Conversations on Race: Language, Stereotypes and Communication--
A Must Attend--Tuesday, April 29!
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Save this date! On Tuesday, April 29, the Coalition will sponsor a forum on how everyone communicates--those unspoken contracts about how we all use words, and sometimes even more important, how we perceive what we say and what we hear. Besides a panel of experts, roundtable discussions--are you ready for this!--we will all have a chance to experience improvisational theater! This is a don't miss event! The event will take place at the Columbia High School Cafeteria. Circle that date!!!
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Coalition Arts Grant Promotes Sing-Ins!
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For the third year in
a row, the Coalition has been awarded a grant from the Essex County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs to create musical opportunities for inter-racial community singing. Chair Carol Barry-Austin and Vice-Chair Meredith Sue Willis accepted the grant on behalf of the Coalition on March 25 at Kip's Castle. We are committed to three programs for 2008, the first was January's Martin Luther King observance. |
| Board of Education Candidates and Trustees Discuss '5 Steps' Program Headline |
Incumbent School Board candidates Andrea Wren-Hardin and Richard Laine visited the regular monthly meeting of the Coalition Trustees on Thursday, March 27, to discuss the Coalition's 5 Steps for Superior Schools. The third candidate, Sandra Karriem, had a family commitment and sent regrets. The open and fruitful exchange between the candidates and the Trustees focused on areas in which the Coalition's 5 Steps and the BOE's Strategic Plan touched on the same issues.
The 5 Steps were presented formally by the Coalition to the SOM Board of Education on March 17, as well as to Presidents' Council and to the South Orange Village Trustees and Maplewood Township Committee. The Coalition's set of principles encourage an atmosphere within which our schools can bring out the best in each student by creating an atmosphere of excellence that ensures equality in education throughout the school system.
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RACE: Are We So Different?
At Liberty Science Museum Through April 27
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 Don't miss Liberty Science Center's Special exhibit, Race: Are We So Different?, developed by the American Anthropological Association in collaboration with the Science Museum of Minnesota. This stunning experience is the first nationally traveling exhibition to tell the stories of race from biological, cultural, and historical points of view. Combining these complex perspectives offers participants an unprecedented look at race and racism in the United States. |
Times Article Lauds Life in 'Bubble'
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When Aliyah Baruchin wrote her Sunday New York Times (New Jersey Section) article earlier this winter, her daughter Hannah was concluding the fall term at Tuscan School. Aliyah and her husband, Donald, are a bi-racial couple who chose Maplewood as one of the three Essex County communities they considered most tolerant; besides South Orange, the other is Montclair, in their opinion.
She wrote "Maplewood's history of mixed citizenry has created exactly the environment in which we wanted Hannah to grow up: one of aggressive diversity, so deliberate it becomes a world of its own. Some friends of mine call it 'the bubble.'"
To appreciate the entire article, visit the NYT website and request "The Girl in 'the Bubble,'" published Sunday, February 17, 2008.
Quoted with permission, (c) 2008 The New York Times Company
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| Seventh Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Is Largest Yet |
Nearly 450 people of all faiths and races joined the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition 's Interfaith Outreach Committee, led by Committee Co-Chair Mark Mucci, in cooperation with the African American Jewish Coalition to celebrate Martin Luther King Day on January 21, 2008, at Congregation Beth El in South Orange. Marking the Coalition's Seventh Annual Martin Luther King Day Observance, once again the theme was "Making it More than a Dream." The meeting was led by Interfaith Outreach Committee co-chair Dr. Dawn Williams. Keynote  Speaker was Wahy-ud Deen Shareef, executive assistant to Newark Mayor Cory Booker, and imam of Masjid Waarith ud Deen in Irvington. Imam Wahy-ud Deen Shareef drew attention to what all the participants observed: Where else but in South Orange/Maplewood would you find a Muslim imam delivering praise of a Baptist minister in a Jewish Temple? Other participants included Voices in Harmony singing music composed and led by Peri Smilow (see article below), Kenny Vaughn delivering King's  speech from the night before his assassination, and young people from local high schools including Kimara Haynes and Sam Williams from Columbia. The Volunteer Fair after the program included more than a dozen organizations. This was a profoundly moving event, beautifully hosted by Congregation Beth El.
(caption, l to r): Coalition Trustee Adrienne Bolden and Maplewood Mayor Ken Pettis greet Imam Shareef.
