bring the idea to life.
This plan has led to the creation of the Pathway Home project at Open Doors Kalamazoo, in collaboration with Kalamazoo Neighborhood Housing Services (KNHS), to support a stable path to rental and homeownership with wraparound services for communities that have been marginalized throughout our history. Pathway Home will create a pathway from homelessness to homeownership, giving attention to the disparities in homeownership opportunities for communities of color.
TOUCHSTONE Identify assumptions and suspend judgment. Our assumptions and judgments are usually invisible to us, yet they undergird our worldview. By identifying our assumptions, we can then set them aside and open our viewpoints to greater possibilities. By creating a space between judgments and reactions we can listen to others and to ourselves more fully and thus our perspectives, decisions, and actions are more fully informed.
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Separation: Education The purpose of the separation - education team is to reframe and re-center race and racial equity in educational settings, to address the racial equity gap in educational achievement, and to recognize, support, and empower BIPOC students, educators, and families. The team has been in a re-visioning process with new team members, a focus on engaging youth and families, and direct work with policy makers and public school leadership. Add team members, org partners, new visioning and how it relates to previous visioning. In June 2019 the team released a letter entitled "A Statement Of Solidarity with The Benton Harbor Area Schools Community" to resist the State of Michigan’s proposal to close Benton Harbor High School or dissolve the BHAS district. The team also engaged in visioning to elevate community voice in decision-making about our schools and to support families, youth and educators to improve the quality of our schools for all of our youth.
The team was relaunched under new leadership in 2020. The team is composed of four working groups. The multigenerational learning group seeks to create supportive environments for learning at home. Professional development for educators is working on book discussions and anti-bias anti-racist workshops. The youth-led group is exploring ways to increase support for mental health and learning disabilities. The policy organizing group is focused on policy advocacy. The design also joined the Michigan Education Coalition and is building strategies to engage our community in breaking down the separation that exists in our school systems.
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TRHT PILLAR: LAW Law Design Team
Attendees at the August 2019 Cultural Awareness Training
The Law Design Team reviews discriminatory civil and criminal laws, as well as public policies, and recommends solutions that will produce a just application of the law. The justice system was historically and intentionally designed to uphold racism, resulting in the collateral consequences of inequality in political power, sentencing and other areas. The Law Team addresses this by educating groups on history and its present-day impact on the legal systems and promoting restorative and alternative justice models with cultural awareness. Advocacy for laws, policies and systemic changes that reverse negative historical trends is also critical to the work.
WE ARE ABOUT ACTION, NOT JUST ABOUT TALKING AND MEETING.
Everyone wants to get things done, make progress. That’s why I continue to participate. LAW DESIGN TEAM MEMBER TRHT Kalamazoo envisions a future in which people embrace our common humanity, examine how our past has shaped the current realities of persistent racism and chart a course toward a society in which people see themselves in one another. The legal system stands at the epicenter of this enterprise.
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The Law Design Team is led by retired Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Police Captain and Founder/CEO of Black & Blue Networking & Consulting, LLC, Stacey Randolph-Ledbetter. Members are active and engaged and bring with them many connections to important organizations around Kalamazoo.
Retired Captain Randolph-Ledbetter has been deliberate about recruiting members that will move the process forward while welcoming people who wish to join. The culture of this group is action-oriented. In addition to supporting advocacy efforts around the community, the Law Design Team is taking the lead on two major projects: the biannual Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC) Police Academy Expanding Our Horizons: A Cultural Awareness Experience and the Advocates & Leaders for Police and Community Trust (ALPACT) Kalamazoo group.
Feedback Stacey Randolph-Ledbetter speaks to event attendees
Design Team members have affiliations with more than 25 organizations and individuals from many sectors including the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, Kalamazoo Defender, Legal Aid of Western Michigan, Kalamazoo Public Library, Kalamazoo Valley Community College, Bronson, H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Exceed) thru Navigation, Interfaith Strategy for Advocacy & Action in the Community (ISAAC), Gryphon Place, Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC), Justice for Our Neighbors (JFON), NAACP, Urban Alliance, Western Michigan University’s Lewis Walker Institute for Race and Ethnic Relations, YWCA and many others.
What has been your experience working with the law design team?
INCREDIBLY FULFILLING.
Able to connect with a lot of community members. Stacey does an amazing job at keeping structure going. This is a group of movers and shakers. When a plan is put together, we move. LAW DESIGN TEAM MEMBER
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Expanding Our Horizons at Kalamazoo Valley Community College Police Academy
Racial Healing Practitioners at the February 2020 Expanding Our Horizons Police Academy Event
KVCC has hosted five Expanding Our Horizons events. The first was held in February 2019. These events are designed to expose community members and police academy cadets to racial healing and the history of racism in the United States. Practitioners from the Racial Healing Team partner en masse by facilitating either Racial Healing Circles or Virtual Healing Experiences. Health Equity and Inclusion staff from Bronson Healthcare have partnered on the Sweet and Sour History segment since inception. Postevent surveys suggest that these events are increasing people’s awareness of racism and history while also building community.
These events are creating a unique space where much more is possible during times of increased racial tension and mistrust between law enforcement and communities of color. The Expanding our Horizons event is anticipated to continue to be included in KVCC’s Police Academy for years to come, and the team continues to advocate for other police academies to adopt a similar program. A video with highlights of the program can be found on the TRHT website.
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Expanding Connections Between Police Cadets and Community Members
These events are helping create personal and emotional connections among community members and police cadets.
94 percent felt that these events helped build or strengthen relationships with other members of the community. Program participants expressed their beliefs about the extent to which these events helped to create or foster stronger relationships with other members in the community: “Thank you for doing this and for facilitating an opportunity for cadets to experience community and diversity and inclusion from a more personal perspective. Vic & Stacey you rock!”
“LOVED this! I felt connected to everyone I was able to talk to.” “Very touching experience. I am happy to be able to connect with the community and learn more about them.”
94 percent indicated that these events helped them develop a better understanding of the perspective of others and our shared humanity. Program participants expressed their beliefs, in the following quotes, about the extent to which these events helped to enhance their understanding of the perspective of others and our shared humanity: “I really enjoyed hearing the different perspectives and being able to have the opportunity with people from the community.” Did anything, in particular, impact you or stand out to you? “Some of the stories from community members stood out to me and will be stories that I will not forget.” “That the community members generally wanted to help us grow into the great officers we could be." “That the community came together to talk with us even with the current distrust with law enforcement and citizens.”
“During the circles, one individual mentioned his initial reaction to seeing the cadets enter the room made him fearful for a moment. This comment made me really realize that some people have not had good relationships with law enforcement. Another member of the circle commented that with her conversations with some cadets, it made her realize that all law enforcements are human and have emotion. I feel this day was very beneficial.”
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Expanding a Courageous Community
Expanding Our Horizons is creating an opportunity for our community to develop the courage to have difficult conversations in a climate of polarization and mistrust in our nation. These events provided an opportunity to openly talk about race and racism and to share personal stories.
96 percent indicated that these events provide a space for them to talk truthfully and openly about race and racism.
92 percent indicated that these events provide a space to feel connected, respected, and able to tell one’s story.
THIS WAS A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE.
