Jackson Free Press

JACKSON — Mississippi and the nation are facing a busy week ahead, starting with Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations and ending with the inauguration of a new and controversial president, Donald Trump, and then the Women’s March on Washington the day after the inauguration. Many people are getting involved and speaking out—especially on the issue of bigotry and the need to heal race relations—in more local and national events than we have seen in recent memory.

Below is a listing of events and activities scheduled in Mississippi during this pivotal week. It focuses on events scheduled on and around Jan. 17, the National Day of Racial Healing that the W.K. Kellogg Foundation declared in December, as part of its national Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation process (which I am involved with). Those events are marked with the hashtag #TRHT. Please feel free to add additional events below this post in the comment section.

We urge all of you to participate in these events in some way this week. Get your voice out there, be heard, connect with others. Connection and healing across divides have never been more important in our state and nation.

Monday, Jan. 16, 2017 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)

All day: The Mississippi Youth Media Project in Jackson, Miss., will retweet stories by its student journalists that tackle different race, poverty and criminal-justice issues for the state’s young people, as well as their stories about reconciliation and healing. They are using hashtags #MSHealing and #TRHT. Read their journalism at jxnpulse.com.

All day: Montgomery County youth are using social media to share and lift up the issue of racial healing.

7:30 a.m.: The Greater Bethlehem Temple Church at 1505 Robinson St. in Jackson is holding a prayer breakfast with musical selections to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

8 a.m.: The Montgomery County School District passed a resolution in honor of the National Day of Racial Healing that will be presented at the Martin Luther King Breakfast at Zion District Building in Winona, Miss. #TRHT

8:30 a.m.; all day: The South Jackson Day of Service gets underway at 810 Cooper Road. Volunteers are participating in several projects, including litter pickup, removing debris, school cleanup and more. All are invited. The groups is meeting at Precinct 1 in the Candlestick Park Plaza.

11 a.m.: The Duck Hill Board of Alderman passed a resolution in honor of the National Day of Racial Healing and will present it at the Duck Hill MLK Program at the Duck Hill Missionary Baptist Church. #TRHT

Noon: The Ministers’ Prayer Hours will be held at Heaven United Methodist Church in Winona.

5 p.m.: 16th Annual Art, Poetry & Justice Event at Offbeat Records; 151 Wesley Ave. off Mill Street, in Jackson, Miss. The event is free and open to public. “Bring some art, perform some poetry, hand out and build a better future!” the organizers urge.

5 p.m.: Millsaps College is this year's host of the annual service commemorating the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., a joint effort with Tougaloo College. The service will focus on how, in the face of daunting resistance, a perceived lack of direction and mounting exhaustion, we can find a way to move forward on the path toward justice. It will feature music from student ensembles from both Tougaloo College and Millsaps College and will feature Bishop James Swanson of the United Methodist Church as the speaker. Free and open to the public. This event will take place in the Gertrude C. Ford Academic Complex Recital Hall on the Millsaps College campus.

Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017 (National Day of Healing, #TRHT, #DayofHealing)

All day: The Mississippi Youth Media Project in Jackson, Miss., will retweet stories by its student journalists that tackle different race, poverty and criminal-justice issues for the state’s young people, as well as their stories about reconciliation and healing. They are using hashtags #MSHealing and #TRHT.

All day: In the Neshoba Youth Coalition’s “Using the Power of Media to Communicate the Diversity of Friendship” in Philadelphia, Miss., young people will take and post photos of themselves and diverse friends on social media in an effort to spark dialogue regarding race and racial healing. They are using hashtags #MShealing and #TheDaytoHeal. #TRHT

Noon: A ceremony on the grounds of Seashore United Methodist Assembly in Biloxi at 1410 Leggett Drive is heralding the first annual Day of Racial Healing. City mayors on the Mississippi Gulf Coast will read healing proclamations, and diverse faith leaders from Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hare Krishna, Baha’i and Buddhist will offer prayers/reflections for racial healing. #TRHT

6 p.m.: Café Climb in Gulfport (1316 30th Ave.) will host a dinner following a Racial Healing Circle sponsored by Education, Economic, Environment, Climate & Health Organization (EEECHO). #TRHT

6 p.m. The Saenger Theater in Biloxi (170 Reynoir St.) a documentary screening of "America Divided" will take place. The screening is part of the MLK, Jr. Coast-Wide Celebration and sponsored by East Biloxi Community Collaborative. A panel discussion on Voting Rights will follow. #TRHT

Other related #TRHT activities:

The W.K. Kellogg offers a “TRHT Implementation Guide” and racial-equity resource guide to help individuals, organizations and communities implement local racial-healing initiatives.

The William Winter Institute has developed a toolkit for those interested in leading healing-circle discussions this week or in the future. The focus of the toolkit is on race: awareness, related issues and possible solutions to the issue. Click here for the toolkit. #TRHT

Jackson 2000, a community dialogue and racial-reconciliation organization, hosts free and ongoing dialogue circles and other dialogue events in the capital city. Visit jackson2000.org to sign up for a dialogue circle and get involved with the diverse organization.

Dr. Beverly Wade Hogan of Tougaloo College will teach on the subject of racial healing during the week of Jan. 16. Dr. Hogan will hold a racial-healing forum at Tougaloo College, date and time to be announced. #TRHT

The following passed National Day of Healing Resolutions:

City of Jackson

City of Indianola

Duck Hill Board of Aldermen

Montgomery County School District

Duck Hill Board of Alderman

Jan. 21, 2017 (Post-Inaugural Day Marches and Rallies for Progress)

10:45 a.m.: Oxford (Miss.) March for America. Marchers will meet on the east side of the Square. Signs are encouraged.

11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Hattiesburg Women's March starts at 200 Forrest St.

Noon to 3 p.m.: Jackson Women's March starts at the Mississippi Capitol.

1 p.m. to 3 p.m.: Gulfport Sisters' Solidarity Rally is on Jones Park Drive.

Donna Ladd is the CEO and editor-in-chief of the Jackson Free Press, as well as the director of the Mississippi Youth Media Project. She is also a W.K. Kellogg leadership fellow and on the Mississippi organizing committee of the the organization’s Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation initiative. Send additional events to [email protected] and post below in comments.