PLATTSBURGH — A National Day of Racial Healing, a hybrid event, will be held Tuesday, Jan. 17 in the HUB in the Angell College Center on campus at SUNY Plattsburgh or online. (See Box).
The college’s second-annual observance is hosted by The Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Campus Center(TRHT) in conjunction with the Center for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
“This is part of the National Day of Racial Healing through the W. K. Kellogg Foundation,” Allison Heard, vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, said.
“They’ve had different things over the years, but I want to say this will be the seventh annual event hosted through this foundation. and really they’re designed as opportunities to have national conversations, and the conversations are really supposed to connect people with communities with organizations.
“The thought is many people in many ways do their own different things whether or not it’s a nonprofit organization. It could be schools. It colleges and universities. It could be businesses trying to do their things in some kind of way. But most people do not work to together, and so the goal is for people to have conversations at a deeper level of how they can transform these conversations to just being about them and their organizations and working together to sort of bridge the divide.”
MLK KEYNOTE
Heard is the keynote speaker for the annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Day observation hosted 1:30 p.m. Monday at the Newman Center by the MLK Commission.
“Their thing is sort of like together we can,” she said.
“Really the work of this National Day of Healing is almost perfect because it really is supposed to build on that togetherness.”
2022 OBSERVANCE
TRHT hosted a National Day of Healing event last year that featured live and recorded messages and presentations from:
Ti ietsenhtha (Gee Yeh Jon’ Ta), who provided an Indigenous land acknowledgment and presentations/exchange by Penny Clute and Emily Kasennisaks Cecilia Stacey about the Turtle Sculpture by internationally-known Mohawk potter Natasha Smoke Santiago at Peace Point Park in Plattsburgh; Outside Art: Plattsburgh Public Art Project’s presentation of the Michael Anderson mural in downtown Plattsburgh, which was narrated by Carey; and the North Country Underground Railroad Association with President Jacqueline Madison’s tour of the North Star Underground Railroad Museum at Ausable Chasm; and videos from the TRHT Campus Center partner, W. K. Kellogg Foundation.
“Obviously, I wasn’t employed at that time, but I was told they hosted it and it ended up being like super cold day,” Heard said.
“Attendance wasn’t great, but the people who came were very invested and they were interested.”
This is the college’s second year hosting the event.
“The other reason why I guess it was hosted in the community at the Strand is because in many ways, this university is a community university that has not really worked a lot with the community, which is why the President (Alexander Enyedi) really wants to focus on as one of our pillars with the Plattsburgh NEXT Plan, It’s supposed to be our connection and really growing our relationship with the North Country.”
2023 WATCH PARTY
“Changing the Narrative,” a series that documents stories from communities across the country where people are working together to create lasting change, will be shown as part of a “watch party” that includes three one-hour segments followed by discussion led by TRHT Center members.
SEGMENTS
• 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Part 1: Moderated by Allison Heard, vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, deals with diversity and inclusion challenges and issues faced on the SUNY Plattsburgh campus and in the communities of the North Country.
• 2:30-3:30 p.m.
Part 2: Moderated by Dr. Vincent Carey, professor of history, involves the history of systemic racism in the Plattsburgh area and its impact on our present-day communities
• 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Part 3: Moderated by Bridget Haina, associate professor, communication studies, looks at the SUNY Plattsburgh TRHT Center’s mission, progress and plans for the future.
Participants are invited to come for one, two or all three sessions as schedules permit.
For more information, contact Dr. Michelle Bonati, assistant professor in education and TRHT Center lead, at 518-564-5123 or email mbona005@plattsburgh.edu.
In Heard’s mind, the National Day of Racial Healing is a perfect opportunity for the college to branch out to the community in many different ways and not necessarily wait for the community to come to the college.
“To say what things can we do to identify our opportunities to do better?” she said.
“What are some of the challenges that we see in the community where we can play a pivotal role in changing the narrative at the university, but also people who come and participate and join in that conversation. Our goal on campus is to identify maybe just two to three things we can work on the coming year.”
OUTREACH
Heard had a preliminary conversation with Mayor Chris Rosenquest last November about what the city had done last year for Juneteenth.
“Was there any interest that he had in partnering with the university?” she said.
“I also spoke with Brett Carpenter (MLK Commission). He was the one who really extended the invitation with me to be the keynote speaker for MLK Day.
“I asked him after MLK Day, I really want to have a conversation on what the commission does and what events you might have planned this year.
“And I told him, I really want us to sit down and have a conversation with the mayor, between the university, the commission, the city and try to figure out what are some things we might want to identify as things we want to work on this year.”
Heard’s to-do list includes a very big educational and celebratory Juneteenth celebration for the entire community.
“This year was our first year participating in the Plattsburgh Holiday parade,” she said.
“I just came from a tradition where I was very invested in the community. In my old position, I worked a lot with the chamber of commerce. I worked a lot with the local businesses.”
Heard had a conversation with the Plattsburgh City Police Department about the event.
“We talked about ways we could join with with city, get a float going, participate in the Holiday Parade, and we did and it was a wonderful opportunity,” she said.
While walking beside the float, Heard saw many people, Plattsburghers and from all over, watching the “Miracle on Margaret Street” festivities on Dec. 3.
“In that, what I realized even when people were hollering out and waving to the university, they saw Burghy our mascot,” Heard said.
“For me, for kids to be calling out the mascot’s name when we were back on campus on Monday, you know, my conversation with people was people really look up to the university and what that means is because we have people’s attention. We could really being doing some transformative and some really educational and profound things, since we have people’s attention to be able to work together with.
“That’s sort of the spirit behind changing the narrative, building community, building relationships and bridging divides.”