For a new effort, the Saginaw Community Foundation is aiming for donations of time, not money.
Dollars always are welcome, of course, but the Community Engagement and Inclusion Council is seeking activists to form task forces that will tackle justice, equity, inclusion, diversity and belonging.
The Council of Michigan Foundations is encouraging local affiliates to get involved in bringing people together, said Renee Johnston, Saginaw’s longtime president and CEO.
While volunteers are asked to offer their time and passion, there are no timetables for action.
“Long-standing goals could change, or the community could change,” explained Johnson, who expands the “it takes a village” proverb to “it takes each of us in that village.”
Saginaw’s two main past efforts on race relations no longer exist.
- In 1958, before he became the first black City Councilman and Mayor, attorney Henry Marsh was founding chairman of the city’s Human Relations Commission, which he jokingly labeled the “Bar Commission” because so many grievances were for refusal of service in local bars and taverns, Saginaw’s versions of northern Jim Crow. HRC addressed concerns as large as police conduct, and as every-day as lack of pizza delivery on the East Side. The commission ground to a halt soon after the turn of the millennium, due to lack of participation.
- While the HRC struggled during the 1990s, leaders formed the Bridge Center for Racial Harmony, which still shows a Facebook page, but gradually has become inactive. Bridge Center was formed after a pair of outsider Ku Klux Klan rallies at the courthouse and conducted “workshops in racism” at county schools. Gary Loster, four-term mayor at the time, felt the group should show more strength and should change its title from “harmony” to “justice,” asserting that justice is necessary for harmony to take hold.
An Inclusion Council mission statement lists goals for an “inclusive community,” where everyone “can thrive, be their authentic self, has a voice which is valued, has access to opportunities, feels a sense of belonging, advocates for safety and equity and justice, and openly celebrates and embraces differences.”
Task force leaders are:
- Justice, Mamie Thorns.
- Inclusion, Renee Johnston.
- Diversity, Terry Pruitt and SCF’s Brian Jackson.
- Belonging, Jenny Geno and Raquel Perez.
- Equity, Antoine Martin and Pam Ross-McClain.
Pruitt, Saginaw NAACP president, suggested that May’s Memorial Cup junior hockey tournament, hosted by the Saginaw Spirit and bringing thousands of Canadian visitors to town, could serve as a startup project for the Inclusion Council.
Johnston said, “The Memorial Cup is for this entire community, putting Saginaw on the stage not only for the Memorial Cup, but for other events.”
To inquire about getting involved, call (989) 755-0545 or send a message via seic-info@saginawfoundation.org.
