DeKALB – A grant from the state of Illinois is accelerating progress toward the creation of a belonging leadership council as well as public art and engagement activities.
The Illinois Department of Human Services has provided a $30,000 Healing Illinois grant to fund local work to advance racial healing in partnership with Northern Illinois University, the City of DeKalb, Family Service Agency, the Ellwood Museum and the DeKalb County History Center. The DeKalb County Community Foundation has contributed an additional $5,000.
The concept of belonging was discussed in a recent community conversation with john powell, who does not capitalize his name. He is an internationally recognized expert in the areas of civil rights, civil liberties, structural racism, housing, poverty and democracy.
The city of DeKalb, NIU and members of the community helped to plan the conversation that included more than 500 community members.
DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas and Vernese Edghill-Walden, chief diversity officer and interim chief human relations officer at NIU, have been spearheading discussions about issues related to belonging since January 2020.
In an NIU news release, Edghill-Walden said the community conversation “helped to create awareness and articulate the importance of belonging, as well as the realities of othering in DeKalb.”
As part of the collaborative partnership, NIU’s Center for Governmental Studies is working with local leaders to create a DeKalb Area Belonging Council.
“It is up to all of us individually and collectively to ensure that our community is welcoming to all,” Nicklas said in the release. “We look forward to the work of the Belonging Council and other key partners in helping to move us in the right direction.”
In addition to the creation of a belonging council, the grant also will fund two arts initiatives that highlight local diversity and racial reconciliation. The Ellwood Museum and the DeKalb County History Center are launching an “Arts in Action” exhibit that will begin to interpret history and race in DeKalb County.
Jessica Labatte, associate professor of photography in NIU’s School of Art and Design, and two of her photography students, Amy Fleming and Jacob Rivera, will curate a “Faces of Belonging” exhibit. Both exhibits will be accessible virtually March 31.
The DeKalb Area Belonging Steering Committee will begin meeting in late January and release a final report and action plan by March 31. Regular updates and opportunities to engage will be available online at www.cityofdekalb.com.
For information, contact Tynisha Clegg, executive director of the Family Service Agency, at tclegg@fsadekalbcounty.org.