Upcoming Interfaith Summit Looks at Racial Discrimination and Economic Inequality

ANN ARBOR – An upcoming interfaith summit held on March 6 will look at how racial discrimination and economic inequality affect the larger society.
"Connect and Act: Building the Movement for Economic and Racial Justice," will offer an opportunity for faith communities and members of the LGBT and ally communities to gather and discuss how people of faith can come together and figure out how to best address the mechanisms through which racial discrimination and economic inequality are being reproduced in the society through areas like housing segregation, educational stratification, income inequality and the criminal justice system.
The event will feature three keynote speakers and a series of workshops focused on strengthening existing action campaigns and raising awarness between local groups and individuals working on these issues.
Keynote speakers will include Shane Claiborne, founding partner of The Simple Way; Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations; and Jeannette Huezo, director of United for a Fair Economy.
Claiborne is a self-proclaimed "ordinary radical" from eastern Tennessee and is a founding member of the New Monasticism movement, which encourages a life of simplicity, nonviolence, community and prayer. He has written multiple books around his work in the faith community including "Jesus for President," "Red Letter Revolution" and "Common Prayer."
Walid is head of the Michigan chapter of America's largest advocacy and civil liberties organization for Muslims. CAIR has been actively involved in the national Black Lives Matter movement, seeking to challenge ingrained societal inequality and racism. At a recent conference in Detroit, Walid urged attendees to consider recent police shootings as injustice that must be considered by the Muslim Community.
"We need to reframe and discuss how we think of it. The first Muslims here were African-American, about one third of the American Muslim community is black. Those who have been involved in the struggle for freedom, justice and equality — those names we don't know preceding Malcolm X, to Muhammad Ali, to people (of) Masjid Wali Muhammad, that used to be Temple Number One off of Linwood and Burlingame in Detroit — have always been part of the Muslim experience," he said.
Huezo has coordinated UFE's popular education work and facilitated many workshops. Recently she became UFE's executive director after serving the company for 14 years, advocating for multilingual justice at the organizational and movement level.
Workshops to be offered at the Connect & Act Summit will focus on different ways people can connect with local groups and individuals working on these issues in the community and act either through existing action campaigns, raising awareness or through developing the various skills needed to make these efforts effective.
Dozens of community groups from across the state will attend and offer participants the opportunity to "get up to speed" with what's happening in communities across the state.
To register for the event, go to http://www.connectandact.org/register/. The early bird rate of $25 is available until Feb. 27.
A coalition of congregations is organizing a breakfast with Shane Claiborne on March 7. To be included contact Joe Summers, Reverend at The Episcopal Church the Incarnation at [email protected].
The summit will be held from 1-8 p.m. on March 6 at the Vineyard Church. The Vineyard Church is located at 2275 Platt Road, Ann Arbor.