welcome we're going to get started with the social justice award ceremony i just want to welcome all of you on behalf of mayor de boer our city council and city manager ryan cotton to the social justice awards today and also i would like to have the opportunity to introduce you to the human relations commission who works hires tireless lee throughout the year to bring an award ceremony to use i'd like andrea me how who is not here tonight if i forgot that she's not be here tonight and bree osteen roberts the human relations commission works to promote social justice in our community and i want you to know who these individuals are because they meet once a month the third thursday of the month from six starting at six o'clock and they meet up stairs in the second floor training room i would like to personally extend an invitation to you to come and visit our meetings think you'll learn a lot of interesting things and also we want to hear what our community finally i would like to recognize one individual here who works with us he's a constant force and his name is council member wayne clamp arends wayne can you just phil corey is one of those commissioners that rain sleet or snow he's always there he's constant this year promises to be an exciting year i'm really excited and hopeful for the new year that is here i am hopeful for great things that are going to be occurring in our community i'd like to reflect i'd like us all to reflect on the good things of twenty sixteen and also think about those things that are worrisome sometimes it's hard to remember that we have much more in common than we have than that which is different i would dare say that many of us when we see the moon the sun when we look at a newborn child we all have that sense of wonder in our hearts many of us will physically when we see our child hurt or suffer a setback makes us common between all ages between our races between everything i think there is a constant in everyone's life when we look at our children or just the simple things in life we all feel in their very same way we are belong to the race of humanity respect for the dignity of the human spirit is sacred regardless of whether you are a person with disabilities muslim jew christian female male gay straight transgender young old rich poor white hispanic asian we are all sacred when we as a community respect the experience of others when we have the courage to listen or we will we oppress voices well humanity's downfall be a result of intolerance and then willingness to listen to the cry of our neighbors let's withhold judgment and look at each life as sacred the sacredness of each spirit i respectfully urge each of you in whatever role you have personal or private approach personal or public that you work toward a  model there is a book written by two women a jewish woman and a muslim woman called tech top tectonic leadership harnessing the power of tension a paradoxical approach to building alliances at home in the boardroom on campus and in communities rather than avoid conflict you face the conflict courageously these types of leaders expose spoken and unspoken elements of conflict these leaders seize tension and use it to connect rather than divide to engage others and not alienate to inform and not intimidate to innovate and not imitate all behaviors that don't take us to the next level diverse and inclusive communities exhibit these behaviors for those of us that are harmed by the status quo and experience the pain of exclusion we must harness the harm and work outside of our comfort zones to engage outside of that circle i think dr martin luther king would support this approach at the very core of humanity we are all the same yet we are not when we see the injustice of systems and processes that our press have to our fellow man we must think whether or not we are all the same living wages and affordable housing alone can lift members of our community out of oppression and at the same time bring prosperity to our communities better educational opportunities for students of all incomes bring hope and abundance to lives i challenge you to look at systems and structures in place at work in your places of worship in your neighborhood and my son would say at home to look for systems look for these things that are a process of and what we do day to day the same systems and structures work great for the privileged however it may not be so great for those who are disenfranchised business owners you want to see a higher profit create diverse work teams you will reap in profits and innovations from different perspectives communities it will increase our tax base if we are attracting diverse workforce i would ask that you walk with me walk together that we all walk together on a path of justice equity and charity toward our fellow man each year the human relations commission recognizes individuals in the community who are working quietly to promote equity we want to promote equal opportunity and equal access for all residents of holland the social justice awards are presented the week of martin luther king day to recognize the work that he did he dedicated his life to social justice to improve the quality of life for all people because when one person is lifted out of oppression we are all lifted up we become better this year's human relations commission will be reporting several different rewards today we are honoring one local business we're honoring several young people in our community who are doing wonderful things and i can't wait to see what i can't wait to read the newspaper twenty years from now in the communities that they let live and i would like now to hand this over to tomato king the share of the human relations commission thank you so much for coming so thank you esther each year the hon youth advisory council slugs a young person in their community who is recognized for their work to serve community this year i'd like to introduce jasmine martinez a junior in high school and a member of the we counsel to announce that selection good evening the hanyu divisor council is proud to present jesse lynn for the human relations commission youth justice award this year for bringing the community together despite the cultural division taking place prior to election time on of