Community Engagement News

Posted On : January 25, 2021

January 25, 2021

IN THIS ISSUE

Barry University Honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Legacy on Day of Service
Deadline for Submission of Community Engagement Award Nominations is Next Friday
Barry Faculty and Staff Members Contribute to Community Engagement Journal
Semester’s Service-Learning Course in Social Work Shaping up for Success

Barry University Honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Legacy on Day of Service

Social concerns to be conveyed to local lawmakers

By Courtney Berrien

Volunteers at work in the Barry Urban Garden on the university’s MLK Day of Service. Onsite and online service activities took place. Onsite participants included Vice President Dr. Scott Smith and Associate Vice Provost Dr. Victor Romano. Among the online participants was Dean Karen Callaghan.

Students, faculty, staff, and community partners turned out to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy on a day of service earlier this month. The event featured projects in support of social justice and communities of color.

The event kicked off with a reflection on the day’s theme, “What Matters,” which referenced a statement attributed to Dr. King: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” He made the statement in his speech about courage on March 8, 1965, in Selma, Alabama.

A group of volunteers serving on campus in Miami Shores improved the Barry Urban Garden. Besides doing some general garden upkeep, they built a pair of “friendship benches.” Based on an idea conceived by undergraduates in Barry’s Environmental Leadership Experience program, the benches—constructed from repurposed cinder blocks and pieces of wood—were designed to provide a peaceful place for reflection and conversation.

Administrators who joined students and staff for the onsite project included Dr. Scott Smith, vice president for mission and student engagement; Dr. Victor Romano, associate vice provost for student success and undergraduate studies; and Dr. Glenn Bowen, executive director of the Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI).

The Barry Urban Garden promotes environmental health and food security for near-campus neighborhoods classified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as urban food deserts. The garden is located outside Powers Hall.

The bulk of MLK Day of Service volunteers participated virtually. The online component of the event featured a presentation by faculty in Barry’s Africana Studies Program, a discussion with community partners focused on King’s work as a community organizer, and an activity that engaged participants in Dream Defenders’ racial justice work.

Dr. Karen Callaghan, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), facilitated the session on the Africana Studies Program and reflected on MLK’s activism and service legacy.

Dr. Pamela Hall, a CAS associate dean and director of Africana Studies, opened the session with a ceremonial libation, a ritual pouring of liquids or grains common to many cultures. Hall also reflected on her memories of being called to service at an early age, when she frequently helped her less-fortunate neighbors by cooking meals and giving her toys to children who didn’t have any presents at Christmas.

Rev. Richard Clements, an adjunct faculty member who teaches a course in liberation theology and the Black church, gave a stirring speech about King’s commitment to his community. He reminded the event attendees that they, too, have a responsibility and the ability to serve.

Department of Fine Arts faculty member Yvonne Goodridge shook things up by leading members of Barry’s dance team in a hip hop performance. That was followed by a virtual line dance that involved all event participants.

Community Organizing Discussion and Demonstration

The second portion of the online component focused on community organizing as a method of social change. Taking part in an interactive discussion were Rob Collins, the education and outreach coordinator of HOPE (Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence), Inc., and Lakshmi Ruiz, a Dream Defenders organizer. The discussion was complemented by a demonstration of community organizing.

An attorney, Collins concentrates his day-to-day work on raising awareness about civil rights as they pertain to housing and exposes incidents of housing discrimination.

President Praises King’s Contributions to Country

Barry University President Dr. Mike Allen has praised Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “incredible contributions to our country.” He has also called on everyone to continue King’s work.

In a message to the university on MLK Day, the federal holiday, Allen said: “Today, we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his incredible contributions to our country and the Civil Rights Movement. Recent history highlights how important it is for all of us to continue his work.”

President Allen thanked the students, faculty, and staff members who participated in Barry’s MLK Day of Service event two days earlier. He encouraged everyone to take the opportunity “to learn, reflect, and serve.”

Barry’s MLK Day of Service was January 16 this year—the Saturday immediately preceding the federal holiday.

A community organizer, Ruiz raises youth consciousness about the systems that propagate inequality and injustice. She supports racial justice activists in working through institutions to achieve systemic change.

As part of the MLK Day of Service event, Ruiz facilitated a series of small-group activities that helped participants imagine a socially just community and examine how communities allocate their resources. She showed a film about the Dream Defenders’ Freedom Papers and then used an online Post-it (note)-type platform to engage participants in brainstorming on services and conditions they would like to see in their community.

