Dr. Michael Eric Dyson to speak as part of Diversity Lecture series

Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, an internationally known scholar of race, religion and contemporary culture, will kick off Grand Rapids Community College’s 2021 Diversity Lecture Series on Jan. 27.

Dr. Michael Eric Dyson

Dyson, a Detroit native and author of more than 20 books, will speak on the topic “Pandemic, postelection blues and culture: Where do we go from here?” in the virtual event, which starts at 6 p.m.

The event is hosted by GRCC’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. You can register online.

“Dr. Dyson is a preeminent scholar, author, and thought leader,” said B. Afeni McNeely Cobham, GRCC’s chief equity and inclusion officer. “What makes him compelling is his ability to connect the world of academia, which can be intimidating, to broader, intergenerational audiences.

“It is fitting that the Diversity Lecture Series, which has a long-standing record of hosting influential guests, is the medium through which GRCC and the Grand Rapids community can come together.”

Dyson is a Georgetown University sociology professor and a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times. He has won NAACP Image Awards for outstanding nonfiction literary work, an American Book Award and a Southern Book Prize.

His most recent book, “Long Time Coming: Reckoning with Race in America,” was published in December.

The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is partnering with the community organization Mus(ed), a to present Dyson with the Ujima Impact Award at the event. The award recognizes extraordinary commitment and contribution to research, scholarship, artistic expression, and service that uplifts the experiences of communities of color.

Mus(ed) is a nonprofit branch of Muse GR, an interactive art gallery and event space in Grand Rapids.

Diversity Lecture Series goes virtual

Most of the 2020-2021 Diversity Lecture Series offerings will be virtual.

Here’s the schedule:

Sept. 3 at 6 p.m. — Michael Skolnik, a leader in the new social justice movement, co-founded The Soze Agency, which works with companies, nonprofit organizations, foundations and movements to create campaigns for compassion, authenticity and equity.  You can register for this virtual event online.

Oct. 20 at 2:30 p.m. — Tuyet M. Le, former executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, now serves as a consultant to nonprofit and government organizations. You can register for this event online.

April 6, 6:30 p.m. at Fountain Street Church, 24 Fountain St. NE — Hip hop legend Rakim, known as the “God MC,” will discuss his critically acclaimed book “Sweat the Technique.” This discussion will be moderated by Bakari Kitwana, memoir co-author and 2020 Nasir Jones Hip Hop Fellow. You can register for this event online.

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Jordan Marie Brings Three White Horses Daniel to speak on Nov. 12

The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is sponsoring a lecture by Jordan Marie Brings Three White Horses Daniel at 3 p.m. Nov. 12 in the ATC auditorium. This presentation is free and open to the public.

Daniel, a member of the Kul Wicasa Oyate, is known for her efforts fighting pipelines and other environmental damage, offensive mascots, and the crisis of missing and murdered Native American women and girls. She is the founder of the Rising Hearts Coalition, which works to elevate awareness of indigenous issues and efforts.

Under the banner #RunningForJustice, she uses distance running as a platform to raise awareness about missing and murdered indigenous women.

Diversity Conversation features Dr. Yaba Blay

Sophia Brewer, from GRCC’s Library and Learning Commons, talked to the kickoff speaker of this year’s Diversity Lecture Series: producer and ethnographer Dr. Yaba Blay.

Producer, ethnographer Yaba Blay to speak Aug. 27 as part of Diversity Lecture Series

A producer and ethnographer will kick of GRCC’s 2019-20 Diversity Lecture Series on Aug. 27.

Dr. Yaba Blay documents the global Black experience, one social media post at a time. Trained in Africana and women’s and gender studies, her scholarship centers on Black racial , identity and culture.

She will speak at 6 p.m. Aug. 27 in the Spectrum Theater. Her presentation is free and open to the public.