I was originally nervous to share my experiences since they are vastly different than others but it was a great and open experience. PROGRAM PARTICIPANT
TOUCHSTONE Listen deeply. Listen intently and without interruption to what is said. Listen to the feelings beneath the words and to what resonates with you.
“To listen another’s soul into life’, into a condition of disclosure and discovery, may be the greatest service any human being performs for another,” — Douglas Steere
Listen to yourself also. Try to achieve a balance between listening, reflecting, and speaking.
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Expanding Our Horizons to the Future
Participants wanted more opportunities to attend future events, wanted others to experience this work, and many wished that these events were longer.
94 percent indicated an interest in attending another racial healing circle or similar event. In their open-ended response, program participants expressed their interest in attending another racial healing circle in the following statements: “I would be okay with this going longer so I could hear more stories and experiences to dive deeper with others and connect on a deeper level!!!”
“This needs to happen more often. Minds need to come together.”
Program participants made several recommendations for improvement and suggestions for future training that reflected their beliefs about the training’s importance for police officers, their desire for more time, and the significance of interactions between police officers and community members. “I think that this was a very important day in our training and should be in all academies.” “Just that this continue to be a staple at future academies. I think these types of discussions are very important for law enforcement and individual growth”
“Do more trainings like this. Interactions between future police officers and community members is what we need to improve relations.” Participants seem to want more time to experience this process: “More time if possible.”
When asked about whether future training should include a combination of police cadets/law enforcement officers and community members, program participants expressed that this was something that they were interested in, stating that: “Yes, I believe everyone should be educated. I think what we did today was perfect.” “Yes, I appreciate getting to know the people who care enough to protect and serve the community.”
“Yes! It's great to have interaction between cadets and community members.”
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Expanding Knowledge and Understanding
In addition to human connection, these events also increased participants’ knowledge about important issues about United States history, laws, and manifestations of racism.
94 percent of program participants indicated that these events increased their understanding of what racial healing means. 60 percent indicated that these events increased their understanding of the laws and policies that have shaped the role of law enforcement in society.
I learned a lot more about other people of color and the laws that impacted them. PROGRAM PARTICIPANT
83 percent found that these events helped them understand how stereotypes and bias impact people’s daily interaction. 80 percent found that these events helped them identify their own assumptions and implicit bias about different people.
[This training is] reminding me that everyone is on their own journey and may not know how hurtful actions can be. PROGRAM PARTICIPANT
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ALPACT (Advocates & Leaders for Police and Community Trust) Gwendolyn Moffitt, Community Engagement Liaison for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR), played an instrumental role in bringing the work of ALPACT to the Law Design Team. ALPACT is an initiative of MDCR’s Community Engagement Division and the Kalamazoo County ALPACT is one of several ALPACTs around the State of Michigan including Battle Creek, Berrien County, Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Saginaw, and Traverse City. It consists of law enforcement, community, advocacy, civil rights leaders and representatives. The Kalamazoo County ALPACT’s mission is to transparently and honestly examine issues affecting police and community relations in order to build community trust and ensure the just and equitable enforcement of laws. These issues include racial profiling, police discretion, use of force, officer recruitment and training, citizen complaint processes, community partnering, and police leadership and management disciplinary practices.
ALPACT’s goal is to enhance the bonds of trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve by addressing the divisions that currently exist. The Law Design Team has been incorporating the work of ALPACT to improve community relations and accountability to communities of color and the community at large. Thus far, the Law Design Team has held community forums, hosted book discussions, invited speakers and consultants with expertise on police reform, and has been exploring policy changes to improve police and community relations.
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TRHT PILLAR: ECONOMY Economy Design Team
Members of TRHT's Economy Design Team in 2019. in Kalamazoo Community Foundation's Winter Garden
The goal of the TRHT Economy Design team is to become clearer on what an American and Kalamazoo Economy would look like if we jettisoned the belief in a hierarchy of human value. Eliminating the belief in the hierarchy of human value and creating an economic democracy will help build a future where every person, family and community should be able to individually and collectively participate and thrive in our community. The Economy Design Team studies structured inequality and barriers to economic opportunities and recommends approaches to create an equitable society. The design team is led by Jacob Pinney-Johnson.
TRHT Economy Design Team Lead Jacob Pinney-Johnson
In 2019, the Economy Design Team, through the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, received a CFLeads grant of $250,000 to advance workplace equity and share lessons learned with other community foundations across the country.
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One of the goals of this grant is to create a roundtable of business leaders who are focused on racial equity. Members of this employer network will actively implement institutional changes within their organizations to ensure racial equity and promote long term cultural change in our community.
The Economy Design Team has also participated in TRutH Talks, hosted book groups around reparations, and helped support the People of Color Business Fund held at the Kalamazoo Community Foundation.
While COVID-19 delayed the creation of this employer network, this work continues. Recently, the United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region and the Society for Historical and Racial Equity (SHARE) joined the Economy Design Team with an initiative to support Kalamazoo’s ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed), or working poor, population.
TOUCHSTONE When things get difficult, turn to wonder. If you find yourself disagreeing with another, becoming judgmental, or experiencing challenging emotions, try turning to wonder: “I wonder what she is thinking?” “I wonder what brought him to this place?” “I wonder what they are feeling right now?” TOUCHSTONE “I wonder what my reaction teaches me about myself?”
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ALL PARTNER SURVEY
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ALL PARTNER SURVEY One of the most consistent and regular evaluation tools TRHT has used is the annual All Partner Survey. This survey has been administered at the end of every year of the TRHT project and goes out to all participants, design team members and community partners.
TRHT Kalamazoo asks questions about participation, the project’s impact on the community, and if TRHT practices are being taken back to partner organizations.
In 2020, 83 percent of partners believed that the TRHT has had a moderate or great impact in the Kalamazoo community. This number is growing, as that question has been asked year over year; only 26 percent of partners believed that to be true in 2017.
TRHT has been effective at creating and strengthening relationships between partners, as shown in the survey data from 2020. 70 percent believe, to a great or moderate extent, that they have developed new relationships through TRHT. 75 percent believe that their relationships with other TRHT partners have strengthened to a great or moderate extent.
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The all partner survey also allows TRHT Kalamazoo to ask more immediate questions of the community, like how our response was to specific events in 2020. 2020 was an eventful year for our community. In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kalamazoo saw a summer of increased gun violence. Kalamazoo was also a site of a Proud Boys rally, a hate group of White nationalists who seek to spread racial violence across communities.
Downtown Kalamazoo was a stage for a number Black Lives Matter protests in response to police violence in the summer of 2020. It was important to the TRHT leadership to understand how the community felt TRHT was responding to these historic events.
TRHT partners believe that TRHT’s response to the following events was excellent or very good: Gun violence (61 percent) COVID-19 (62 percent)
The All Partner Survey has shown TRHT Kalamazoo the ways in which we need to increase our efforts to broaden the economic diversity of people TRHT reaches. TRHT has begun to ask about demographic information, which is being used to identify groups which may need additional investment from the TRHT, or more direct contact.
Proud Boys rally (48 percent) Black Lives Matter solidarity protests (70 percent)
Each year the results of the All Partner Survey are shared with the leadership team; this knowledge assists design team leads and the core leadership team in understanding how TRHT Kalamazoo is perceived by the community, where focus on efforts is needed, and how the community is engaging with the work.