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Peri Smilow Leads Voices in Harmony at MLK Celebration
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 Peri Smilow, a Coalition volunteer, who wrote "One Small Step," the piece Voices in Harmony, sang at the January 21 Martin Luther King celebration, can be heard on her album Peri Smilow & The Freedom Music Project, a musical collaboration of young African American and Jewish singers celebrating the freedom music of their traditions. Peri is a South Orange resident, mom of a 4 year old, and a national touring musician! To learn more about her, visit her web page http://www.perismilow.com/ . |
Calling All Volunteers! We Need You!
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Now is the time for all good men (and women). . . . Of course, we're all familiar with the rest of that entreaty, but seriously . . . the Coalition needs your help. If you're a grant writer, a fund raiser, a financial adviser, a web consultant or a photographer (especially one whose digital camera is always handy), please let us hear from you. If you support the Coalition's efforts to enhance and celebrate the diversity of our Two Towns, either call the office (the number's down there) or drop us a line. And VOLUNTEER!
That's what I did: I'm Charles Neighbors, your newsletter editor. And I'm eager to receive your news tips and event schedules, well ahead of time, if you please. Just drop me a line here at the Coalition and I'll get right back to you.
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We hope you enjoy our newsletter. And if you'd like to share our good news with a friend, just click the "Forward email" link below. . . .
Have you a question for us or a comment about the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race? If so, send us an email at info@twotowns.org,
or call our office, 973-761-6116 ext. 6.
For more information about the Community Coalition and its programs, please visit our website, www.twotowns.org |
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Chair's Column
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Carol Barry-Austin
With the arrival of spring, comes a sense of renewal. As I travel about, I look for signs of spring - trees blooming, daffodils, tulips, baseball, tennis, soccer, basketball, neighbors of different races strolling about, and I am thankful. We are a thriving community, ripe with possibilities.
In this time of budget cutbacks and looming recession, it is important to think about what is worth our financial commitment as well as our volunteer time: in other words, what do we truly value? Of course we value our families and our homes, and we value our community. We expect, through taxes and other means, to pay for the services that make our community beautiful and safe. But we also value what is special about our community. Are we willing to pay for that as well?
This past January, partnering with the African American Jewish Coalition, we hosted our 7th annual Martin Luther King, Jr, Remembrance. For those of you who attended, I am sure you can attest to how special it was - more than 450 neighbors, including both local and state officials joined together at Congregation Beth El to hear a Muslim, Imam Dean Shareef.
Where else but South Orange/Maplewood would one have the opportunity to sit in a synagogue and hear an imam honoring the legacy of Dr. King, a Christian?
A few weeks later, I attended the State of Schools address given by Supt. of Schools, Brian Osborne. Mr. Osborne spoke of the "Beloved Community" referenced so often by Dr. King and the value of working and being educated in a community that values integration. I do not believe that twelve years ago we would have heard those words. The language of integration is slowly becoming part of the fabric of our community.
One of the things that makes South Orange and Maplewood so special is the culture of integration that has been created and worked on for more than twelve years. We have become communities of choice for all races. We have not created a perfect place here, but we have done much to be proud of, moving towards a community that is not only integrated but also truly inclusive.
Some people move here because of the proximity to New York or because of the beautiful housing stock, but others move here because they are in racially mixed marriages or because they have adopted children of a different race. People move here because they want to be in a place where we learn from our differences - where we are trying to embody that greatest part of the American dream, a community where all people are equal- where integration is celebrated, and relationships develop across race lines.
Through the efforts of many, but especially through the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race - our volunteers, our staff, and our trustees, we support the ongoing work of integration both financially and with our time. We know from past experiences that to sustain the culture of integration, we must be intentional about it.
Which is why we need your monetary support, your ideas, and your resources. Please join us in preserving the things we value. Happy Spring!
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About Us |
The South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race, has entered its tenth year of service. The Coalition is a nationally recognized non-profit organization of more than 200 volunteers who work together to build a community free from racial segregation in housing patterns and community participation. The pro-integrative work of our South
Orange/Maplewood
Community Coalition on Race serves as a successful model for other communities worldwide.
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| Calendar |
or call 973-761-6116 x6
for details on
all of our events!
April 29, 2008
Conversations on Race: Language, Stereotypes and Communication--A MUST event!
4 Thursdays in May
Studies in the Academic Achievement Gap
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