Mark your calendars for the 2017 annual MLK, Jr. Celebration at Viterbo, and consider nominating someone for the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Award.  Nucleus Johnson will speak on the topic, “Echoes of a King” on Jan. 16, 2017 at 7 p.m. in Viterbo’s Fine Arts Center Main Theatre.

Nominations are currently being accepted for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Award, established in 2009 to recognize leadership and commitment in building community, enhancing diversity and working for justice. The deadline for nominations is Monday, December 12, 2016 at 11:59 PM.  Request the nomination form from Ann Wales: aowales@gundersenhealth.org.

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Nucleus Johnson, MLK Celebration 2017 Speaker

Nucleus Johnson has electrified crowds all over the country with his historical personification of Dr. King’s speeches since he was in the first grade. The rich legacy of MLK speaks for itself. It is a legacy that should be celebrated and honored. Professional orator Nucleus Johnson does just that. Since the age of seven, Johnson has been captivating audiences with his powerful and soul stirring renditions of Dr. King’s speeches. In 2003, Johnson received a special invitation from Coretta Scott King to participate in the MLK celebration in Atlanta. He has been blessed with an incredible ability to stand as a leader among his peers. His outspoken, yet humble personality, distinguishes him among his contemporaries. As articulated by Dr. King, Johnson believes that if we do not learn to live together peacefully as brothers, we will all perish together as fools.

Nucleus Johnson is a native of Dallas, Texas. He is married to his high school sweetheart Shayla and they have been blessed with a rambunctious son Noah.

This lecture is part of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration. Free and open to the public. No reservations required.

 

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The Greater La Crosse Area Diversity Council was delighted to nominate Dr. Bethany Brent for the 7 Rivers Alliance Rising Star Award, and was very pleased to see Dr. Brent receive this award on November 17, and be honored by our community for her important work strengthening public education in the community in a variety of ways.  Dr. Brent is a Senior Adviser in the School of Education at UW-La Crosse, and influences teachers in training in her work every day.

Brent has also worked with Antoiwana Williams, Director of Multicultural Student Services at UW-La Crosse, to develop a path-breaking program in the community called Grow Our Own Teacher Diversity.  The program provides scholarships to community members, ages 22-50 who are seeking the opportunity to pursue four-year degrees and become certified teachers in the public schools.  In La Crosse and Winona, community members of color, ages 25 and older, are more likely than their white counterparts to complete their formal education with an associate’s degree rather than a four-year college degree. The Grow Our Own program creates opportunities for community members of color to make the jump in educational credentials and the opportunities that go with that.

One of the biggest opportunities will be to have a broader impact on children, especially children of color who are much less likely than white children to see a person of their race in a position of authority in public education in our area.  Brent and Williams note that “Research shows that students of color who are taught by teachers of color increased students of color learning time in the classroom, improved students of color standardized test scores, increased students of color presence in advance-level course enrollment, and increased their college going rates.”  Currently though, only two percent of teachers in the school districts of La Crosse and Winona are people of color.  The program is just beginning this semester, and is on track to expand and to positively influence all our students in the area public schools.

In just two years in La Crosse, Bethany Brent has begun this project while also helping organize the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration and serving on the board of the Pump House Regional Arts Center.  She enriches our community in so many ways, and is truly a rising star.

fabio-burgosThe Council’s annual conference on November 10, “Building Bridges: Workplace and Community” conference brought 55 people together, representing a wide range of area organizations.  Participants learned about the work of the La Crosse Human Rights Commission to address discrimination and create a more welcoming and culturally aware community, and about promising practices for diversity and inclusion being undertaken by five large employers in the area.

Points of connection between community needs and workplace initiatives included:

–The value of hiring people who can serve customers, clients, patients, in their own language
–The need for people who work in our area to feel welcome and to have their participation and voices    valued both within the workplace and in the larger community
–The benefits of exposing young people in the community to different career paths; for example, health care careers are not just about being a nurse or a doctor
–The promising practice of paid internship programs that can attract diverse young people to careers in government, also adding to the creation of stronger pipelines between young people and career paths
–The need to address issues of discrimination in the community; if you have faced discrimination in housing, public accommodations, or city facilities in La Crosse, follow this link to the Human Rights Commission to find out about filing a report.

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Within workplaces specifically, presenters shared important information about the following:
–The careful planning, transparency, and protections for anonymity required to undertake an employee survey to understand people’s experiences regarding inclusion, equity, and diversity, and the need to follow up on surveys with concrete actions
–The imperative to operationalize stated organizational values, such as respect, making sure people have a clear idea of what respectful behavior and speech look like in various contexts relevant to the workplace.
–The value of careful planning around multi-pronged diversity and inclusion organizational initiatives, including and planning for racial justice training
–The value of creative, proactive work to recruit for diversity.

For more information, please contact Jodi Vandenberg-Daves at jodi@glaxdiversitycouncil.com, and I can put you in touch with additional resources. Know that the learning will continue! Stay tuned for 2017 program information.

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Multi­cultural Resource Guide

This guide lists established and emerging resources that reflect and celebrate cultural diversity in our area.

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