Rutgers-Newark University to Commemorate 6th Annual National Racial Healing Day | Rutgers University
Newark, New Jersey – Center for Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) at Rutgers University-Newark will commemorate the 6th Annual National Racial Healing Day from January 18.
The week will begin with a virtual program opening on the 18th, with additional events, programs, workshops, art exhibits and racial healing circles. Statewide programming is a collaborative effort between nonprofits, municipalities, corporations, Newark residents, the Rutgers University system, and the State of New Jersey.
“One of our goals is to integrate the framework of the Center for Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation into the ethics, culture and environment of anchor institutions and other community organizations, ”said Sharon Stroye, director of the center. “National Racial Healing Day 2022 reflects how institutions, organizations, municipalities and individuals are reshaping their perspectives and fostering a culture of healing within their respective worlds of influence. “
National Racial Healing Day began in 2017 as part of an effort by the WK Kellogg Foundation to raise awareness of the need for healing to help achieve racial equity. It is observed annually on the Tuesday after Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
This year the focus will be on Healing in Action: Impact and Integration. A overarching question will be explored throughout the week: How does society take action to ensure that communities, institutions and residents of New Jersey are united around fairness and equality for all?
“Healing does not mean that we dismiss or forget the damage and trauma that exists,” said Tyreek Rolon, a student at the School of Public Affairs and Administration, who was trained as a senior facilitator of TRHT. “It means we are no longer willing to allow this damage and trauma to control our lives. “
Tuesday’s virtual opening program will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It will be streamed live on the Rutgers-Newark University website, the TRHT Newark YouTube channel and the TRHT Newark Facebook page. The stream is open to the public and free.
The opening remarks will be delivered by several members of the Rutgers-Newark community, including representatives from the National Racial Healing Day Committee and the New Jersey Theater Alliance. There will also be a video of Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver.
“Governor Murphy and I congratulate the Rutgers Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Center for paving the way for racial healing and fairness in New Jersey through this incredible program, ”said Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, who is the commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs. “By helping people examine their humanity and look beyond their own racial groups and identities, we can begin to eliminate stigma and eliminate the issues of equity and access that divide us.”
The program will continue with video tributes, including a two-part video of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka’s spoken word, What We Want. The afternoon will feature several panel discussions focused on public engagement and healing, and stories from a student panel on how to heal from the pandemic. The day will end at 6:00 p.m. with the annual Healing Sounds of Newark: a collection of spoken word / artistic performances by students and guests.
This year, the Rutgers-Newark TRHT Center partnered with the Change Creation Network (CCN), a program organized by the NJ Theater Alliance and ArtPride Jersey, which aims to create more equitable, just and anti-racist communities. The CCN organized 16 arts organizations and individuals to participate in the weeklong events.
“NPJAC is honored to participate in this critically important recognition of our National Healing Day, ”said Donna Walker-Kuhne, Senior Advisor, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. “This diverse range of arts-related activities offered through the Creating Change Network will positively help shape this vision of a ‘changed world’ and contribute to the ever-needed and ongoing conversations about racial and social justice; efforts to transform our cultural workspaces; and the need to expand access to the arts for all communities, as well as the importance of respecting and valuing all people.
The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Joint Committee for Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation, along with Social Justice Matters Inc. (SJM), will be offering a Virtual Racial Healing Circle on January 17 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in conjunction with MLK Day of Service and the 18th from 6.30pm to 8.30pm as part of National Racial Healing Day.
“Racial Healing Circles show that people from different backgrounds are more alike than you might think, ”said Scotch Plains Mayor Joshua Losardo. “A better understanding of our common humanity strengthens our local community and the more people involved in these discussions the better off we will all be. “
A full schedule of events for the week, including those leading up to the opening schedule, can be viewed online here: https://www.newark.rutgers.edu/truth-racial-healing-and-transformation-center.
For more information, contact Sharon Stroye, Director, TRHT Center at RU-N, at [email protected].
About the Center for Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation at Rutgers University of Newark
The TRHT Center at Rutgers-Newark University (UK-N) was one of 10 inaugural campus centers selected by the Association of American Colleges and Universities with funding from WK Kellogg and Newman’s Own Foundations in 2017. It There are now 55 TRHT campus centers across the country with transformative action plans to shed and dispel the racial hierarchy’s belief in human worth.
The TRHT Center at Rutgers-Newark University (UK-N) pursues public engagement and democratic collaboration aimed at changing the dominant narrative / perception of Newark by connecting our network of city-wide partners through to initiatives that leverage existing and emerging resources to promote equity and access, and present transformative positive stories about Newark City, New Jersey State and its people.