Blay has been named to The Root 100, an annual list of top Black influencers, and has been honored by O, The Oprah Magazine for her social media activism. She is the creative producer of a number of online campaigns, including #PrettyPeriod, a visual celebration of dark-skinned Black beauty, and #ProfessionalBlackGirl, a webseries and online community. She is also the author of “(1)ne Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race,” and her voice is featured in “A Changing America: 1968 and Beyond,” a video installation on race relations exhibited in the National Museum of African American History & Culture.

GRCC TV playlist includes past Diversity Lecture Series presentations

GRCC’s Diversity Lecture Series has hosted former President Carter, social justice advocate Julissa Arce, poet Nikki Giovanni, actor B.D. Wong and clinical psychologist Mary Pipher, among others.

Catch up on past lectures — and in-depth discussions these speakers have had with faculty – by checking out GRCCTV’s Diversity Lecture playlist.

GRCC sponsors free showing of ‘Memphis Majic,’ discussion with director

Eddie Bailey

The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will sponsor a free showing of “Memphis Majic” and a discussion with its Emmy-nominated director, Eddie Bailey.

The film screening — at 1 p.m. April 17 in the ATC auditorium — launches the office’s new Diversity Lecture Pop-Up Series.

Dr. B. Afeni McNeely Cobham, GRCC’s chief Equity and Inclusion officer, said the event will bring the popular lecture series to new audiences.

“The traditional format of the Diversity Lecture Series will be retained, but I have charged my team with developing nuanced ways to increase awareness and empathy about a myriad of issues related to systemic and institutionalized oppression,” McNeely Cobham said. “The screening and talk-back of the documentary ‘Memphis Majic’ will meet this objective.

The film blends dance and history to reflect modern culture, looking at Memphis through the lens of a 30-year-old street dance called Jookin’. Featuring street dance superstar Lil Buck, the film connects urban dance, hip hop, politics and history to show how one of America’s most important cities was built.

“Framed within the backdrop of structural oppression, ‘Memphis Majic’ is a melodic journey that centers Jookin’ as an artistic resistance to the racial realities of black youth,” McNeely Cobham said. “Film director Eddie Bailey inserts a missing puzzle piece into the history of hip hop by paying homage to an urban dance that is the DNA of Memphis.”

The event is free, but seating is limited. You must submit an RSVP online.

Journalist Jessica Valenti to speak March 20 as part of Diversity Lecture Series

Jessica Valenti

An author and journalist will discuss “Feminism Today” next week as part of the 2018-19 Diversity Lecture Series.

Jessica Valenti will be the featured speaker at 7 p.m. March 20 at Fountain Street Church, 24 Fountain St. NE. A New York Times best-selling author of five books and a columnist at The Guardian US, she has led the national conversation on modern feminism for more than a decade. Her “Yes Means Yes” inspired sexual assault legislation across the country, and her most recent book, “Sex Object: A Memoir” was called “bold and unflinching” by Publishers Weekly. Valenti’s articles have topped the most-read lists at The Atlantic, The Guardian US and The Washington Post.

A book signing will follow the lecture, which will be ASL interpreted. For more information, call (616) 234-3390.

 

GRCC In the News, 2-26-19

Business owner Michael B. Johnson honored as 2019 Giant Among Giants

Feb. 24, 2019; MLive

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Michael B. Johnson Sr., a philanthropist and business owner whose wide-ranging interests range from sponsoring youth sports to interior design, a cappella singing and nature photography, has been named this year’s Giant Among Giants in the annual Grand Rapids Community College awards program.

West Michigan Lecture Series Tackles Social Issues

Feb. 11, 2019; mibluesperspectives.com (Blue Cross Blue Shield newsletter)

For more than 20 years, a simple lecture series with lofty goals has attracted notable authors, philosophers, poets, media personalities and at least one former president to Grand Rapids.

Grand Rapids Community College’s Diversity Lecture Series seeks to provide insight and understanding of multicultural issues to students and the broader West Michigan community. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is a sponsor of the series, which returns this Wednesday.