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ORGANIZATIONAL CASE STUDIES Description
Overarching Theme
Evaluators conducted organizational case studies with two TRHT partners: a local community foundation and a nonprofit focused on organizing and training around systemic racism. It was found that TRHT is changing the ecosystem to support deeper engagement in antiracism work, promoting new and deeper relationships, and shifting accountability relationships with organizations and between organizations and the community.
Reshaping accountability throughout our community and within our organizations.
A Changing Ecosystem
TRHT activities are changing the ecosystem in a way that strengthens and accelerates existing antiracism work.
Antiracism organizations are seeing increased requests for training while the Foundation is receiving increased requests to fund antiracism training In their open-ended response, participants expressed their perception of this increase in the following statements: “We are seeing more and more nonprofits approaching us for support, for diversity, equity and inclusion training. And, in many of those cases, they are organizations that have representation on one of the TRHT work teams. And so I think individuals are engaging and fostering their own individual journeys and then they're taking that back to their organizations.”
“And I do think that at least some of that is coming out of a shift in the overall context within our community. Because like one organism, it's really hard for one organization to grow in certain ways without the context around them shifting.”
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Transforming Accountability TRHT is changing the Kalamazoo Community Foundation by changing the relationship between the foundation and community members. In their open-ended response, participants expressed how they felt this relationship had changed in the following statements: “... TRHT has us asking the question. To whom are we accountable?” "… I'm working right alongside community members as I know others in the organization are. And then again, when folks who are in our space in a different way, it's a lot harder to ignore segments of our population or to say we don't see you or we don't need to be accountable to you. It's a lot harder to say “no” in the face of trying to say, you know, trying to make the decision about what's right and in our position and our leadership in the community […] when you're in relationship with... "
"… When people are at a distance, it's easy to either fear them or to say no to them easier in some ways or to only think about your own interests. Right? And so, when you're closer in relationship with people, I think it forces a different way of understanding community need. And, all of a sudden, these issues become intertwined with, with your own in a more real and tangible way […] so it just forces a whole different conversation, relationship. And then that accountability piece.”
Building Relationships TRHT is creating more opportunity for relationships to grow.
I just think how people are being invited into different type of relationship that may have not otherwise been in relationship with one another. SURVEY PARTICIPANT
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Reshaping Organizations TRHT staff is playing an important role in connecting the Community Foundation to Community Members. In their open-ended response, participants expressed their perception of this role in the following statements: “I would certainly say by TRHT Director being at Foundation and having [the TRHT Director’s] presence and her sharing what's happening and what the design teams are working on or what's going on in the community.” “We're getting much closer to the work and providing donors with an opportunity to join us at a particular event or around a particular issue.”
“We as an organization have begun to engage external partners in some of our internal work. I mean the line is just a little more blurry, as opposed to what's internal work versus external work. Which I think is a good thing.”
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APPENDICES
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APPENDIX A: TIMELINE Timeline December 2016
6 partners attended TRHT Summit hosted by W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) January 2017
1st Annual National Day of Racial Healing Event hosted at Epic Center, America Divided film clips January – March 2017
20+ local partners met to develop proposal, Council of Michigan Foundations as statewide convener July 2017
Additional partners added, WKKF award announced, partners volunteered for initial working groups Summer/Fall 2017
Outreach and evaluation working groups began November 2017
Collaboratively developed partnership norms & expectations WKKF visit and visioning process began Healing and Relationship Building working group began Healing Circles hosted at Summit on Racism & local cohort
December 2017 — January 2018
Kalamazoo Community Foundation made additional investment in TRHT Baseline partnership survey conducted
2nd Annual National Day of Racial Healing events hosted at various locations Applied for & awarded Government Alliance for Race & Equity (GARE) grant to support separation work March - May 2018
Partnership agreement finalized – 100 partners representing 35+ organizations Attended Youth Summit on Racism Trainings and professional development offered to partners 25 healing practitioners trained by national facilitators Healing circles for partners & design teams hosted 5 visioning sessions with partners hosted to generate initial action steps and truth statements for design teams Inaugural Leadership Team members nominated and selected collaboratively by design teams
June – July 2018
Youth leaders recruited and oriented Leadership Team oriented and begin to meet
September – October
1st All partner meeting Design teams began meeting independently Community engagement for housing innovation partnership – over 700 surveys completed 20 Healing circles and visioning hosted at Michigan State Bar Association Diversity & Inclusion Affinity Group
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Youth Events Kalamazoo Public Library on Great Stories Club hosted Nikole Hannah-Jones spoke at KZCF Community Meeting Supported ISAAC Public Meeting presentation and asks November 2018
Presentation at Kalamazoo Summit on Racism Kalamazoo group attended Facing Race Conference in Detroit, MI Presented at KYDnet State of the Sector Kalamazoo group to Public Policy training offered by ABFE
2019
All design teams launched programs and projects (as outlined in the previous sections) Western Michigan University Course offered by the Lewis Walker Institute for the Study of Race Relations is offered 1st KVCC Police Academy training day titled Expanding Our Horizons Awarded CFLeads Coalition for Inclusive Communities grant to support economy design team Awarded additional grant by Stryker Johnston Foundation to meet growth fund match and support staffing KZCF makes additional investment in growth fund Leadership Team worked with staff to create letter of direction and establish endowment with $1M opening balance
TRHT Director position created 1 full-time coordinator hired Joined other TRHT sites to present at Change Philanthropy’s Unity Summit & Council of Michigan Foundations’ Annual Conference 2020
All design teams continue programs and projects, Separation - Education design team re-launched (as outlined in the previous sections) January 2020 - Lead Racial Healing Practitioner role established, hosted second new practitioner workshop January 2020 - Launched TRutH Talks April 2020 - Establishment of Virtual Healing Project, development of virtual facilitation methodology September - Housing Equity Ordinance passes in the City of Kalamazoo November - Produced video on impact of Expanding our Horizons program at KVCC Awarded additional grant from Fetzer Institute and anonymous corporate gift to grow staffing and program 1 part-time intern hired, role converted to full-time coordinator TRHT included in KZCF’s year-end appeal to donors
2021
5th Annual National Day of Racial Healing 1 additional full-time staff position created for a total of four full-time staff All design teams continue programs and projects (as outlined in the previous sections)
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APPENDIX B: ORGANIZATION CASE STUDIES Truth Racial Healing and Transformation Kalamazoo Organizational Case Studies Conducted by: Fernando Ospina, MA Western Michigan University Department of Sociology, Thurgood Marshall Fellow Eliminating Racism and Creating/Celebrating Equity TRHT Leadership Team and Evaluation Team Lenore Yaeger, MS Ed Western Michigan University Interdisciplinary PhD in Evaluation TRHT Evaluation Team Summary of Study and Findings
The Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) grant in Kalamazoo is entering year 3 of a 5-year grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to address racial equity, healing, and community needs in Kalamazoo. This evaluation is designed to gather information on the impact of the TRHT on its partnership organizations. Organizations
The TRHT works directly with community organizations through its outreach, healing circles, events, and participation on their design teams. These organizations are a rich source of information on how the TRHT is organizing for change and mobilizing the community for equity and healing.
