Bush Fellow Works to Warm New Americans’ Welcome to Fargo-Moorhead
2013 Bush Fellow Kevin Brooks wants to make sure that the growing number of new Americans who make their home in the Fargo-Moorhead community truly feel “at home.” He and several other leaders helped organize community events during Welcoming Week, a national effort organized by Welcoming America that celebrates the contributions of immigrants to American communities.
Welcoming Week offered many unique opportunities to build stronger connections between longtime residents and new Americans. One event, Community Table, brought people together using a universal need: food. Brooks told the Fargo InForum that “[t]he idea of being at a community table is that you’ll be able to meet somebody new and different and you’ll ideally start a relationship that gets maintained beyond that event.”
This is not the only way in which Brooks works to make Fargo-Moorhead more welcoming to new Americans. The North Dakota State University English professor also leads Giving + Learning, a volunteer-driven in-home English language tutoring program.
Brazil Offers Bush Fellow Insight on Efforts to Address Racial Disparities
2013 Bush Fellow Elizabeth Glidden recently traveled to Brazil to study the impact of its racial inequality reduction laws.
Glidden, who serves as vice president of the Minneapolis City Council, is leading efforts to address racial disparities in the city. Brazil recently implemented a number of policies to curb racial inequality, including hiring quotas for government jobs. Glidden told the Southwest Journal that Brazil’s experience can inform efforts in Minneapolis and across the country.
“This is the context that is motivating so many of us on the City Council — that is driving organizing efforts across the country, and certainly in Minneapolis, around thinking about these tough concepts of white privilege, dominance of one culture and what do we need to do to correct that inequity.” Glidden said.
Read the Southwest Journal article about Glidden’s trip and work addressing racial inequality.
Reinventing the Road to Recovery
In a recent Pollen profile, 2015 Bush Fellow David Whitesock shared his personal story of recovery from addiction and how it lead to his work helping individuals overcome the same illness that challenged him.
Whitesock is the addiction informatics officer for Face It TOGETHER, an organization based in Sioux Falls, SD that received a 2014 Bush Prize for Community Innovation for its highly collaborative, community-based approach to helping people with drug and alcohol addiction get well. This unique approach sets Face It TOGETHER apart from traditional treatment strategies.
“We want to look at how addiction has been addressed by public sector, private sector, society as a whole, and ask the question, ‘Is this getting the job done?’” Whitesock told Pollen. “If it’s not, we’re not going to be judgmental, but we’re going to come up with something different.”
Read the full Pollen profile to learn more about Whitesock’s story and Face It TOGETHER’s plans for the future.