So you think you've got an idea for a project to improve your community. Now what? Finding the money to make it a reality isn't easy. That's especially true for smaller-scale projects that might not interest foundations and other established funders. But the Urban Democracy Feast project hopes to change that in Kalamazoo.
One of its organizers is former Western Michigan University professor Santiago Valles, who now teaches at the University of Michigan Dearborn. He says it's modeled on similar initiatives in cities in North America and Europe like Detroit, Chicago, Baltimore, Seattle, and Madrid.
The Kalamazoo event will be held on Saturday, May 2, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Hispanic American Council, 936 Lake Street. For ten dollars you get a ticket and a ballot to decide which of three social justice projects will get the proceeds from the dinner. Santiago Valles says it's an example of people in the community acting directly to address the problems they and their neighbors face.
"What we're trying to do is address some of the gaps in issues of social justice and address some of the democratic deficits that are sadly in existence here in the city."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj3YcmS4_YU
Santiago Valles says the three projects seeking funding are a community news service; a training program for community organizers working on issues involving race, class, and gender; and project that uses art to deal with mental health issues. After the presentations and the dinner, ballots will be counted and the winner announced. That winner must come to a future feast to report on how well the money was used.
There are plans for a second Urban Democracy Feast in Kalamazoo this fall. Santiago Valles says three will be held in 2016 and, beginning the following year, they will be held every three months.
"Our hope is that this process of direct participation in decision-making spills over into the school system, and into the university, and into the community organizations, and the decisions that are made in the city that affect the majority of the population."
The Kalamazoo feast's website gives 30 examples of the kinds of projects it could support. They include a daycare center for the children of third shift workers; a map of unused properties that could be converted into urban farms; worker-owned businesses to create jobs; scholarships to train more doctors and lawyers to serve low-income areas; and a "bad cop database" to track reports of violence involving law enforcement officers.
The Kalamazoo Urban Democracy Feast project has support from a variety of community groups, including urban farmers, the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, Kalamazoo Non-Violent Opponents of War, the WMU Peace Center, Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes, and others.
Get more information about the event by e-mail at urbandemocracyfeast (at) gmail.com or by calling (269) 388-3809 (10 a.m. to 10 p.m.). The doors open Saturday at 5:30 p.m. and child care will be provided. Tickets are available at the door.