Case studies were performed on local organizations with links to the TRHT to gather this information. Focus Groups
The primary sources of data were focus groups with TRHT partner organizations. Focus groups asked what these organizations understood about the TRHT’s practices, goals, and values, how a relationship with the TRHT has affected their organizations values, goals, or practices, and how they understood those changes (if any) came about. Findings Organizations were able to articulate a number of ways the TRHT operates in Kalamazoo, how it has impacted their organization, and how they see it impacting the Kalamazoo community. Major themes of these findings include relationship building, accountability, and context creation.
Relationship Building Though the work of the TRHT, organizations are seeing a focus on relationships; building, repairing, and deepening.
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Accountability Multiple participants noted that the TRHT is holding the city, foundation, and organizations accountable to the people of Kalamazoo in a new way — specifically regarding race and racism. The TRHT is encouraging organizations in a practice of self-reflection.
The goal of the TRHT is “...to unearth and jettison the deeply embedded belief in a hierarchy of human value that sustains racism, to recognize the history and continued trauma resulting from that belief, and to create policy solutions that will sustain healing and structural change...”
Context Creation The TRHT is building the structure, knowledge and language necessary for productive conversations about race and racism in the Kalamazoo Community.
Kalamazoo, Michigan is a city of approximately 76,000 residents. It has a median household income of $42,700, and 29% of its residents live at or below the poverty line. This is slightly more than double the overall poverty rate in the state of Michigan, and the median income is about 75% of the state’s median income. Kalamazoo also has proportionally more Black and Latinx residents than the state (21% Black and 7% Latinx vs 14% and 5%). (US Census Data, CN)
Next Steps
Additional organizations should be studied, with a particular intent on understanding the mechanism for the articulated change.
Introduction and Background
In June 2017, the Kalamazoo Community Foundation (KZCF) was awarded $865,000 to fund activities for Kalamazoo’s Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation enterprise for five years and to set aside a portion to permanently fund racial equity work through the creation of a racial equity endowment. Kalamazoo is one of 14 locations to be selected by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) to build upon WKKF’s goal of advancing racial equity and racial healing at a local level. The strategy of emphasizing racial healing grew out of WKKF’s America Healing work and learnings from Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRC) that have taken place around the world.
Kalamazoo in Context
The Kalamazoo Community Foundation expanded their institutional focus on equity in 2017, addressing equity concerns in education, health, LGBTQ civil rights, economics, and immigration reform. The KZCF recognized philanthropy was not sufficient to elevate Kalamazoo residents and ensure their quality of life, and so expanded their policy efforts.
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Evaluating the Effectiveness of TRHT in Kalamazoo
As a part of the TRHT implementation process, organizers built in evaluation components to track the impact of TRHT. Evaluation outcomes are being used formatively, to inform ongoing processes. Evaluation data are also being collected for internal KZCF use and for reporting to W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Thus far, TRHT Kalamazoo has implemented, and continues to implement, various evaluation processes to review and determine the impact of the enterprise on the local community. Evaluation processes include: All-partner survey Design Team reflection process Design Team interviews Post-event surveys Internal scorecard Attendance measures for public events and Design Team meetings Social media and online communication analytics Tracking media reports
This evaluation report will focus on organizational case studies to explore how TRHT may be impacting participating organizations in the Kalamazoo community. It is concerned primarily with: 1. How do community organizations understand the TRHT and what are their perceptions of the program? a. What do community organizations understand the goals, principles, and values of the TRHT to be? b. How do organizations perceive the TRHT to be implementing these goals, principles, and values?
2. In what ways has the THRT impacted these organizations, and how has this change taken place? 3. How has the TRHT’s partnership with local organizations impacted the Kalamazoo Community We anticipated that TRHT is resulting in changes within organizations and within the community, and that these changes are best captured at this point by the personal experiences of people in partner organizations. As such, we designed this evaluation project to capture this qualitative data. This evaluation was also conducted with an intention for general knowledge diffusion about the TRHT both to the community and organizations with which TRHT interacts and to leadership for the local and national TRHT organization. Weiss (1980) introduced the concept of diffuse knowledge use, rather than instrumental use, of evaluation and research findings. Instrumental use, or the direct application of evaluation findings to policy and programmatic change, may not be the only outcome of evaluations. Knowledge creep; the diffuse spread of novel information about a program through its stakeholders, can also subtly influence policy and decision making. Part of our goal is to provide new information about this new and developing program which may help shape the overall narrative and understanding of its outcomes, practices, and goals to stakeholders and leadership.
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Lastly, careful concern was taken to conduct an anti-racist evaluation. Social research, and perhaps evaluation, has been accused of exploitative practices, and of a hierarchical and authoritative approach to data and knowledge construction (Luchies, 2015). An open, qualitative approach to data creation allows for participants to co-create social knowledge with the researchers or evaluators, thereby honoring the participants’ lived experiences and unique understanding of the program and process (Borg et al., 2012). Evaluation Criteria
The Kalamazoo TRHT is just finishing its phase II implementation. Phase II is a design phase, and the evaluation activities are highly exploratory and formative in nature. One of the goals of the evaluation team is to use the data collected and findings synthesized to inform criteria and standards-setting for phase III and beyond. As such there were no specific criteria identified for this series of evaluative case studies. Lastly, careful concern was taken to conduct an anti-racist evaluation. Social research, and perhaps evaluation, has been accused of exploitative practices, and of a hierarchical and authoritative approach to data and knowledge construction (Luchies, 2015). An open, qualitative approach to data creation allows for participants to co-create social knowledge with the researchers or evaluators, thereby honoring the participants’ lived experiences and unique understanding of the program and process (Borg et al., 2012).
Methods and Methodology Nature of Qualitative Data
Evaluation questions come in a vast array of types, mostly focused on the how or why; what a program is doing and how is that change coming about, or what are the specific causes of the change (Yin, 2018). This is sometimes a question of attribution; what effects can reasonably be tied to the program and programmatic activities (Davidson, 2005). In other cases, a question of describing the program in new and illuminating ways leads to a deeper understanding of the program’s methods, outcomes, and processes. Qualitative data can create thick and deep descriptions of programs, as well as setting a groundwork for causal inferences (Stake, 1995). Soliciting focused information, in the words of stakeholders, can provide a richer picture of a program’s many facets than quantitative measures, such as surveys and participation numbers, can do on their own. Case Studies
Case studies are typified by a narrow scope, multiple data sources, and a context-driven analysis. Case studies are time, setting, and context dependent; findings are not necessarily intended for generalizable use (Creswell and Poth, 2018). Even so, they can be a powerful tool to understand the complex mechanics, processes, and outcomes of a program or event. They are of particular use in unique situations where applying a more general analysis and method would be inappropriate (Yin, 2018).
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Rationale
While the TRHT is a national grant, it is a new, and unique program in the United States. There is not a historical programmatic background from which to base further evaluation, and each of the 14 sites is completely embedded in the communities they serve. Each site has autonomy to administer the grant and program in the way that best serves their community. It is also a complex project, which has dozens of stakeholders on design teams and leadership, and dozens more implementing policies, engaging in community projects. The narrow focus of this study — how community organizations have been impacted by their relationship with the TRHT — in addition to the overall complexity and unique nature of the program make a case study approach appropriate.
