LEDA Livestream
Please join us each Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. (EST) for livestream discussions between LEDA Executive Director, Gloria Lara, and community members regarding salient issues around inclusion and equity. On Facebook Live (Page: Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance) and YouTube Live (Channel: LEDA Ethnic Diversity).
Archive of previous Livestreamed conversations:
June 3, 2020: A conversation with Rev. Dr. Denise Kingdom Grier about racial injustice. Pastor Grier is the Lead Pastor, Pastor of Embracing at Maple Avenue Ministries, Holland, MI.
Resources mentioned by Pastor Grier:
- Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Social Justice, Paul Kivel (Book)
- Too Heavy a Yoke: Black Women and the Burden of Strength, Chanequa Walker-Barnes (Book)
- The Very Good Gospel: How Everything Wrong Can Be Made Right, Lisa Sharon Harper (Book)
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander (Book)
- 13th, Ava DuVernay (Documentary)
- The White Privilege Conference (Conference: https://www.whiteprivilegeconference.com/)
- Holland Area Faith Leaders for Justice (Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/hollandflj/)
June 10, 2020: A conversation with Vanessa Greene about how we can educate ourselves on the inequities that racism creates in our communities and our places of work. Vanessa is the Associate Dean of Students and Director of the Center for Diversity & Inclusion, Hope College, Holland, MI.
Resources mentioned by Vanessa:
- While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement, Carolyn McKinstry (Book)
- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass (Book)
- Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know, Malcolm Gladwell (Book)
- I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, Austin Channing Brown (Book)
- Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, Joy DeGruy Leary (Book)
- Raise Your Voice: Why We Stay Silent and How to Speak Up, Kathy Khang (Book)
- In the Country We Love: My Family Divided, Diane Guerrero and Michelle Burford (Book)
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander (Book)
- The Time Is Now: A Call to Uncommon Courage, Joan Chittister (Book)
- Dear White Christians: For Those Still Longing for Racial Reconciliation, Jennifer Harvey (Book)
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, Robin DiAngelo (Book)
- The Bible
- Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, Bryan Stevenson (Book and Movie)
Suggested “Immediate and Consistent” Action Items:
- Meet with your Commissioners and hold them accountable for serving you.
- Join committees that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and efforts.
- Run for political office.
- Donate to organizations doing this work.
A conversation with Dr. Fred Johnson III from Hope College in Holland, Michigan explored, among other topics, the history of the Black Church in the United States and how it connects to the world today.
Resource referenced:
- Jim Crow of the North (Documentary)
On Wednesday, June 24, we spoke with Kim Sims, former Councilwoman and Mayor of Muskegon Heights, MI. We discussed, among other topics, her experiences as a Black mayor, particularly as she worked with other government officials, locally, statewide, and nationally.
On Wednesday, July 8, we chatted with Jon Covington , owner and proprietor of WJWC 97.3 The Beat, an urban radio station in West Michigan. Jon is the creator and director of “Black Man”, a documentary featured at the 2020 Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles. He is also the founder of Men of Color Read, a non-profit literacy program in West Michigan and Southern California.
Note: There were no Facebook Live events on Wednesday, July 15th, nor Wednesday, July 22nd due to the proximity of LEDA’s Summit on Race and Inclusion which took place on July 21st.
On Wednesday, July 29th, we talked with Yah-Hanna Jenkins Leys of Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates, Holland, MI. We talked about her experiences as a Black immigrant to the United States and about Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates (LIA). Additionally, Yah-Hanna mentioned:
On August 5th, we spoke with Henry Cherry about his community work, as well as, his experience as a co-organizer of George’s Peaceful Unity Demonstration march on June 7th in Holland, Michigan. Additionally, Henry spoke about:
- What DO I Do NEXT? – Ally to Accomplice weekly conversations on Facebook
- Kids Hope program
August 12th, our conversation was with Shutaveya Ward. We discussed her community work, as well as, her experience as a co-organizer of George’s Peaceful Unity Demonstration march on June 7th in Holland, Michigan. Shutaveya also talked about the school-to-prison pipeline.
August 19th, we spoke with Charisse Mitchell , CEO of the YWCA West Central Michigan, based in Grand Rapids. We discussed the YWCA efforts in eliminating racism as well as how COVID-19 has affected safe environments for women and children.
August 26th, we spoke with Kavy Lenon and Joe Jonaitis. Kavy is the Commissioner – Michigan Asian Pacific American Affairs, and Joe is a Partner Specialist, U.S. Census Bureau. We focused on the importance of the 2020 Census to our communities and our guests answered questions revolving around the census.
September 2nd and September 9th, we spoke with Liz De La Luz and Robyn Afrik. Liz is the Vice President of Community Impact – Greater Ottawa County United Way, and Robyn is the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – Ottawa County. We talked about the United Way 21-Day Equity Challenge and shared our reflections and observations.
September 16th, we spoke with Liz De La Luz, Robyn Afrik, Al Vanderberg, and Patrick Moran. Liz and Patrick are from the Greater Ottawa County United Way and Robyn and Al are from Ottawa County Administration. Al is Ottawa County Administrator and Patrick is the President of the Greater Ottawa County United Way. We talked about the United Way 21-Day Equity Challenge and shared our reflections and observations. This is the last in a series of three conversations.
September 23rd, we spoke with Jose Mireles and Yadah Ramirez. Jose is the Board Chair and Yadah is the Programs Director for Latin Americans United for Progress (LAUP). We talked about the history and future of LAUP. National Hispanic Heritage Month is from September 15 to October 15. For the next four weeks, our Community Conversations will focus on the Hispanic/Latinx communities.
September 30th, we spoke with Ana Jose, Program Manager for Transformando West Michigan, a West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Program. We talked about how this program helps advance local Hispanic businesses. National Hispanic Heritage Month is from September 15 to October 15. Our Community Conversations are focusing on the Hispanic/Latinx communities for the next few weeks.
October 7th, we spoke with Milinda Ysasi. Milinda, Second Ward Commissioner for the City of Grand Rapids and Executive Director, The SOURCE, shared her journey from being a community volunteer to being elected Grand Rapids Second Ward Commissioner. Since National Hispanic Heritage Month is from September 15 to October 15, our LEDA Community Conversations are focusing on the Hispanic/Latinx communities for the next few weeks. We discussed in this conversation the importance of becoming involved in the decision-making bodies of our communities and governments.
October 21st, we spoke with Andrea Mireles. Andrea is the Assistant Director of the TRIO Upward Bound Program at Hope College. In addition to sharing some information about the TRIO Upward Bound Program with us, Andrea talked about El Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), and how it is NOT the Mexican Halloween, but rather focuses on remembrance of family and friends who have died.
October 28th, our guest was Michelle Jokisch Polo, Latinx Stories Reporter & Weekend Edition host for WKAR, a National Public Radio member station in East Lansing, MI. Many of you might remember Michelle from WGVU, National Public Radio, Grand Rapids, MI. Michelle shared with us how she came to Public Radio. We discussed her new assignments and the importance of having Latinx voices from across the state of Michigan heard.
November 11th, our guest was Joané Booth, a Partnerships Manager with the Michigan League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, a non-partisan organization. Joané assists with building strong authentic and intentional relationships with diverse communities and businesses across the state of Michigan. Most recently, Joané served as a non-partisan poll challenger in Detroit for the 2020 U.S. presidential election. She was “in the room where it happened”. Her role was clear: ensure all votes were counted without interruption regardless of who they were for. She shared her observations with us.