The second Kalamazoo Lyceum focused on the city's culture and whether our community has a shared story. Panelists Kama Tai Mitchell of Rootead, Daniel May of Dabney & Co., and Jennifer Hudson-Prenkert of Sounds of the Zoo, spoke about what culture means to them in Kalamazoo where they all agree race has divided a sense of a common story. "Culture is safety," says May. "It's being able to be yourself."
Street changes are coming to Kalamazoo, even if some of us are still in denial. Second Wave's streetwise Mark Wedel helps unpack what to expect. Downtown streets aren't the cause of every problem, says Dennis Randolph, City of Kalamazoo Traffic Engineer, but "they are the backbone, the framework of the community. So you need to do something with the transportation network if you're going to help the community as a whole."
Patsy Cline, the Muppets, Hamilton, the Spice Girls: You never know what might come up during the Darcy Wilkin Whatzit Hour at Edison's Dormouse Theatre, but you can count on bluegrass, folk, and a host who "Keep(s) on the Sunny Side," even if some tunes move a few to tears.
From a position with Downtown Kalamzoo, Inc. to working with the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, Beth McCann helped build up Kalamazoo's cultural image. In her new position as Executive Directory of Kalamazoo Neighborhood Housing Services, she is building community in a different way – through affordable housing. "We need, what, 7,000 housing units right now?" says McCann. "I can't build 7,000, but hopefully, I can make a dent."
Open since November, Dabney and Co., Kalamazoo's only current Black-owned bar, was created to be a safe space for that showcases the “elevated beauty of Black culture” through food, music, drinks, and art. "For me, it's really important, in every aspect of Dabney and Co., you feel exactly how you would when you come into a Black household. We treat you just like family,” says owner Daniel May.
To bring back a tradition of neighbors gathering face-to-face, to discuss without the divisiveness that seems to have been born, in part, out of social media, a new Lyceum Movement has begun. Also called “A School for Community Life,” lyceums are happening in various towns in Iowa and Minnesota, and now Kalamazoo is a chapter affiliate. The topic of the inaugural Kalamazoo Lyceum was titled, “How is media changing the way we think?” Read on to hear what panel members and attendees had to say.
A single gunshot that results in a homicide costs $1.2 million, robs feelings of safety, and rips a gaping hole into a family and community. Ahead of the national curve, both Kalamazoo County and City have declared gun violence a public health issue which moves the emphasis from penalty to prevention. Gun violence prevention expert, Reggie Moore, spoke to a large audience of invested community members last week at the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, calling on Kalamazoo to become a "healing-informed" city.
Bahar Ensemble and its educational youth group Orchestra Rouh have made Middle Eastern music one of the many sounds of Kalamazoo's community. After going virtual over the pandemic, both gear up for a busy 2023.
Mastodon has arrived in Kalamazoo! Is it a large extinct mammal or a local ‘instance’ that’s part of the fediverse? Correspondent Mark Wedel will help you decide.
Services from financial education to emotional health and daycare are part of the package that is Playgrown Home Start, a community of 10 homes near what was once a tent encampment of the unhoused. The project is seeking funding and the project leader says: "I have faith in our grantors, I have faith, I have so much faith in this project and our team."
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