unification and coming together as one despite the mixed emotions of election or how one voted just his objective was to show that as a community we have served everyone no matter of someone's race gender religion sex orientation and so forth some of the youth that participated in this peaceful protest thanked him they had felt as though they couldn't really speak their mind or be themselves or time because they were afraid and that's exactly what he wanted to demonstrate holland would not let happen just his passion for treating others with respect became even stronger sometime this past year when he realized a little diversity he was exposed to was frightening there's a high need to be aware and understanding of others who come from different backgrounds to make sure everyone is given any cooperate to nudity he is someone who enjoys meeting people of different backgrounds and seeing their views which allow him to get a better understanding of his own neighborhood you well i didn't know i'd be seeing a speech but  i'd like to start off saying i'm very honored to receive this award i honestly don't feel like i deserve it up to doing up to organizing the event i had done nothing in our community i had experienced no diverse no oppression whatsoever and there are people all around me who experience this oppression and work against it constantly  but then i also see how i kind of reached my hand out to make a sort of a bridge between that no pression and between me the just the average white guy so i guess that has some importance to i'd like to think those with diverse disabilities and capabilities aspire nash is also recognized for his double up food program a seasonal program that improves access and affordability for low income families to access that healthy food and produce addition the south washington street family fair supports inclusive employment and education as well by partnering with local high schools to provide internships to students with disabilities this internship provides a safe environment which to develop skill sets that can be transferred to the marketplace locally dollars barnett retail stores together raised over nine thousand dollars in retail scan which allowed customers to make contributions to benefit special effects of michigan spar gnashes raised over eight point eight million on behalf of i have to say i too am a little unprepared for a speech here and so this fought it out through the email chain this morning i just want to say thank you for being nominated for this we try to do a lot of work across the board as far as inclusion and keeping people involved the community it's always great i've always grown up with diversity working with the first city very important part of our business the very purpose of our community and it's always a choice as having different viewpoints from everything everybody working together work and side by side it's always just a fun fun event actually through so just want to say thank you appreciate it so thank you at this time i'd like to introduce star jennifer white who is the chair locked and will be presenting the following the remaining other awards  right this year the commission wanted to hear a perspective from you martin luther king i have a dream speech meant to them in their lives so the winners for the first annual martin luther king i have a dream as they com civil rights and equal access i have a dream that in my community we give opportunities for the financially challenged and raise them from their situation to prepare them for jobs that will not only allow them to survive but allow them to live full and happy lives how are we as members of a close knit nation supposed to contribute to our community and economy when we are not given the educational tools to do so i have a dream that we will focus on providing every child with the means to an education and challenge them to go further i have a dream that the multiple multiplicity of courses offered alternative options given aid we make available will uplift our friends and family public schools are biased to those going to college but we must also consider those who are not able to go we must give educational opportunities to train those in a skill or trade that will make more money than fast food jobs as a student senator of holland high plan with my community members to raise money and to contribute to the disadvantaged students in our city through programs of our own and through programs such as community action house this is just one step towards the right direction all the schools of holland must work together to find long term solutions and aid for our fellow americans i have a dream that in my school and in all schools we celebrate our diversity for we all draw from different cultural and economic backgrounds i dream that no matter what group of people you identify with whether it be hispanic asian african american asian a member of the plus community middle class upper class or poor that we treat one another with the reverence and respect we all deserve for in the end we are all human beings who are what are we going to become without the basic principles of understanding and kindness this however is no fault of our own this is the fall of all americans we must rise up to the challenge of becoming the role model to others not just to the younger generation we must take those hard and daunting steps to lead by example to lead despite the negativity and hardships we all face mistakes have been made mountains have been climbed and remorse has been very deep within ourselves  we must now look forward to enlighten and lead the younger generation my generation onto the higher road my part in this movement is not only to respect and lead others but also to show others the path to becoming leaders though my part in this effort may seem small to myself and my peers it is the combined efforts of my fellow classmates that will brighten our community we as a human race will not die out from water shortage nor from hunger and or blight we will not die because of the boogie man or the monsters under our beds it is the monsters we create and the race that will end our existence we need to learn from the earliest age to treat our neighbors with kindness so that we grow into those habits and mindsets if