February is here and the work of the Welcoming Community program in northeast Minnesota continues to move forward!
What’s Next: Identifying Communities for Learning Cohorts
In January, the Welcoming Community Advisory Committee met to discuss which three communities will serve as locations for the initial Learning Cohorts for northeast Minnesota. These discussions were guided by data gathered from 2021 CEDS participation, registrations from the 2021 Northeast Minnesota Equity Summit, and regional diversity census data.
The paired interest and diversity data were used to rank cities and school districts across the region for the committee members to consider in indicating their preference for Learning Cohort locations. The final decision on those locations will be forthcoming.
After the Learning Cohort locations are announced, next steps will include recruiting community members to participate in the Inclusion Readiness Assessments administered by the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Community Vitality.
Continued Learning Theme for February: Racial Equity
A goal of the Welcoming Community program is to provide the community with continued opportunities for learning and connection related to topics relevant to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our region. In our monthly updates, we highlight a specific equity topic and provide resources related to the monthly theme.
The theme for the month of February is Racial Equity. When exploring the learnings in the Resources to Explore section below, we ask you to consider the following question:
“In terms of racial equity in northeast Minnesota, where have we come from, where are we now, and what steps do we need to take to reach an equitable future?”
Resources to Explore
- Federal Investigation Seeks To Uncover the Painful History of Native American Boarding Schools, Minnesota Reformer
- Benedictine Nuns Apologize for Native Boarding Schools In Minnesota, MN CBS
- 1920 Duluth Lynchings, Minnesota Historical Society
- Voices for Ethnic and Multicultural Awareness, VEMA
- A Simple Mistake: Documentary Film, VEMA
- Duluth NAACP President’s View: Northland Falling Short on Making Real Changes, Duluth News Tribune
Free Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)
In support of our goal to increase cultural fluency in our region, Northspan is offering the opportunity to sign up to complete your FREE Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) Assessment and an individual IDI Debrief tailored to your Developmental Orientation (DO). This opportunity is for community leaders and those who have expressed interest in DEI work in northeast Minnesota. If you are interested in taking advantage of this opportunity, please sign up at the link below.
Sign up to complete your free IDI
Invite a Friend
If you know others in your community that would be interested in participating with Welcoming Community programming, please share so they can learn more. Click Here to join our email list.
Contact Northspan’s Welcoming Community Program Coordinator Amber Lewis at alewis@northspan.org with any questions.