ccr banner 

May/June 2012 Newsletter
Conversations on Race
Green Day 2012
Humanitarian Award
AIDA: A Magical Experience
Connecting Through Photography
Inside Scoop on Columbia
Congratulations to our Volunteer!
BOE Candidates Forum
Volunteer - A Way to Grow
Quick Links
 
Donate!

If you value our community's culture of integration, support the Coalition's work with a tax-deductible gift. Go to Donate Now on line or send a check to the address below.

Thanks for your support!

Contact Us
516 Prospect St.
Maplewood, NJ 07040

973-761-6116

Message from the Executive Director, Nancy Gagnier

NG 2012 Headshot

Those who can, do.  Those who can do more, volunteer. 

                                                          ~Author Unknown

We see this thought in action all the time here at the Coalition on Race. Our volunteers-those residents who support our committees, who develop and work at our events, and who speak with passion about integration-are people who are always willing to do more. We can't thank our volunteers enough! Side by side with me and program director Audrey Rowe, our volunteer board and committee members have worked through the winter and spring on programs and events that further our integration mission in South Orange and Maplewood. And, we have more to look forward to before the summer comes. In addition to these community-based initiatives, the Board and Staff have been working diligently to clarify priorities and to focus our resources on the most salient aspects of our mission. We remain as committed as ever to intentional integration in our community. Join the ranks of those "who can do more" and volunteer for us!

Conversations on Race:  Growing Through Our Discomfort   

 Coalition Group Discussion 

Our annual Conversations on Race forum will be held on Wednesday, May 30th, 7:30 pm at Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel. This forum is a community dialogue about race-related issues facing our community. The evening will begin with brief talks by two community members-Barbara Heisler and Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad-who have expertise on intentional integration as well as civil rights and African American studies. Please join us for this important discussion about how we face race and relationships in our towns. For more information click here.   Complete a Contact Form to reserve your seat.                           

Green Day 2012 

  Green Day 2012 Cotler, Grossman & Greene                                         

  

We had our information table out once again at this year's Maplewood Green Day fair. Coalition trustees met with many visitors and talked about our mission. What's the connection between integration and going green? Read here...


Coalition To Receive Humanitarian Award!Amer Conf on Diversity Logo

 

 

The Community Coalition on Race will be honored with the American Conference on Diversity's Humanitarian Award at the Essex County Chapter's Annual Awards Dinner on May 23rd, 6:00 pm at Mayfair Farms in West Orange. For more information on the award or if you would like to attend the dinner, click here.

 

   

AIDA Delights Hundreds!

 Families wait for Aida to begin

 

More than 200 children and family members attended this year's        

 

 Integration Through The Arts children's production of Aida on 

 Saturday, March 17th, at South Orange Performance Arts Center

 (SOPAC) LoftWhether toddlers or grandparents, everyone in

 attendance for the two performances received a triple treat of great

 story telling, exquisite excerpts from Verdi's score, and original choreography.   

 Click here for more details and to view photos of this magical

 event. 

Photography Workshop as a Magnet and a Mirror

Photo Instructor Mansa Mussa
Instructor Mansa Mussa

 

 About a dozen South Orange and Maplewood residents have honed their photography skills while making new friends during the past three of four free photography workshops. Each workshop challenges participants to capture how they see and experience our community from an integration perspective.  The workshops are taught by profesional photographers Mansa Mussa and Joy Yagid and are offered by the Community Coalition as part of this year's Integration Through The Arts program The last workshop in the series focuses on creating photo collages and will be held Saturday, May 19th from 1 pm to 3 pm at the Maplewood Community Center, 120 Burnett Ave.  Be sure to check out the results during the Annual Artists Studio Tour on Sunday, June 3, 2012.  Click here to register by completing a Contact Form with  your phone number and "Photography Workshop" in the Message section.   
  

 

Columbia High School:  Facts, Fears and Folklore  

  2012 FF or F Table Discussion Group

 

The topic was Columbia High School and over eighty residents came to talk to current CHS students about the issues that concern them and to hear about the great things that are happening in school every day!  The goal of the workshop discussion was to create connections among our diverse population, to hear about people's fears, and to remind the community of how incredible our flagsip school really is. Read more....

  
Volunteer Dorothea Hoffner Is Honored
Dorothea and Carol - Schools Commitee
Dorothea (left) with Carol Barry -Austin

 

Long-time Schools Committee member and resident of South Orange, Dorothea Hoffner is being honored by the Friendly Fuld Neighborhood Center in Newark where she has been a volunteer. A lifelong activist for fair housing, Dorothea has also advocated for excellence and equity in South Orange and Maplewood schools. The awards breakfast is on Saturday, June 9th; for more information, click here. Congratulations, Dorothea!

2012 BOE Candidates Forum  

  2012 BOE Candidates Pai, Eastman, Bennett, Payne-Parrish, Swanson and Higer

 

The Schools Committee hosted the Coalition's Annual Board of Education Candidates Forum on April 12th at Marshall Elementary School. All six candidates participated in this opportunity to present their thoughts on the relationship between school policies and integration in our community. Candidates also addressed questions from audience members. Read more...

Volunteer Options Tailored to Your Life Style! 
 

Are you a working parent? Student? Retiree?  No matter what your circumstance, we have opportunities that can work for you, including one-time events.  No matter what talents or little time you have, we could really use your help.  We have a pressing need right now for a WordPress web page designer to change our home page slide show and expand our calendar function. If you can help or know someone who can, please contact us.  If you would like to learn more about our committees, Click here to visit our committee pages and find out what each of our committees is working on.  You can complete a Contact Form, call us at 973-761-6116 or email us at [email protected] to let us know how you would  like to help. Contact us today!