A Global Crisis
During the data collection phase of this project the global COVID-19 pandemic, and resultant state-wide stay-at-home orders, made initial plans for in-person interviews and focus groups impossible. This also disrupted the planned activities and meetings of many of the organizations from the sample. Data collection moved to online video conferencing, and the timeline for the project was extended into summer 2020. Focus Groups
We anticipated that focus groups would provide particular benefits for examining process outcomes (Kreuger, 2015).
Focus groups would allow evaluators to gain multiple perspectives about organizations based on organizational role and degree of Selecting Cases participation in TRHT activities. Group During the design team reflection process conversations could also aid recall and prompt conducted before the organizational case studies, memory about specific events or organizational evaluators ask design team members to share processes in a way that interviews may not. organizations they had worked with as part of Focus groups would also allow evaluators to their design team. This generated the initial list of observe interactions and effects of possible organizations to investigate. This list was organizational participants. shared with the TRHT leadership team, who provided additional organizations to contact Evaluators have, thus far, conducted three based on their direct experience. focus groups with two organizations. Groups were scheduled by contacting and scheduling The list was prioritized with the input of the TRHT directly with the organizations or with the aid program director. These organizations were of TRHT staff. The first focus group was a pilot engaged in several sectors, from health care, conducted in person that included seven community activism, public safety, art, education, participants. media, and housing. The case studies are ongoing. As of April 2020, data collection on two organizational case studies has been completed and more are being scheduled.
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Two participants have been participating in TRHT on a regular basis as part of design teams; one participant recently joined the racial healing cohort; one participated early on in TRHT’s development but has since not participated in official TRHT activities; the rest have not participated in many TRHT activities, if any. First, evaluators introduced themselves, had participants review the informed consent, and gained consent to record the focus group for use by the evaluators for transcription. To begin the focus group itself, evaluators asked each participant to talk about their experience with and their relationship to TRHT. Participants were then asked a series of questions in the following order: 1. What is your understanding of the goals of TRHT? 2. What is your understanding of the primary values of TRHT? 3. What would you say are practices that TRHT uses? 4. Do you know of any org policies that have changed as a result of TRHT? 5. Do you know of any org practices that have changed as a result of TRHT? 6. Do you know of org values that have changed as a result of TRHT? We found that the question order was not conducive to sparking conversation. We asked a question about policy changes and participants had a difficult time answering this question. Participants found it easier to discuss practices. After significant discussions about practices, participants were then able to consider organizational policies.
This realization led evaluators to change the question order and modify our methods (Maxwell, 2009) such that practices came first, followed by values and then policy. The second focus group was with the same organization. The focus group was conducted online using Webex. Because of the COVID-19 stay-at-home order to protect people’s health, we attempted to conduct the focus group remotely and record it. This focus group consisted of a review of the data that were collected and analyzed from the first focus group. This data review served two purposes. First, we wanted to verify our interpretation. Second, we wanted to probe further into the codes and quotes that our analysis highlighted. Evaluators presented the analysis that evaluators conducted of the first focus group transcripts. The goal of this data review was to probe further into findings and to uncover details about process in order to understand how changes we presented were taking place. We presented a process map that was created from process coding the first focus group transcript. In particular, we had focus group participants focus on the top half of the process map. We wanted to explore what participants meant for particular codes and how they thought the TRHT process was working as guided by this map. For example, for the codes ‘attending meetings’ and ‘building alignment’ (connected by an arrow), we asked "What about the meetings do you think might be contributing to building alignment?” For the code “TRHT building capacity in participants” we presented corresponding quotes and asked what capacity TRHT was building.
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One code was deleted because it did not resonate with participants. With additional time we could have worked to verify whether the rest of the process map was reflective of their participants’ understandings and delved deeper into particular codes. Interviews
We have not conducted any one-on-one interviews thus far. For ongoing case studies, we plan to use interviews where appropriate. The decision will be made based on the availability or lack of availability of focus group participants. Additionally, we plan to use the analysis of transcripts to guide our selection of follow-up interviews to probe into events or processes that could inform how TRHT is impacting organizations and the community. Observation
One of the evaluators is also a participant in TRHT. The various roles that this evaluator occupies allows opportunities to participate in and observe meetings. Observations from TRHT activities have been used to inform case selection and to contextualize focus group data within the larger community. The diversity of participants has allowed evaluators to corroborate stories and situate specific focus group conversations within larger processes that are happening throughout the community. Analysis
Focus groups were transcribed using temi.com. Audio recordings were uploaded to this automated transcription website. An evaluator then listened to the recording and made corrections to the automated transcription. Transcripts were then analyzed by the evaluators using a combination of in vivo coding and process coding (Saldaña, 2016).
Findings
Findings from the three focus groups we conducted point to several themes and patterns regarding the impact of TRHT. Some impacts point to changes in internal practices, a reorientation of values, and a limited impact on policy. Below, we will provide summaries of several themes and supporting quotes. “Ums” and repeated words have been deleted to make for easier reading. In some quotes words have been added to provide context. In such cases, added words are included in brackets. What is TRHT Doing?
Focus group participants were asked what they thought TRHT’s goals, practices and values were. Results suggest that participants believe that the purpose of TRHT is to build alignment around racism, to mobilize stakeholders and resources to address racism, to build relationship and repair relationships across the community. Alignment building Focus group participants perceive TRHT to be engaging in alignment building around antiracism and racial healing. “it's very much like alignment and planning and realignment” “In my experience, there's been lots of meetings” “collaboration of different people” “... it feels like throughout the organization we're trying to do this alignment around specific structural racism and our overall equity work.” “... [a] deeper [antiracist] analysis that we're seeing in, inside Foundation and in the community.”
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“... I'd like to think that we could have had that deep analysis in that deep of a conversation [about COVID-19 racial disparities] eventually anyway. But the fact that it's happening in real time is in some way attributed all attributable to the TRHT as well as other ARTT (Antiracism Transformation Team) conversations on the fact that it was led by trustees. You know, it didn't have to get teed up and, and force-facilitated by staff.”
Building inter-organization relationships “Once TRHT started and once we got on the economic and separation teams…I noticed that our work with the city escalated”
Creating and Repairing Relationships Many participants discussed the ways in which TRHT was aiding in building new relationships. TRHT activities appeared to contribute to relationship-building in several ways. The Inviting people to the table process of convening by TRHT is an important TRHT is providing opportunity for those who factor. Convenings, Design Team meetings, have not previously been engaged in antiracism TRHT events, Leadership Team meetings, etc. work to participate. provide a bounded process for people to build relationships. An emphasis of this process is “And I, I think that the strategy of that is trying always relationship building. to invite people in who may be assumed that ”TRHT forces us to be in a space where we they don't have a connection to race. Like a have to deal with each other.” lot of the white folks in community.” “And so doing that like meeting after meeting after meeting and just being in the Promoting self-reflection room with the same people or like close to “I don't think we changed our written policy the same people each time. And specifically anywhere…But…we started living in more talking about race and racism" real ways, more real, deeper ways…in “It forced us to be in relationship with experiential ways” people that we couldn't get relationships “we collectively were forced, nurtured, with before because [TRHT] was saying to encouraged…to take the hard look at us, and them, ‘you will be in in the space ourselves” with these people’.” “... being in proximity for so much time I Accountability think was part of what helped that deeper “there were people who were not the usual investment in relationships with the people suspects” I was spending more time with because I “I think TRHT kept and keeps the city was in... it added to my capacity to engage accountable in a way that none of the in conflict with them or like willingness or nonprofits have ever done before” you know...”
