N.O.A.R. The John Lewis Good Trouble Banquet & Awards

204 Water Street,Benton Harbor MI 49022

12 November, 2022

Description

This November Neighbors Organizing Against Racism (N.O.A.R) will present the inaugural John Lewis ‘Good Trouble’ Awards banquet and ceremony. The event seeks to celebrate and honor the work of individuals and corporations in Berrien County who have joined us in the important work of bridging the racial divide between the communities of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph. The keynote speaker will be Jousha Short former WNDU news anchor. The awards will be held November 12th 2022 at The Oak Room the Citadel. Awards will be given out in the categories of the Voice of the People Award, The Lifetime Achievement Award, The Chairperson Award, Volunteer of the Year and Corporate Partner of the Year. N.O.A.R. began in 2020 as a way to harness the desire for people of all races to heal racial divides after the outrage sparked by the George Floyd murder witnessed across the nation. N.O.A.R.’s first event was a peace march, attended by over 600 local citizens, through the streets of St Joseph, MI, over the bridge and culminating at Dwight Mitchell Park in Benton Harbor. Soon after N.O.A.R gathered people together again to paint a Black Lives Matter mural on Colfax Avenue in front of Benton Harbor High School. Since then the non-profit has held community book reads, given out thanksgiving turkeys to Benton Harbor residents and brough author Alex Kolowitz, author of ‘The Other Side of the River’, a detailed book about the death of Eric McGinnis, to town for a Q & A and follow up in light of the case being re-opened. Most recently the organization has teamed up with the Berrien Community Foundation to put billboards all around Benton Harbor encouraging its residents to get vaccinated. “If there is one this that we have realized is that there are so many of us who do not want our communities to feel divided. There is a history of St. Joe and Benton Harbor at odds with each other racially and economically, but this past few years has shown us all that we want to heal that history, and write a new story for our communities,” says N.O.A.R. Founder Trenton Bowens. “Through this work we have seen people from both communities go above and beyond to help us achieve unity and equality. We thought that having a banquet and creating awards to honor this work would be a great way to celebrate the dedication to equality that exists on both sides of the bridge, and give us a chance to celebrate each other, together.”