by Sonya Bernard-Hollins, publisher
editor@comvoicesonline.com
Future Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership to be located on the campus of Kalamazoo College.
What: $25,000 Kalamazoo Global Prize for Collaborative Social Justice Leadership
When: May 10-11:
May 10: 2:35-6:45 p.m. seven finalists will present their projects to the community and the jurors.
May 11: 11:30 a.m. keynote plenary by jurors; Presentations by the final eight presenters will follow through 6:30 p.m.
7:15 p.m.: Prize Presentation
Where: Dalton Theatre, Lite Fine Arts Building- Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Free to attend, box lunches will be available for sale between sessions.
These three finalists are eligible for a special $5,000 Regional Prize for a project that originates in SW Michigan.
Irresponsible Development as a Social Injustice An organization critiquing paternalistic development programs that break down social cohesion and family structures via community projects in Peru and elsewhere.
Collaborators: Andean Alliance for Sustainable Development, Aaron Ebner, et al.
Location: Marshall, MI
Playgrown | A Kalamazoo-based art project to create intergenerational play spaces in Detroit to address poverty, health, and social and economic injustice.
Collaborators: Michelle Johnson
Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan
Welcoming Michigan | A regional partnership that seeks to educate and organize across immigrant communities throughout Michigan and connects to the larger immigration reform movement.
Collaborators: Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, Lillie Wolff (K ’04), Christine Suave, Susan Reed
https://reason.kzoo.edu/csjl/clprize/finalists/
KALAMAZOO (MICH.)– Writers work to be worthy of the Pulitzer Prize. People who change the world through innovative discoveries and self-sacrifice are honored with the Nobel Peace Prize. Now, a new prize offered by the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership will help fund those working to make a difference in their communities and world in movements for social justice.
Fifteen presenters from across the globe will share their presentations with the community for a chance at the first Kalamazoo Global Prize for Collaborative Social Justice Leadership on May 10 and 11 on the campus of Kalamazoo College. Their purse of $25,000 will allow them to use their funds anyway they see fit to make a difference in the area they presented. One area finalists will receive $5,000 (also eligible for the global prize). The audience will play a part in helping to rank each project; information jurors will use to make their decision.
One local contender, Michelle Johnson, founder of Fire Historic and Cultural Collaborative also is in the running with her idea on an inter-generational playground. See all videos at:https://reason.kzoo.edu/csjl/clprize/finalists/
According to Jaime Grant, executive director of the ACSJL some projects been around for years and are established and making a difference in unsung ways. She said some are new ideas of projects and proposals of a dream effort to make a difference in ways no one has done before. Unlike a grant which holds various stipulations, this prize is open to anyone, non-profit or citizen, who is dedicated to making a difference. The money is not monitored, and the winner can do as they choose with follow up reports on their progress.
The prize was established by the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, housed on the campus of Kalamazoo College. are offered the chance to share how they can address an issue of human rights and social justice. Issues of youth empowerment, food justice, racism, faith organizing, micro-lending, housing rights, and LGBTQ liberation and peace and conflict were among the many issues which were proposed. A total of 188 entries were received from 25 states and the District of Columbia; including 14 of those from Southwest Michigan. There were 27 entries from 22 countries such as Argentina, Canada, Pakistan, South Africa, and Switzerland. In reviewing the 10-minute or less video applications, Grant said the committee was highly impressed by the caliber of entries.
“Everybody had a moment where they were awestruck at something they hadn’t seen before; or thought was pretty underground and was being raised in a really important way,” Grant said.
Grant said every finalists was invited to attend the event. Those who couldn’t make it will be Skyped in for their presentation.
Jurors known for their own proactive accomplishments will make up the panel and present an address. Jurors are comprised of those who have made their own mark on social justice. They include, Angela Y. Davis (University of California-Santa Cruz), Cary Alan Johnson (former director of International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission), and Shea Howell (of the Grace Lee Boggs Center in Detroit).
Grant said the audiences participation will play a big part in this first event (which will be hosted every two years). She said there may even be an Audience Choice winner, however those details are still pending.
“It’s a prize, not a grant,” Grant emphasized. “There are so few awards that don’t require something back (paperwork, reports, etc.). We want to lift that work up; make something possible that otherwise wasn’t without the prize.”
