Manistee Area Racial Justice & Diversity Initiative
Needs Your Support!
Consider making a monetary contribution to MARJDI to support our ongoing work and programming in Manistee county in 2024!
The Manistee Area Racial Justice & Diversity Initiative Fund is a fiscally- sponsored project of the Manistee County Community Foundation (Michigan Charitable Solicitation Registration #10699).
You can support MARJDI by contributing to the Manistee County Community Foundation for the benefit of the Manistee Area Racial Justice & Diversity Initiative (MARJDI) fund by using the buttons below. Be sure to select "MARJDI' in the "select fund" line.
The Manistee Area Racial Justice & Diversity Initiative Fund is a fiscally- sponsored project of the Manistee County Community Foundation (Michigan Charitable Solicitation Registration #10699).
You can support MARJDI by contributing to the Manistee County Community Foundation for the benefit of the Manistee Area Racial Justice & Diversity Initiative (MARJDI) fund by using the buttons below. Be sure to select "MARJDI' in the "select fund" line.
Your Contribution Will Go Towards...
Implementing Community Resolutions: Our “Racial Justice, Inclusion and Diversity” resolution has now been adopted by several Manistee county governing bodies: City of Manistee, Arcadia Township, Brown Township, Dickson Township, Onekama Township, Cleon Township, and Marilla Township. It also has support from: Manistee County United Way; Manistee County League of Women Voters; Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts; Manistee County Chamber of Commerce and the Northern Michigan Chamber Alliance (which includes 15 Chambers of Commerce in Northern Michigan).
With your support we will continue to bring the resolution to the remaining townships in our county.
Welcome Signs and Billboards: We have distributed “Welcome” signs to many local businesses and organizations, and have displayed our “Welcome” message on two billboards in 2021 (north and south of town on U.S. 31) and three billboards in 2023 (north, south and east of town on US-31 and M55). These signs are a colorful and direct message that “Manistee Welcomes You--all sizes, colors, cultures, genders, beliefs, religions, ages, abilities, all people.” We will continue to place welcome signs and billboards in the coming year. Contributions are needed to pay for billboard rental advertising fees.
Community Policing: Our Policing Work Group will continue to engage Manistee law enforcement and mental health leaders to promote policing that is safe and unbiased. With our support, our three local police entities; city, county, & tribal, each sent two officers to a “Fair and Impartial Policing” train-the-trainers session at West Shore Community College in early October 2021. Your support contributes to training and program development efforts to support our community guardians.
Educational Programs: We continue to develop educational programs for our community. We held a webinar on “Understanding Systemic Racism” that featured both nationally-known speakers and one of our own leader/educators from the Traverse City area. We partnered with the Native Justice Coalition to show the Emmy-award-winning documentary Dawnland, followed by a panel of Native American speakers whose families have been directly impacted by the legacy of cultural erasure, violence and death perpetrated by “Indian Boarding Schools.” We also worked with the Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts to hold the “First Americans” show, an exhibit of contemporary work by Native American artists residing in Anishinaabe Aki (Michigan). And in January, we will once again be recognizing Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday with a student essay contest and a variety of programs and service projects in our community. We expect to partner with PFLAG again in the spring to focus on LGBTQIA+ experiences and issues. Contributions support film/content fees and development, speaker and panelist expenses, and presentation costs.
Social Media, Website, and Email lists: We hope that you will follow our Facebook page, enjoy our newly revamped website, and continue to receive emails from us about upcoming events. Your monetary support allows us to continue improving these offerings to the community!
With your support we will continue to bring the resolution to the remaining townships in our county.
Welcome Signs and Billboards: We have distributed “Welcome” signs to many local businesses and organizations, and have displayed our “Welcome” message on two billboards in 2021 (north and south of town on U.S. 31) and three billboards in 2023 (north, south and east of town on US-31 and M55). These signs are a colorful and direct message that “Manistee Welcomes You--all sizes, colors, cultures, genders, beliefs, religions, ages, abilities, all people.” We will continue to place welcome signs and billboards in the coming year. Contributions are needed to pay for billboard rental advertising fees.
Community Policing: Our Policing Work Group will continue to engage Manistee law enforcement and mental health leaders to promote policing that is safe and unbiased. With our support, our three local police entities; city, county, & tribal, each sent two officers to a “Fair and Impartial Policing” train-the-trainers session at West Shore Community College in early October 2021. Your support contributes to training and program development efforts to support our community guardians.
Educational Programs: We continue to develop educational programs for our community. We held a webinar on “Understanding Systemic Racism” that featured both nationally-known speakers and one of our own leader/educators from the Traverse City area. We partnered with the Native Justice Coalition to show the Emmy-award-winning documentary Dawnland, followed by a panel of Native American speakers whose families have been directly impacted by the legacy of cultural erasure, violence and death perpetrated by “Indian Boarding Schools.” We also worked with the Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts to hold the “First Americans” show, an exhibit of contemporary work by Native American artists residing in Anishinaabe Aki (Michigan). And in January, we will once again be recognizing Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday with a student essay contest and a variety of programs and service projects in our community. We expect to partner with PFLAG again in the spring to focus on LGBTQIA+ experiences and issues. Contributions support film/content fees and development, speaker and panelist expenses, and presentation costs.
Social Media, Website, and Email lists: We hope that you will follow our Facebook page, enjoy our newly revamped website, and continue to receive emails from us about upcoming events. Your monetary support allows us to continue improving these offerings to the community!