Past Events

2006: Create CommUNITY sponsors video teleconferences in St. Cloud on

“Minding the Gap: Opportunity for All as a Strategy for Economic Success”;

“Health Disparities” and “Building an Integrated Society: A Community Conversation” (Organized by the Minneapolis Foundation)

1st Annual Event

October 10, 2006

“Conversation on Race”

More than 500 diverse people attend luncheon with Dr. Michael Emerson as keynote speaker

Create CommUNITY’s Four Focus Areas announced.

2nd Annual Event

October 22, 2007

“Continuing the Conversation on Race”

Intentionally talking about institutional racism

Community discussion on the four Focus Areas

Keynote Speaker from Crossroads – •Rev. Jessica Vasquez Torres

More than 600 racially diverse participants from the community throughout the workshops and luncheon.

3rd Annual Event

October 23, 2008

“Continuing Conversations on Race: Economic Opportunities”

Keynote Speaker– Dr. Reatha Clark King

More than 400 racially diverse participants from the community including the business community through the St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce attend the luncheon.

4th Annual Event
October 20, 2009
“Continuing Conversations on Race: Exploring Community Connections” Honored more than sixty volunteer community members who worked hard to dismantle racism in our community. More than 500 racially diverse participants attended the lunch and dinner event.

5th Annual Event

October 12, 2010

“Challenging Racism in Our Lives and Communities”

Keynote Speaker– Dr. Heather W. Hackman spoke on “Challenging Racism and White Privilege In Our community” Hackman Handout

Featured skit by High Impact with Michael Agnew, Artistic Director for GTC Dramatic Dialogues, and five volunteer community members – Eunice Adjei, Daryl Burch, Stewart Tighe; Azania and Hedy Tripp.

Over 300 people gathered for the 5^th Annual Conversation on Race. This event brought together a very diverse cross section of the community to discuss the concept of white privilege and how it affects the connectedness of our communities. A skit portrayed how some of the unrecognized assumptions we often make based on skin color could play out in a retail shopping scenario. Participants then had an in-depth discussion at their tables about how this impacts our community.

The Omeka and Latinameka Education Summit: “Promoting Equity and Academic Success for Students of Color.”

The Education Summit, held on September 25, 2010 at the Atonement Lutheran Church in St. Cloud, Minnesota, was an amazing feat to organize but so worth the effort. It was exciting to watch the day unfold. Program

More than two hundred participants including parents were very excited to learn about educational concerns and have the opportunity to talk directly to the District 742 school board candidates about issues that their children were facing in the school district. Community organizations supported the event by donating door prizes and over 1,000 books were given to parents and children.

From the Welcome address and the Keynote address in the morning to the World Café at the end…all created a “buzz” in the air with the participants and the presenters deeply engaged in unique and creative ways. We were our authentic selves, asking questions, listening intently to the responses and choosing best practices to engage with our local school district; work in our homes with our children and for the community as a whole. This was a bold step forward towards making the St. Cloud school district one of the top districts in the country.

CommUNITY Tables
Using the Marnita’s Table concept to intentionally connect across race, class and culture, more than a hundred highly multi-cultural and multi-ethnic community people came together to participate in social interaction over issues that Create CommUNITY has been focusing on.

The first CommUNITY Table entitled “Immigration: Our Personal Stories,” was held at the home of Mayor Dave Kleis on March. 22. A highly multi-cultural group of community members came together to talk about how immigration intersects with each of Create CommUNITY’s three focus areas, as well as exchanging our personal stories. (see album of pictures) 

The second CommUNITY Table was held on Sunday, June 28, 2009 at the home of Beth & Jim Knutson-Kolodzne The feast and dialogue centered on Access: The Meaning of Home and was designed for the community to come together and connect across race, class and culture for conversation and fellowship for a more inclusive Central Minnesota. (See album of pictures)  

The third CommUNITY Table: “Learn This! A Conversation to Inspire Educational Attainment” was held at the home of Noreen Dunnells and Jeff Stimler on October 27, 2009. There were 58 participants (46% people of color and new immigrants). (See album of pictures)

The fourth CommUNITY Table: “Healthcare: A Personal View” was held at Renner House, home of President MaryAnn Baenninger, College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, MN on November 1, 2009. There were 60 participants with 58% people of color.
(See album of pictures)

Movie Nights

Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North
More than 60 racially diverse community people attended Create CommUNITY’s first Movie-Night “Traces of the Trade” held at the beautiful St. Cloud Public Library on June 18, 2009 and about 30 people stayed for a deeply engaged discussion on the film. The book “Inheriting the Trade” by Thomas DeWolf was also made available to participants by Create CommUNITY’s generous supporters. This event was a further opportunity for the community to come together to talk about race and its implications in our society.

The film is Winner of the Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film & Digital Media from the Council on Foundations and Grantmakers in Film & Electronic Media. It documents a unique journey of one family’s discovery into the history and legacy of slavery in the United States. This documentary “is an important historical corrective to America's view of slavery and its consequences, and a probing essay into divergent versions of a history that continues to divide black and white in America in both the North and South.”

Color of Fear
On August 18, 2009, twenty-nine people (50% people of color) viewed this insightful, ground- breaking film about the state of race relations in America as seen through the eyes of eight North American men of Asian, European, Latino and African descent. It was produced in 1994, directed by Lee Mun Wah, to have a dialog about the state of race relations in the USA which today can still be emotionally charged.

Made in LA
On April 20, 2010, about thirty people attended this Emmy Award winning film about immigrant women, workers’ rights and justice. Two organizations co-sponsored this showing with Create CommUNITY – National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum and Perseverancia.