we cannot simply treat  classmates with compassion what is going to happen when we are in a disagreement within our presidency what will happen when we have a crisis with our fellow countries that threaten the use of nuclear weapons it is never too late to start so let us start now my dream like millions of americans before me is entirely possible i have occasion i am half asian i am under represented taiwanese minority woman who works hard to achieve the best i can with the tools given to me in life but above all else i am an american and we despite our multitude of differences are all americans let us work together to achieve the stream let us work together to achieve the dreams of millions of americans let us work together so that there is no dream we cannot achieve thank you first of all i apologise for my voice i'm a little sick today and a little rest but thank you so much for this such an honor in thank you to everyone who inspired this anyone who knows me well is aware that third grade was a tough year for me but i understand when i first realized that when people first look at me the first thing they see is not me as a person but rather my race my asian ness and all of the expectations and stereotypes that come with that in my younger years facing the tonsil children who would call me names and make racist jokes i wanted to be as least stereotypically asian as i could possibly be i let my math grades drop on purpose i stopped bringing chopsticks till i'm sure placing them with forks in an effort to be accepted by my peers in america a country that is supposedly embracing our diversity in our differences i dreamed of having blond hair in a new european name a normal name like the characters i would see or read about in books or movies racism is so covert yet it is every bit as hurtful and damaging as it used to be in an older america in our own city of holland when all comments directed at people who simply look different or who speak a different language telling them to go back go back home ever stop when will teachers in my school stop advising my peers and i to pursue different careers just because of our different races when i joined the social services committee for the holland youth advice or counsel in two thousand and fifteen i joined because i wanted to bring awareness to different social issues that the youth of holland face and there participating in the council i found a community of like minded people who also want to improve community into over our lives the social services committee continues to address issues of social concern in holland and tackle different problems in the community a study from the united nations states that one in three women will experience physical or sexual abuse in their lifetime contrary to popular belief gender inequality is not something that exists only in third world countries and has been completely over eradicated from countries and communities such as ours real women and men that we know are affected by the negative impacts of having to adhere to gender roles which is just one example of the many consequences that arise from gender discrimination and although there is clear evidence of the positive impact women's leadership can have in communities gender equality and educating people on the meaning and purpose of programs that push gender equality is not a priority in most communities such as wow or west ottawa for women worldwide is a club i started this year at my high school west ottawa we educate advocate and fundraise  moment in gender equality both locally and globally we collected items this year for the adopt a family program for the center for women in transition and we have volunteered at the holland rescue mission we work to create conversation around the discrimination that individuals face in our community our future plans involve helping out in a movie showing in holland that will raise awareness about women's rights creating t shirts to raise money for different local and international organizations helping the syrian refugee who is a single mother and continuing to volunteer to fill different local local organizations i am no longer ashamed to be an asian immigrant and i no longer is that i am a woman and therefore have less freedom in american society because i know that my history and my heritage motivate me even more to fight for social justice i am an intersection of feminist because i believe that gender discrimination is not solely based on gender but includes other factors such as race class or ability and finally my dream for our city of holland is for us to not feel divided because of our differences but united when we have served the diversity of children in our school systems and the many non dutch dutch dancers in our two of time periods my dream for holland is that this city will adopt principles of intersection of feminism and raise awareness about how the intersections of race gender class sexual orientation etc affect the discrimination that individuals face in our community this will create generations of people of leaders who instead of worrying about being stereotyped and still and instead feel accepted and then can move on to bigger and greater issues in his i have a dream speech martin luther king jr declared we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt we refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation and so we've come to cash this and breathes thank you everyone for allowing us this opportunity to present to you the most commission is about education awareness inclusion good means  relationship building collaboration these are all topics that we talk about but you know there every day topics and they're not meant to be visionary or adversarial they're just not for dialogue and relationship building  we appreciate your time and and everything you do jennifer will include for us so the bells thanks everyone for coming out today if you want to join us we're going to have a reception out through the double doors there and then we as all our award recipients to meters upstairs at the second floor we're going to have like a photography station set up for your soul thanks very much for coming out again you're all invited to our meetings begin there that there is they have every month six pm here in the