January 8, 2023—The 2023 National Day of Racial Healing is being commemorated in New Jersey with a week of free, in-person and online activities sponsored by the Creating Change Network(CCN), in cooperation with the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Center at Rutgers University-Newark (TRHT Center).

The 2023 theme of the New Jersey-sponsored events is “Redefining and Rebuilding Community.” Information about the full schedule and tickets for the New Jersey events, which will be held January 16-24, 2023, can be found at this link.

In the fall of last year, I wrote a blog urging the readers of Arts & Culture Connections to plan events to create opportunities for community engagement, discussions and collective development of a blueprint for how we can utilize the arts to heal from the effects of racism (#HowWeHeal). I am proud that the Creating Change Network (CCN), in conjunction with the TRHT Center at Rutgers, has invested so much time and effort in creating such extensive and free programming.

This is the seventh year of observing The National Day of Racial Healing, which is part of the Truth, Racial, Healing & Transformation programs sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. And this is the second year that the CCN, comprised of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and ArtPride New Jersey, have joined with the TRHT Center to facilitate participation by New Jersey’s arts community.

Sharon Stroye, director of the TRHT Center and the director of Public Engagement in the School of Public Affairs and Administration at the university, said the events offer “an opportunity for people, organizations, and communities to interpret what community means to them and to take action together in creating a just and equitable New Jersey.

“After a global pandemic, the racial reckoning the world is experiencing, and the divisive political rancor, how do we redefine and rebuild inclusive communities for all people? The Creating Change Network is a strategic and collaborative partner in promoting racial healing and relationship building throughout the New Jersey arts community,” she added.

All events are being supported by the Grunin Foundation.

I hope you will make the time to check out the schedule at this link and participate in The 2023 National Day of Racial Healing. As always, I would like to know what you think. I invite you to share your thoughts and comments below.