	Upcoming Events	Past Events 2006: Create CommUNITY sponsors video teleconferences in St. Cloud on “Minding the Gap: Opportunity for All as a Strategy for Economic Success”; “Health Disparities” and “Building an Integrated Society: A Community Conversation” (Organized by the Minneapolis Foundation) 1st Annual Event October 10, 2006 “Conversation on Race” More than 500 diverse people attend luncheon with Dr. Michael Emerson as keynote speaker Create CommUNITY’s Four Focus Areas announced. 2nd Annual Event October 22, 2007 “Continuing the Conversation on Race” Intentionally talking about institutional racism Community discussion on the four Focus Areas Keynote Speaker from Crossroads – •Rev. Jessica Vasquez Torres More than 600 racially diverse participants from the community throughout the workshops and luncheon. 3rd Annual Event October 23, 2008 “Continuing Conversations on Race: Economic Opportunities” Keynote Speaker– Dr. Reatha Clark King More than 400 racially diverse participants from the community including the business community through the St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce attend the luncheon. 4th Annual Event October 20, 2009 “Continuing Conversations on Race: Exploring Community Connections” Honored more than sixty volunteer community members who worked hard to dismantle racism in our community. More than 500 racially diverse participants attended the lunch and dinner event. 5th Annual Event October 12, 2010 “Challenging Racism in Our Lives and Communities” Keynote Speaker– Dr. Heather W. Hackman spoke on “Challenging Racism and White Privilege In Our community” Hackman Handout Featured skit by High Impact with Michael Agnew, Artistic Director for GTC Dramatic Dialogues, and five volunteer community members – Eunice Adjei, Daryl Burch, Stewart Tighe; Azania and Hedy Tripp. Over 300 people gathered for the 5^th Annual Conversation on Race. This event brought together a very diverse cross section of the community to discuss the concept of white privilege and how it affects the connectedness of our communities. A skit portrayed how some of the unrecognized assumptions we often make based on skin color could play out in a retail shopping scenario. Participants then had an in-depth discussion at their tables about how this impacts our community. The Omeka and Latinameka Education Summit: “Promoting Equity and Academic Success for Students of Color.” The Education Summit, held on September 25, 2010 at the Atonement Lutheran Church in St. Cloud, Minnesota, was an amazing feat to organize but so worth the effort. It was exciting to watch the day unfold. Program More than two hundred participants including parents were very excited to learn about educational concerns and have the opportunity to talk directly to the District 742 school board candidates about issues that their children were facing in the school district. Community organizations supported the event by donating door prizes and over 1,000 books were given to parents and children. From the Welcome address and the Keynote address in the morning to the World Café at the end…all created a “buzz” in the air with the participants and the presenters deeply engaged in unique and creative ways. We were our authentic selves, asking questions, listening intently to the responses and choosing best practices to engage with our local school district; work in our homes with our children and for the community as a whole. This was a bold step forward towards making the St. Cloud school district one of the top districts in the country. CommUNITY Tables Using the Marnita’s Table concept to intentionally connect across race, class and culture, more than a hundred highly multi-cultural and multi-ethnic community people came together to participate in social interaction over issues that Create CommUNITY has been focusing on. The first CommUNITY Table entitled “Immigration: Our Personal Stories,” was held at the home of Mayor Dave Kleis on March. 22. A highly multi-cultural group of community members came together to talk about how immigration intersects with each of Create CommUNITY’s three focus areas, as well as exchanging our personal stories. (see album of pictures)  The second CommUNITY Table was held on Sunday, June 28, 2009 at the home of Beth & Jim Knutson-Kolodzne The feast and dialogue centered on Access: The Meaning of Home and was designed for the community to come together and connect across race, class and culture for conversation and fellowship for a more inclusive Central Minnesota. (See album of pictures)   The third CommUNITY Table: “Learn This! A Conversation to Inspire Educational Attainment” was held at the home of Noreen Dunnells and Jeff Stimler on October 27, 2009. There were 58 participants (46% people of color and new immigrants). (See album of pictures) The fourth CommUNITY Table: “Healthcare: A Personal View” was held at Renner House, home of President MaryAnn Baenninger, College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, MN on November 1, 2009. There were 60 participants with 58% people of color. (See album of pictures) Movie Nights Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North More than 60 racially diverse community people attended Create CommUNITY’s first Movie-Night “Traces of the Trade” held at the beautiful St. Cloud Public Library on June 18, 2009 and about 30 people stayed for a deeply engaged discussion on the film. The book “Inheriting the Trade” by Thomas DeWolf was also made available to participants by Create CommUNITY’s generous supporters. This event was a further opportunity for the community to come together to talk about race and its implications in our society. The film is Winner of the Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film & Digital Media from the Council on Foundations and Grantmakers in Film & Electronic Media. It documents a unique journey of one family’s discovery into the history and legacy of slavery in the United States. This documentary “is an important historical corrective to America's view of slavery and its consequences, and a probing essay into divergent versions of a history that continues to divide black and white in America in both the North and South.” Color of Fear On August 18, 2009, twenty-nine people (50% people of color) viewed this insightful, ground- breaking film about the state of race relations in America as seen through the eyes of eight North American men of Asian, European, Latino and African descent. It was produced in 1994, directed by Lee Mun Wah, to have a dialog about the state of race relations in the USA which today can still be emotionally charged. Made in LA On April 20, 2010, about thirty people attended this Emmy Award winning film about immigrant women, workers’ rights and justice. Two organizations co-sponsored this showing with Create CommUNITY – National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum and Perseverancia.
		Some photography courtesy of Derek Eaton Hughes

Upcoming Events

Past Events

1st Annual Event

2nd Annual Event

3rd Annual Event

The Omeka and Latinameka Education Summit: “Promoting Equity and Academic Success for Students of Color.”