95.3 / 88.5 FM Grand Rapids and 95.3 FM Muskegon
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
A WGVU initiative in partnership with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation using on-air programs and community events to explore issues of inclusion and equity.

Summit on Race, Inclusion Deadline on Thursday

This year’s Summit on Race and Inclusion is May 17th, but registration closes on Thursday night according to Gail Harrison, Executive Director of the Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance.

“This year we wanted to really showcase those institutions and communities that have achieved a great level of racial inclusion.”

The keynote speaker for the event, Aaron Dworkin founded the Sphinx Organization to help symphonies eliminate bias, in part by holding blind auditions.

“In those 18 years that he was the founder and executive director, the number of people of color in our national symphonies has doubled and everyone of those folks has identified their success, in part, to the Sphinx Organization.”

Other speakers at the summit will come from the areas of Government, Faith, Health, Education, Business, and Community. But even with all that, this is not just the annual summit.

“We have our 20th anniversary coming up in June, so we will be having a big party following the summit.”

Registration is $50 and can be done online at www.ethnicdiversity.org

Mariano Avila is WGVU's inclusion reporter. He has made a career of bringing voices from the margins to those who need to hear them. Over the course of his career, Mariano has written for major papers in English and Spanish, published in magazines, worked in broadcast, and produced short films, commercials, and nonprofit campaigns. He also briefly served at a foreign consulate, organized for international human rights efforts and has done considerable work connecting marginalized people to religious, educational, and nonprofit institutions through the power of story.
Related Content