| October Is Coalition Month! Join Us for These Events! ticle Headline |
At last Year's Gala: Jean Campbell, South Orange resident; Carol Barry-Austin, Coalition Chair; Congressman Donald Payne; South Orange Trustee Stacey Jennings
OCT. 4: Annual Gala at the Maplewood Club
7:00 PM
OCT. 14: Report to the Community
7:30 PM CHS Cafeteria
Oct. 15, 22, 29 and November 5, 12, and 19: Two Towns Sing-Ins Rehearsals 7:30 PM Baird Community Center, 5 Mead Street. South Orange
November 23: Two Towns Sing-In Performance
4:00 - 5:30 PM South Orange Middle School Auditorium
Martin Luther King Jr. Speech Discussions
Tuesdays: Oct. 28, Nov. 11 and Nov. 18th
OR
Wednesdays: October 29, November 5 and 12th
7:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Ethical Culture Society 516 Prospect St., Maplewood
Dr. King Speech Series Community Night:
November 19th
7:30 PM Columbia High School Cafeteria
And coming up in November....Preschool Open House November 11 7:00 -8:30 PM CHS Cafeteria
For more information, please check our Events Line
at 973-761-6116, X6
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Coalition Gala to Honor Don DeMarco
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October 4, 2008 is the Coalition Gala! It will be the event of the season! Last year's Gala was full of fun, food, and faces-- and did we say wine and fellowship? 
This year's Gala will honor Don DeMarco, a pro-integrative advocate and intergroup practitioner, with more than 40-years of urban and suburban experience in intentional integration. As a municipal employee for Shaker Heights and Toledo, OH, Park Forest and Maywood, IL and Jackson, MI and a consultant for numerous other jurisdictions, neighborhoods and non-profit organizations, he designed and led enforcement aspects of fair housing.
Since 1992, he has held several staff and board jobs for Fund for an OPEN Society including his work with the formation of the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race, where he spent more than ten years as an advisor and consultant. Along with OPEN's Executive Director, Barbara Heisler Williams and Program Associate, Emilio Pannucci, he continues to aid in furthering Coalition interests. OPEN is a Philadelphia-based one-of-a-kind, national non-profit equal opportunity company founded in 1975 by James Farmer and Morris Milgram.
Don has offered the Coalition organizing know-how and consultation services on working intentionally to promote and sustain robust and racially inclusive markets for housing, schools and civic life.
Don and his interracial family are Philadelphia residents in a neighborhood where the family represents a pro-integrative presence.
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| Nancy Gagnier is new Executive Director of the Coalitionrticle Headline |
On Aug. 15, 2008, Nancy Gagnier stepped into the position of Executive Director for the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race.
When Nancy Gagnier moved back to her Maplewood hometown with her husband and children in 2000, she was impressed by the community's overall diversity and the way residents embraced it. "We wanted a place that welcomed all kinds of people, different races, a broad range - especially having come from Manhattan at the edge of Harlem," Gagnier said. "We could tell that Maplewood and South Orange were towns where residents had an interest in making diversity a harmonious thing."
Ten years and one South Orange - Maplewood Board of Education term later, this experienced community leader, writer and mother of three is ready to devote herself to the task of maintaining stable, racial integration in South Orange and Maplewood and nurturing the opportunity for inclusiveness that comes along with it.
"I've known about the Coalition since I've been back in Maplewood, and I've followed the work that it does," Gagnier said. "One of my interests as a member of the Board of Education was the achievement gap between black and white students and making opportunities for everyone equitable, and I know that's something the Coalition has always had its eye on."
Gagnier will definitely deepen her firsthand understanding of the South Orange-Maplewood schools this year, when she'll have a child in elementary school, one in middle school and one at Columbia High School.
"Nancy is a perfect fit for this position," said Carol Barry-Austin, the Coalition's chairwoman. "She grew up in Maplewood, she went through the school system and now her kids are in the system. She has tremendous outreach in the community through her church, Board of Education experience and other community involvements. I believe that she will be an asset to the organization and will assist in broadening our outreach. She is a longtime supporter of the Coalition and cares deeply about creating a community that is truly inclusive."
