Community Action for Racial-Justice & Equity

Friends of CARE,

As we move into the fall, the CARE team invites you to join us in practicing the tools of organizing that we learned together in our training sessions this past spring. We will be initiating a relational meeting campaign as we continue to seek to build a broad-based community organization dedicated to generating the power necessary to bring meaningful and lasting change to West Michigan. As we always say, power comes in two forms: organized people and organized money. We hope to be a catalyst for organizing people, providing a platform where people and institutions in our community can build public relationships based on healthy self-interest that enable concrete action to challenge the patterns of injustice that too often dictate the way decisions are made in west Michigan.

If you would like to join us in our relational meeting campaign, please let us know! We look forward to taking this next step with you.

In solidarity,

The CARE team

Does your summer reading list need a pick up? Head to your favorite local library or bookshop for one (or ten!) of the titles listed! 📚

“Juneteenth has never been a celebration of victory or an acceptance of the way things are. It’s a celebration of progress. It’s an affirmation that despite the most painful parts of our history, change is possible—and there is still so much work to do.” — Barack Obama

Four enduring myths about Juneteenth are not based on facts As the U.S. celebrates the second federal holiday honoring Juneteenth, several myths persist about the origins and history about what happened when enslaved people were emancipated in Texas.

CARE calls for all Racial Justice Voices to speak loud and clear – please share and use your voice!
White Replacement Theory is twisted, ugly, paranoid hate speech, the violent consequences of which were on full display in Buffalo last weekend. Just when it seems white supremacy could not possibly get more insidious in this country, it rears its ugly head in yet one more vicious incarnation! We have to keep vigilant and keep exposing racial hatred for the violence that it foments, and proclaim instead the gifts, the blessing, the NECESSITY of anti-racism work - not just in theory but in practice to bring racial justice to our communities and country.

Hello CAREing friends! As grassroots organizers, we're learning that community power comes in two ways: money or people. CARE believes that we can organize our people power to make the changes we wish to see in our community through broad-based organizing. To achieve this, we must build relational power by cultivating and developing authentic relationships within our community.

Join us this Wednesday from 7PM-8:30PM at the Holland Armory to learn how to build relationships, organize for power and create real change in our community with Together West Michigan's Allison McCulley. Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/organizing-for-change-working-together-to-empower-our-community-registration-324272627157?fbclid=IwAR1zLvmh5mK30MQmWxyLT37z03V94hUUfI9cvhTtU8OkYZ4WBghkmhvyuKA

Organizing for Change: Working Together to Empower Our Community Advocacy into action around issues of racial justice and equity in the Holland area.

Dear Friends of CARE,

Please mark your calendar and RSVP below for Wednesday, May 18, 7-8:30 pm at the Holland Armory for the next CARE Organizing for Change meeting.

About this event: Last month, more than 60 people from 30+ organizations gathered in Holland to explore organizing for change that can create a better community for all. In learning about the power that comes from listening and connecting around the challenges people face, in hearing the stories of our Grand Rapids neighbors putting advocacy into action, and in the energetic conversations around our tables, the time together offered a path forward for our community. The next step is to make the circle wider – to include more organizations and neighbors – to include you! Once you RSVP, the CARE Team is asking for you to share the Eventbrite link to at least three other community members – thank you! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/organizing-for-change-working-together-to-empower-our-community-registration-324272627157

We look forward to seeing you again as we continue to build power for the good of all.

In solidarity,

The CARE Team

Willie Watt, Jr. Tania Dozeman
Zahabia Ahmed-Usmani Matt Jantzen
Yah-Hanna Jenkins Leys Jenn Manninen
Jennifer Adams Dan Carter
Chris Theule-VanDam Beth Carroll
Jill Russell Gordon Wiersma

Community Action for Racial-Justice & Equity
https://www.facebook.com/CAREHolland

This is great news for our community!

Social worker-police pairing to respond to mental health calls a success so far in Ottawa County The Crisis Intervention Team brings social workers alongside police to respond to "complex" calls involving mental health.

“We need to stop just pulling people out of the river. Some of us need to go upstream and find out why they are falling in.” - Desmond Tutu