UPDATED: Elon to host events for the National Day of Racial Healing on Tuesday

Elon will host events for the National Day of Racial Healing, which was started in 2017 by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Updated Monday, Jan. 17: 

As a result of the winter weather and the potential slippery conditions on and off-campus, there are changes to the scheduled events for the National Day of Racial Healing hosted by the Office of Inclusive Excellence Education and Development and the Center for Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity Education.

The Special College Coffee at Noon and the Walk for Racial Healing at 4:30 p.m. are canceled. We invite you to participate in a virtual How We Heal gathering at 5 p.m. Register HERE (be sure to log in to Zoom with your authenticated elon.edu account).

Also, engage with us on social media and talk about racial healing at Elon. On your respective social media pages, respond to the prompt “Racial Healing is important to me because…” and include #HowWeHeal and #HealingatElon.”

Search “Healing at Elon” to use our stickers/gifs on your Instagram and Facebook stories.

For more information, please contact Carla Fullwood (cfullwood@elon.edu), Alonzo Cee (acee@elon.edu)

The Office of Inclusive Excellence, Education and Development has partnered with the Center of Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education to recognize the National Day of Racial Healing on Elon’s campus on Jan. 18.

The National Day of Racial Healing (NDORH) is a time to contemplate our shared values and create the blueprint together for how we heal from the effects of racism.

“Specifically thinking about the students I interact with, this is a time for them to share their truths and experiences in a moment of healing,” said Simone Royal ’17, CREDE program coordinator.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has annually observed the Tuesday after following Martin Luther King Jr. Day as the NDORH since 2017. This is the inaugural NDORH at Elon, but “the goal is to host events in recognition annually moving forward,” said Carla Fullwood, director of the OIEED.

Vice President for Inclusive Excellence, Randy Williams said, “NDORH is another event to raise awareness, and the added strength is doing it in a collective sense where individuals may be more inclined to engage.”

The events are open to all students, faculty and staff, as well as other Elon community affiliates.

The NDORH is an opportunity to advance the mission of the Division of Inclusive Excellence. It focuses on building up communities based of relationship-building and truth-telling, healing and solidarity and transformative action.

“This event will give our community a chance to reflect and think about our commitment to inclusive excellence and how we can work toward racial equity in the future,” said Fullwood.

A full list of events for the day are below:

The National Day of Racial Healing

Tuesday, Jan. 18

The Elon community is invited to participate in the National Day of Racial Healing in several ways:

Special College Coffee, Noon

  • In recognition of MLK Jr. Day and the National Day of Racial Healing, we invite the campus to a community gathering in front of Alamance to enjoy a performance by The Melanated Melodies, an acapella group that aims to bring hope and upliftment on a day of unity and healing.

Walk for Racial Healing, 4:30 p.m.

  • Gather by Fonville Fountain in front of Alamance Building to walk for Racial Healing as a community to Lakeside Meeting Rooms. In case of inclement weather, we will meet at Lakeside 212 & 213 at 5 p.m.

How We Heal Dinner, 5 p.m.

  • This gathering will focus on strategies for Racial Healing within our Elon Community. The dinner will take place at Lakeside 212 & 213. Limited capacity. Individually boxed dinners will be provided. Register here.

Social Media Engagement

  • On your respective social media pages, respond to the prompt “Racial Healing is important to me because…” and include #HowWeHeal and #HealingatElon.
  • Use Healing at Elon stickers on your Instagram stories by searching Healing at Elon.

For more information, please contact the Office of Inclusive Excellence Education and Development at 336-278-7265 or email Carla Fullwood (cfullwood@elon.edu) or Alonzo Cee (acee@elon.edu).