Dream Defenders will share with local lawmakers various social concerns raised and ideas generated by the participants. Representatives of Dream Defenders regularly meet with elected officials.

Rev. Richard Clements gives a stirring speech about Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s commitment to his community. “What Matters” was the theme of this year’s MLK Day of Service at Barry. A civil rights leader and ordained minister in the Baptist Church, King spoke about “things that matter” in his speech about courage in March 1965, in Selma, Alabama.

Above is an online Post-it (note) display of topics and issues that students and others care about. Dream Defenders Organizer Lakshmi Ruiz is pictured facilitating the activity that helped participants imagine a socially just community. Among the student participants seen here are Shanieya Harris and Ryan Parker.

MLK Day of Service activities were facilitated by AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) members serving at Barry University, with support from Barry Service Corps (BSC) fellows and CCSI staff.

CCSI-based VISTA members Gabe Bouani and Kaitlyn Gallagher support youth development and food security projects, respectively. Faith Acfalle and Jaedyn Amaro serve with the Office of Mission Engagement. Acfalle’s work focuses on inclusive leadership and resilient communities while Amaro supports environmental sustainability and STEM education projects.

BSC Fellows—who form the civic leadership cohort of the CCSI-organized Barry Service Corps—supported MLK Day of Service as group leaders and reflection facilitators.

Barry’s annual MLK Day of Service is the Saturday just before the King holiday, which is the third Monday of January.

Deadline For Submission Of Community Engagement Award Nominations Is Next Friday

The eighth annual Community Engagement Awards Ceremony is scheduled for April 7. Students, faculty, and staff members, as well as community partners, are invited to submit award nominations by January 29.

Next Friday is the deadline for the submission of nominations for Barry’s eighth annual Community Engagement Awards. Students, faculty, and staff members, as well as community partners, are invited to submit nominations by the January 29 deadline.

The seven categories of awards are Community Impact, Community Partnership, Community-Based Research, Community-Engaged Scholarship, Community Engagement Educator, Service-Learning Faculty, and Engaged Department.

The CCSI will host this year’s Community Engagement Awards Ceremony on April 7 beginning at noon.

The nomination forms are available at the CCSI website. For additional information, contact the CCSI at service@barry.edu.

Barry Faculty And Staff Members Contribute To Community Engagement Journal

Barry faculty and staff members making considerable contributions to IJRSLCE—the International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement—include Dr. Heidi Whitford, Yamilet Hernandez, and Dr. Beatriz Calvo-Peña.

Dr. Heidi Whitford, associate professor of education, has been appointed to the editorial team of the International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (IJRSLCE) as a coeditor for the Faculty Roles and Institutional Issues section.

Besides joining the editorial team last September, Whitford contributed a book review to the current issue of the journal. She reviewed Democracy, Civic Engagement, and Citizenship in Higher Education: Reclaiming Our Civic Purpose (edited by W. V. Flores and K. S. Rogers). Whitford’s book review in IJRSLCE, Vol. 8, No. 1 (2020) is titled “Renewing the Civic and Democratic Mission of Higher Education: Perspectives of Leadership.”

Also making what the senior editors call “a considerable contribution” to the journal issue are two faculty members of the Department of English and Foreign Languages in Barry’s College of Arts and Sciences. Beatriz Calvo-Peña, an associate professor of Spanish, and Yamilet Hernandez, an adjunct professor and manager of the Studio for Languages and Cultures, translated, from English to Spanish, 17 abstracts of articles in the journal issue.

Dr. Glenn A. Bowen, executive director of the CCSI, is a senior editor of IJRSLCE. The online journal is published annually by the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE).

Semester’s Service-Learning Course In Social Work Shaping Up For Success

This semester’s SW 323, Service-Learning and Social Work Practice, is shaping up to be a huge success in engaging students with the community. Instructors Preeti Charania, LCSW, and Liz James, MSW, have assigned their students to specific service-learning and civic engagement modules developed by the CCSI.

“This course is special since it is a precursor to the field education course, which social work students will be taking in their senior year,” Charania said. “This course will provide an excellent exposure and preparation for future civic engagement, personal reflection, and service to underserved populations.”

Details will be published in next week’s issue of Community Engagement News.