Change Ups: River City Improv marks 25th year

Feb. 22, 2019; Grand Rapids Business Journal

… EDUCATION

Noorthoek Academy announced the addition of the following board members: Paul Dymowski, director of center programs for Kent Intermediate School District; Jan Ver Merris, retired special education teacher and high school guidance counselor; Victoria Smalley, estate planning attorney at Bolhouse, Hofstee, & McLean in Grandville; Ric Underhile, associate vice president for the Office of Advancement at Aquinas College; and Tina Hoxie, associate provost and dean of student affairs at Grand Rapids Community College.

Denuncian que activista pro inmigrante, protegido por DACA fue arrestado por ICE en Grand Rapids

Feb. 23, 2019; El Vocero

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN (EVH) .-Un movimiento pro inmigrante dio a conocer que en una redada hecha por ICE al comienzo de esta semana, uno de sus activistas, protegido bajo DACA, fue arrestado junto a su madre y recluido en Battle Creek.

… Familiares de Reyes, quienes también concurrieron a la rueda de prensa, dijeron que Brandon se mudó a Estados Unidos con su madre de México a los 6 años y ha vivido en Michigan desde el 2003. El activista estudió diseño gráfico en Grand Rapids Community College antes de trabajar con HealthNet West Michigan, una organización de acceso a la salud.

(A pro-immigrant movement reported that in a raid by ICE earlier this week, one of its activists, protected under DACA, ws arrested along with his mother and held in Battle Creek.

… Relatives of (Brandon) Reyes, who also attended the press conference, said that Brandon moved to the United States with his mother from Mexico at age 6 and has lived in Michigan since 2003. The activist studied graphic design at Grand Rapids Community College before working with HealthNet West Michigan, an access health organization.)

‘Special delivery:’ Letter arrives 45 years later

Feb. 21, 2019; WOOD TV

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Grand Rapids man found a decades-old letter in his mailbox Thursday that had been sent to the address well before he lived there.

… She (Mary Vaughan Brady) told 24 Hour News 8 that she was 19 years old when she wrote the letter. In June 1974, she had just graduated from community college in Grand Rapids. Her wedding was set for later that year, so she a friend decided to take a trip through Europe beforehand.

Local theatre performing ‘Bad Jews’ by Joshua Harmon in Grand Rapids

Feb. 23, 2019; WZZM

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Jewish Theatre Grand Rapids has been around since 1992, and has been performing shows with Jewish themes ever since. This year is no different. From February 27- March 10, Jewish Theatre Grand Rapids is performing “Bad Jews.”

… All performances will take place at Spectrum Theatre, 160 Fountain Street NE, on campus at Grand Rapids Community College.

 

CNN analyst Bakari Sellers to speak Feb. 13 as part of Diversity Lecture Series

Bakari Sellers

A CNN political analyst will discuss “Education, Civil Rights and Equality: Cornerstones for Our Future” next week as part of the  2018-19 Diversity Lecture Series.

Bakari Sellers will be the featured speaker at 7 p.m. Feb. 13 in Fountain Street Church, 24 Fountain St. NE. Sellers, a lawyer and activist, made history in 2006 when, at the age of 22, he defeated a 26-year incumbent to become the youngest member of the South Carolina Legislature and the youngest African-American elected official in the nation. In addition to serving on President Obama’s South Carolina steering committee during the 2008 election, Sellers is widely considered to be a rising star within the Democratic Party and a leading voice for his generation. He has been named to Time magazine’s “40 Under 40” in 2010, 2014 and 2015; and “The Root 100” list of the nation’s most influential African-Americans. He has provided analysis to CNN and MSNBC, including in appearances on “Hardball with Chris Matthews” and “Morning Joe.” He now serves on the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee’s National Council.

Sellers’ lecture will be ASL interpreted. For more information, call (616) 234-3390.