As she prepares to take charge of the group of more than 200 active volunteers, Gagnier is focused on supporting the Coalition's recently completed strategic planning process.
Specifically, Gagnier said, she plans to get to know the Coalition's board members, attract new ones and help motivate volunteers to vigorously pursue their work with the organization.
At the same time, Gagnier said, she'll work to establish "better outreach into the community. So many people who live here have 'kind of, sort of' heard of the Coalition on Race, but don't know its mission, what it does, how it benefits them and how they might get involved. My goal is to get new people to come and be engaged in the conversations that the Coalition structures its programs around."
Before taking the reigns of the Coalition, Gagnier worked at the nonprofit Family Connections, Inc., a provider of professional counseling and educational services to individuals, children and families in Orange, NJ. She holds two master's degrees - one in comparative liteature and the other in English - both from Columbia University; and a bachelor's degree from St. John's College in Annapolis, Md.
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| Cris Thorne Makes DVD about Two TownsArticle Headline |
Columbia High Sschool graduate, filmmaker, and junior at Howard University Cris Thorne worked all summer to create a lively picture of our two towns and of the Coalition and its work. This DVD is full of interviews and filmed scenes of the towns and activities around town.
To get an idea of some of Cris's previous work, take a look at his popular, impressionistic piece on our community on Youtube. |
| Did you get your 2007 Annual Report? |
Thanks to Matters Magazine for letting us hitch a ride with our hard copy newsletter and 2007 Annual Report with information on how the Coalition has been working for stable and continuing integration in our community. We also thank all the wonderful people who have given us financial support in the past year. If you didn't get your newsletter, please call the office, 973-761-6116.
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| We're in the News!le Headline |
Did you see the article in the August 19, 2008 issue of the Star-Ledger (front page of the New Jersey section) about the Community Coalition's tour for potential new neighbors?
Realtors learning about Maplewood and South Orange
on one of our Jitney Tours.
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| Understanding the Minority Achievement Gap Series Set for January 2009 |
Early in 2009 the Schools Committee of the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race will offer a four session series of speakers and facilitated discussions based on the latest research and readings on the Minority Achievement Gap. Join in the discussion and development of practical solutions for the major issue facing many school districts, including our own. The series is offered free of charge, but registration and a commitment to the four sessions will be required. Participants will receive a reading list upon registration. In-Service Credits for educators will be issued at the end of series. For information about the schedule and to register,
call 973-761-6116, ext. 6.
Participants in a previous Academic Achievement Gap Study groups
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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 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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About Us |
The South Orange/ Maplewood Community Coalition on Race has entered its twelfth year of service. The Coalition is a nationally recognized non-profit organization with hundreds of volunteers who work together to build an inclusive 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 nation wide.
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| Calendar |
OCT. 4: Annual Gala at the Maplewood Club
7:00 PM
OCT. 14: Report to the Community
7:30 PM CHS Cafeteria
Oct. 15, 22, 29 and
November 5, 12, and 19: Two Towns Sing-Ins Rehearsals
7:30 PM Baird Community Center, 5 Mead Street. SO
November 23: Two Towns Sing-In Performance
4:00 - 5:30 PM
SOMS Auditorium
Martin Luther King Jr. Speech Discussions
Tuesdays: Oct. 28, Nov. 11 and Nov. 18th
OR
Wednesdays: October 29, November 5 and 12th
7:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Ethical Culture Society 516 Prospect St., Maplewood
Dr. King Speech Series Community Night:
November 19th
7:30 PM Columbia High School Cafeteria
Preschool Open House November 11 7:00 -8:30 PM
CHS Cafeteria
For more information, please check our Events Line
at 973-761-6116, X6
January 2009 Achievement Gap Study Series
Please visit
or call 973-761-6116 x6
for details on
all of our events!
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