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“... unlikely people that would never have crossed paths and people are coming into a relationship in a different way.” “I just think how people are being, um, invited into different type of relationship that maybe not otherwise would not have been in relationship with one another” “TRHT put people in the room with folks from [our organization] so that they couldn't just rely on things they had heard about [our organization].” “TRHT created the context where they had to deal with [Black women in the community].” A Changing Ecosystem Focus group data suggests that TRHT activities are changing the ecosystem in a way that strengthens and accelerates existing antiracism work. Antiracism organizations are seeing increased requests for training while the Foundation is receiving increased requests to fund antiracism training. “We haven't actually had to organize to get new business the way that we used to.", referring to antiracism workshop participants and workshop requests by organizations. “... we are seeing more and more nonprofits approaching us for support, for diversity, equity and inclusion training. And, in many of those cases, they are organizations that have representation on one of the TRHT work teams. And so I think individuals are engaging and fostering their own individual journeys and then they're taking that back to their organizations.”
“... there are a lot of practices that are indirectly connected to TRHT and that I wouldn't try to separate what's attributable to TRHT versus other things that we've been doing. So, it's all, anything that I would give as an example is being either reinforced or accelerated because of the TRHT work.” “And I do think that at least some of that is coming out of a shift in the overall context within our community. Because like one organism, it's really hard for one organization to grow in certain ways without the context around them shifting.” Uncovering the Processes of Change: How is change happening?
After our second focus group with ORG1, we tried to capture the processes that were contributing to change and map them to capture the sequence of processes that were taking place. The process map, below, shows how funding was used to convene parties, which “forced” them to develop relationships that allowed for conversations about racism and healing. These conversations serve to build alignment among participating organizations. Greater alignment around racism and healing contributed to changing political relationships, increasing demand for antiracism training, and supported internal organizational reflection. Greater demand for antiracism freed up staff to focus on internal concerns, as opposed to spending time organizing to generate interest in antiracism. As a result, the organization has been able to dedicate more time to focusing on staff wellbeing.
PAGE 90 Changing organization structure
The second organization that we conducted a focus group with showed substantive changes in structure that are contributing to a change in accountability to the community. In many cases, focus group participants suggested that it was difficult to attribute changes to TRHT versus other equity work that they’ve been engaging in. The impact of TRHT ranges from amplifying and accelerating previous equity work to direct impact on structures, relationships, and use of resources. The first aspect of structural change we will note is the impact of the presence of the TRHT Director role. This formalized role appears to serve as a connector to issues occurring in the community. Information about issues impacting community members who participate in Design Teams, make their way to the TRHT Director, which are then reported to Foundation staff. “I think it's having a presence. I would certainly say by TRHT Director being at Foundation and having her presence and her sharing what's happening and what the design teams are working on or what's going on in the community.” This communication structure creates the opportunity for Foundation staff to connect donors to community issues more quickly than has previously occurred.
The ongoing activities of TRHT and the Design Teams provides an opportunity for donors to participate in equity work and connect their interests to community activities. “we're getting much closer to the work and providing donors with an opportunity to join us at a particular event or around a particular issue.” This has had the effect of moving from a theoretical conversation about doing the right thing to practical implementation of values. “It feels like it's taken it less up from theoretical to more practical, practical implementation of anti-racism work.” “I think prior were like theoretical, this is the right thing to do. And now it can be very practical.” Below is a process map that captures this process of connecting community activities to donor interests. A second structural change of note is a shift in accountability toward community members. Previously, accountability was directed toward donors. Equity work has led to a shift toward increased accountability to community members.
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Focus group results indicate that this shift is more than conceptual. It is also structural. One participant indicated that: “We as an organization have begun to engage external partners in some of our internal work. I mean the line is just a little more blurry, as opposed to what's internal work versus external work. Which I think is, a good thing.” Community members have been invited into the organization to influence decisions. The factors contributing to this accountability shift appear to be: Invitation of community members to participate in planning conversations The emphasis on relationship-building of TRHT Community member and Foundation staff participation on TRHT Design Teams Internal Antiracism Transformation Team composed of community members and Foundation staff This blurring of internal and external work appears to be changing the frequency, intensity, and quality in which community members interact with Foundation staff. This appears to be resulting in greater responsiveness to and awareness of community needs.
The building of authentic relationships in the context of TRHT and other equity work creates a stronger sense of accountability to community members, particularly with those who are participating in these bodies of work. "… I'm working right alongside community members as I know others in the organization are. And then again, when folks who are in our space in a different way, it's a lot harder to ignore segments of our population or to say we don't see you or we don't need to be accountable to you. It's a lot harder to say “no” in the face of trying to say, you know, trying to make the decision about what's right and in our position and our leadership in the community […] when you're in relationship with... When people are at a distance, it's easy to either fear them or to say no to them easier in some ways or to only think about your own interests. Right? And so, when you're closer in relationship with people, I think it forces a different way of understanding community need. And, all of a sudden, these issues become intertwined with, with your own in a more real and tangible way […] so it just forces a whole different conversation, relationship. And then that accountability piece.” “... TRHT has us asking the question. To whom are we accountable?”
PAGE 92 Example of Shifting Accountability: The Ianelli fountain
In early 2019, the City of Kalamazoo removed a controversial fountain depicting an indigenous person kneeling in front of an armed white settler. The Foundation was holding on to donations to restore the fountain while many community members wanted the fountain removed. This event offers a clear example of the tension between accountability to donors and accountability to community members. Foundation staff were balancing the tension of living into the values of TRHT, to “jettison the belief in a hierarchy of human value” and the corresponding structures that maintain these beliefs and keeping an agreement to restore the fountain, which symbolized the violence and genocide perpetrated against indigenous peoples, at the request of donors. “I think the Ianelli fountain is an amazing example of the tensions and complexities within the community foundation. Because while for the community, uh, the organization would want that removed, we had the complexity, we were holding the fund that was for the restoration of the fountain. “So, we're actually receiving gifts for the restoration of that fountain at the same time advocating for its removal. And so how do you hold both of those under the same roof?”
Participants suggested that TRHT played a key role in allowing for the fountain’s removal. "… back when the Ianelli and fountain conflict was underway, […] You know, our sense of who in the community was the Kalamazoo community foundation accountable to and some of the other conversations around the housing ordinances. Um, I just, I, I feel like without the TRHT the pressure for the community foundation to be thinking more specifically and more broadly about our accountability is... Might not be there […] TRHT has us asking the question. To whom are we accountable?” “Seeing the harm that the presence of the fountain was, was causing for marginalized communities.” “I think TRHT highly influenced how that conversation went forward around the fountain.” We think that this event reflects concrete ways in which racist structures and narratives are structurally supported by institutions and communities. Pressure from funders to maintain racist narratives and symbols; previous commitments to fund the maintenance of such symbols; financial incentives to maintain the status quo. It also provides a hopeful example of how structures can be built to resist and change racist narratives.
