“Racial healing starts with a change of the heart,” Dorothy McClendon
The Battle Creek Coalition for Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) is hosting the inaugural Dorothy McClendon Day on Friday, June 18th from 6 to 8 pm at Leila Arboretum by the Kaleidoscope Garden.
Community members are invited to drive, walk, or roll through Leila Arboretum to greet their Battle Creek neighbors and receive TRHT-inspired gifts, thanks to local sponsors.Attendees will be invited to decorate a tree that will be planted in Dorothy’s memory with their response to the prompt, “To me, racial healing means...” written on red hearts. The hearts will be tied to the tree.
With music to set a festive atmosphere, there will be birthday cake to celebrate the joy and kinship in coming together in Dorothy’s memory for racial healing. Dorothy’s family and community leaders will speak, starting at 6:30 pm. The event will also be live streamed on TRHT’s Facebook page.
Guests will leave this free event ready to plant their own seeds for change - in the form of actual flower seeds, as well as TRHT decals, pens, yard signs, and celebratory cake.
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This annual recognition will honor Dorothy’s life and legacy. A passionate visionary, social worker, and community leader who passed away in 2020, Dorothy was a fierce contributor to racial equity and healing work. She was a founding member of the Battle Creek Coalition for TRHT and the Sacred Conversations Book Club. She also served on the board of the Battle Creek Community Foundation and was a faithful member of Second Missionary Baptist Church for more than three decades. Dorothy laughed easily and made fast friends everywhere she went. Her curiosity about exploring anything new--a book, a friend, a recipe or restaurant--was one of her defining traits, and made her a fearless leader.
When grounded in empathy and oriented towards equity and liberation, racial healing has restorative and affirming power, rooted in our shared humanity and inherent value. After this past year, our need for collective healing, accountability, and racial justice is historic. We are called to act now.
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