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The direct relationships between community members and Foundation staff built through TRHT processes; commitment by Foundation staff to live into TRHT values; the mobilization of resources toward antiracism; the increased capacity to manage the conflicts that arise from resisting racism on a structural level show how structured forms of resistance can lead to change. Our overall impressions of results thus far
Organizations were able to articulate a number of ways the TRHT operates in Kalamazoo, how it has impacted their organization and how they see it impacting the Kalamazoo community. Major themes of these findings include relationship building, accountability, and context creation. Relationship Building
Through the work of TRHT, organizations are seeing a focus on relationships; building, repairing and deepening. The emphasis on relationships is creating opportunities for people to work collaboratively and laying a foundation for structured processes that promote the sharing of information and interests.
Accountability
Multiple participants noted that the TRHT is holding the city, foundation, and organizations accountable to the people of Kalamazoo in a new way — specifically regarding race and racism. Organizations are engaging in building structured processes that prioritize increasing the influence of historically marginalized community members. TRHT is also encouraging organizations to engage in the practice of self-reflection. Context Creation
The TRHT is building the structure, knowledge, and language necessary for productive conversations about race and racism in the Kalamazoo Community. This change in context is growing and accelerating antiracism work already present in the community. Next Steps
Further case studies with a particular intent on understanding the mechanism for the articulated change will expand on findings thus far.
PAGE 94 References
Borg, M., Karlsson, B., Kim, H. S., McCormack, B. (2012). Opening up for Many Voices in Knowledge Construction. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 13(1). Creswell, J. W. and Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches, 4th edition. Sage Publications. Davidson, E. J. (2005). Evaluation Methodology Basics. Sage Publications. Krueger, R. A. (2015). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research / Richard A. Krueger, University of Minnesota, Professor Emeritus (5th edition). Thousand Oaks, California : SAGE. Luchies, T. (2015). Towards an insurrectionary power/knowledge: Movement-Relevance, antioppression, prefiguration. Social Movement Studies, 14(5), 523-538. Maxwell, J. (2009). Designing a Qualitative Study. In L. Bickman & D. Rog, The SAGE Handbook of Applied Social Research Methods (pp. 214–253). SAGE Publications, Inc. Mertens, D. M. (2008). Transformative Research and Evaluation. Guilford Publications. Miron, M. (2004). Evaluation Report Checklist. Saldaña, J. (2016). The coding manual for qualitative researchers / Johnny Saldaña. (3E [Third edition]). Los Angeles, Calif. Stake, R. E. (1995). The Art of Case Study Research. Sage Publications. Treviño, J. (April 26, 2019). Kalamazoo Removes Sculpture Depicting Armed White Settler Towering Over a Native American. Weiss, C. H. (1980). Knowledge Creep and Decision Accretion. Knowledge, 1(3), 381–404. U.S. Census Bureau (2018). American Community Survey 1-year estimates. Retrieved from Census Reporter Profile page for Kalamazoo, MI. Yin, R. K. (2018). Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods, 6th Edition. Sage Publications.
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APPENDIX C TRHT Media Coverage 2017 (9 appearances) June 28 — "W.K. Kellogg Foundation announces 14 Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation engagements throughout the United States" by Rebecca Noricks of WKKF June 30 "Foundation awarding $24M to fight racism in US" in Grand Rapids Business Journal (AP) "Kellogg Foundation grants $24M for racial healing work" by Malachi Barrett of Mlive.com "Kellogg Foundation to grant $24M to support racial healing efforts" by Dillion Davis of Battle Creek Enquirer "Foundation to award about $24M grant to fight racism in US" in WLNS (AP) "4 Michigan cities to share $24M grant to fight racism" in The Detroit News (AP) "$24M in grants aim to heal effects of racism" video on WOOD-TV (Grand Rapids, MI) Dec. 8 — "Kama Mitchell and Sholanna Lewis, Truth Racial Healing and Transformation" on the Lori Moore Show, WWMT December 18 — "Take advantage of global engagement opportunities in January" by Korey Force of WMU News 2018 (9 appearances) Jan. 14 — "Honoring our shared humanity" by Martha Gonzales-Cortes of Kalamazoo Community Foundation; "National Day for Racial Healing" by Tim Abramowski, WKZO Jan. 16 "West Mich. takes part in National Day of Racial Healing" on WWMT "Group: Racial healing requires an end to stereotypes as school mascots, history lessons" by Franque Thompson of WWMT March 20 — "Grants fund research on Kalamazoo poverty and racial equity in housing" by Malachi Barrett of Mlive April 16 — "Creating Greater Equity Through TRHT" in KZCF 2017 Annual Report June 1 — "Pushing for change: YWCA of Kalamazoo to host Stand Against Racism rally" on WWMT June 7 — "Have we made the right difference as community foundations?" – Carrie Pickett-Erway, KZCF Summer Update Newsletter Oct. 25 — "Art Beat: Youth fight racism by reading books" by Zinta Aistars of WMUK 102.1
2019 (17 appearances)
Jan. 16 — "Kalamazoo remembers Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior" by Zoe Jackson of WMUK Jan. 17 — "WSW: Healing circles central to new racial healing project" by Earlene McMichael of WMUK; "Celebration is Focus of Kalamazoo's National Day of Racial Healing" Jan. 19— "National Day of Racial Healing event to be held in Kalamazoo" by Winter Keefer of MLive
PAGE 96 Jan. 21 — "Read the text of MLK's 'lost' Kalamazoo speech" by Dustin Dwyer of Michigan Radio; "‘Keep pressing,’ leaders urge in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day" by Kayla Miller of MLive Jan. 25 — "Affordable tiny home neighborhood planned in Kalamazoo" by Malachi Barrett of MLive Feb. 21 — "Kalamazoo's National Day of Racial Healing March 5" (outlet has since dissolved);"Kalamazoo's National Day of Racial Healing event rescheduled for March" by Winter Keefer of MLive April 18 — "KVCC police academy offers cadets unique training on race relations and healing" by Lauren Edwards of Fox 17 June 15 — "Community Foundation Update" in Philanthropy News Digest; "Neighborhood News" in Neighborhood Association in Michigan June 23 — "Foundation joins national effort to identify workplace inclusion best practices" by Jane C. Parikh of MiBiz June 28 — "Change Ups" in Grand Rapids Business Journal Sept. 5 — "Just Talk: It Shrinks Racial Divide, Expert Says" by Earlene McMichael of WMUK Sept. 25 — "Kalamazoo Truth And Racial Healing Endowment Grows"; "$1M endowment supports Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation program in Kalamazoo"
2020 (43 appearances)
Jan. 20 — "Events set for National Day of Racial Healing in Kalamazoo, Battle Creek" by Kayla Miller of MLive Jan. 21 — "National Day of Racial Healing events to take place throughout West Michigan" by Heidi Paxson on WWMT; "Kalamazoo hosting National Day of Racial Healing events" on WKZO Jan. 22 — "Three Ideas Could Shift Housing From Outputs to Outcomes" by Kimberly Burrowes in Housing Matters Feb. 12, 2020 — "Black and Blue: Police Cadet Training Designed to Bridge Communities of Color and Police" by Kalamazoo Valley Community College Feb. 14 — "Kalamazoo vice mayor advocates for ordinance against housing discrimination" on WKZO Feb. 15 — "Proposal would ban landlord discrimination against ex-offenders in Kalamazoo" by Brad Devereaux of MLive Feb. 24 — "TRHT Kalamazoo Collaborates on City Ordinance to Address Structural Racism in Housing" by Council of Michigan Foundations; "Officials, community groups push to end housing discrimination in Kalamazoo" by Julie Dunmire of Fox 17 Feb. 25 — "Kalamazoo Debates Housing Rights" by John McNeill of WMUK March 2 — "Kalamazoo wants input on how to stop racial housing discrimination" by Brad Devereaux of MLive March 3 — "Kalamazoo city officials asking for public input on housing proposal" on WKZO April 6 — "Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation Kalamazoo Launches Virtual Healing Project in Response to COVID-19" by Council of Michigan Foundations; "Kalamazoo 'Virtual Healing Project' Targets Racism" by Andrew Robins of WMUK
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June 11 — "Kalamazoo's Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation process builds resources for changemakers" by Kathy Jennings in Second Wave Media June 17 — "Virtual Event is planned to celebrate Juneteenth in Kalamazoo" by Al Jones in Second Wave Media June 18 — "Kalamazoo's systemic inequities in housing and efforts to correct them" by Mark Wedel of Second Wave Media June 22 — "Michigan Communities Declare Racism a Public Health Issue" by Council of Michigan Foundations July 2 — "Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation" in PRRAC Newsletter July 9 — "Local collaboratives respond to community priorities" in W.K. Kellogg Foundation's At A Glance July 14 — "Project organized to tell history of racism in Kalamazoo in cultural context" by Jason Heeres of WMMT July 29 — "What does police training look like in Kalamazoo, Michigan?" by Raine Kuch of Public Media Net Aug. 11 — "Kalamazoo hosting virtual town hall on ordinances to address housing discrimination" by Brad Devereaux of MLive Aug. 13 — "It's complicated: In cities nationwide, including Kalamazoo, barriers can keep people homeless" by Patrese Nicole; "Kalamazoo’s director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is on the job at a critical time" by Mark Wedel Aug. 17 — "TRHT Kalamazoo Advocates for Housing Ordinances to Address Structural Racism" by Council of Michigan Foundations Sept. 8 — "Kalamazoo City Commissioners unanimously pass fair housing ordinances" by WMMT, also appeared on CW 7 Sept. 9 — "New housing protections pass with support from TRHT Kalamazoo and ISAAC" by Council of Michigan Foundations Sept. 13 — "Community leaders: Look at the 'why' behind increasing gun violence" by Genevieve Grippo of WWMT Sept. 15 — "Kalamazoo invites citizens to apply for new Civil Rights Board" by Brad Devereaux of MLive Sept. 26 — "Kalamazoo rally amplifies Black women’s voices" by Jacqueline Francis of WOODTV Sept. 27 — "Kalamazoo expands housing protections, offers loan program for housing, nonprofit, equity projects" by Kate Carlson of MiBiz Sept. 30 — "Police Academy Remains at the Forefront of Diversity Education - Training Goes Virtual Due to COVID-19" in Cision PRWeb Nov. 2 — "TRHT Kalamazoo pushes to expand anti-racism training in Michigan police academies" by Council of Michigan Foundations Nov. 8 — "TRHT Kalamazoo Encourages Expansion of Anti-Racism Training for MI Law Enforcement" by Council of Michigan Foundations Nov. 11 — "TRHT Kalamazoo spotlights resilience and resistance in upcoming Black Empowerment Week" by Council of Michigan Foundations
PAGE 98 Nov. 12 — "Resilience, resistance and persistence themes of upcoming Black Empowerment Week" by Ryan Boldrey of MLive Nov. 13 — "Kalamazoo area police academy expands racial and diversity training to better prepare cadets" in MLive Nov. 15 — "Kalamazoo Leaders Host Black Empowerment Week" by Dana Whyte of WOODTV Dec. 7 — "Kzoo program aims to connect therapists of color to community" by Dana Whyte of WOODTV Dec. 8 — "Treating Race-Based Trauma" by Andrew Robins of WMUK Dec. 10 — "New Kalamazoo area program offers access to therapy for people of color experiencing racial trauma" by Mark Wedel of Second Wave Media Dec. 24 — "Pilot program launched to connect Black and Brown therapists to clients of color" by Lindsay Moore of MLive
2021 (14 appearances)
Jan. 5 — "WMU hosting virtual Martin Luther King Jr. events starting this week" by Will Kriss of WKZO; "Martin Luther King Jr. remembered with virtual events, community read" by Deanne Puca of WMU News Jan. 6 — "WMU announces virtual Martin Luther King Jr. Day events" by Ben Gretchko of the Western Herald Jan. 8 — "Artists, Advocates & Thought Leaders to Convene for W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Fifth Annual National Day of Racial Healing" by W.K. Kellogg Foundation Jan. 13 — "Kalamazoo State Theatre private tours offer closer look at 93-year-old landmark" by Lindsay Moore of MLive Jan. 18 — "TRHT of Kalamazoo hosts virtual healing event for the community" by Gabriel Balderramas of WWMT Jan. 19 — "5th Annual National Day of Racial Healing will be celebrated online" by Cara Lieurance of WMUK; "TRHT Kalamazoo hosts Twitter chat in support of National Day of Racial Healing" by Sarah Mazurek of the Western Herald Jan. 20 — "TRHT Kalamazoo celebrates National Day of Racial Healing at Kalamazoo State Theatre" by Nicholas Besta Jan. 28 — "National Day of Racial Healing in Kalamazoo examines healing & resistance" by Mark Wedel of Second Wave Media Feb. 4 — "Project Seeks A More Inclusive Kalamazoo History" by Andrew Robins of WMUK March 14 — "Leaders hope to mitigate racial trauma with minority populations in Kalamazoo" by Maria Serrano of WWMT April 30 — "Change-Ups" in Grand Rapids Business Journal May 16 — "Kalamazoo groups want public access to all arrests and outcomes, with location and racial data" by Brad Devereaux of MLive July 23 — "Mutually Inclusive: Kalamazoo Community Foundation" by Shelley Irwin of WGVU Aug 18 — "Brave Space event hosted by YWCA Kalamazoo and ONEplace one of a series of antiracism opportunities" by Casey Grooten of Second Wave Media
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APPENDIX D: WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY COURSE FLYER
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About Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation Kalamazoo
Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation Kalamazoo, hosted by the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, is a community-based movement to bring about transformational and sustainable change to address the historic and contemporary effects of racism. Kalamazoo is one of 13 TRHT locations nationwide, and one in four in Michigan (the others include Flint, Lansing, and Battle Creek). TRHT was launched in 2016 by W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Learn more at trhtkzoo.org. About Kalamazoo Community Foundation
Kalamazoo Community Foundation, established in 1925, envisions Kalamazoo County being the most equitable place to live, with the mission to mobilize people, resources and expertise and to advance racial, social and economic justice. Learn more at kalfound.org.
402 E. Michigan Ave Kalamazoo, MI 49008
trhtkzoo.org trht@kalfound.org