Equity Education and Action Committee (EEAC)

In the summer of 2020, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and amidst the protests against racial injustice that sprang up across the nation, a number of St. Clarians asked what was being done to ensure that racial justice was a focus of St. Clare’s mission of Acting For Justice. In response, St. Clare’s Equity Education and Action Committee (EEAC) was formed.

Since its founding in 2020, the EEAC has been engaged in a number of activities. It brought Sacred Ground to St. Clare’s -a powerful program on race and faith created by the Episcopal Church. Close to 40 folks in four circles participated in the first offering, and three more circles were offered after that. Sacred Ground directly inspired two other EEAC activities:

• St. Clare’s land acknowledgement (formally incorporated into St. Clare’s worship service in January 2023) – St. Clare’s land acknowledgement was created through a process of close to two years that included input from members of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, and the Pokagen Band of Potawatomi Indians. Representatives of the Nottawaseppi Band of Potawatomi reviewed a draft of the land acknowledgement and made suggestions to ensure that the acknowledgement felt authentic to their experience. The Land Acknowledgement can be found here.
• A partnership with Perry Early Learning Center (begun in 2023) – Many of us believed that it was important to incorporate work with children into EEAC activities. Debra Stevens, a long-time member of St. Clare’s, taught for decades at Perry and pointed out that additional help would make a big difference to both the students and the teachers. Perry is in the Ypsilanti School District and has over 300 students in Pre-K through 1st grade. The school ranks in the top 20% of elementary schools in Michigan for
• Diversity of the student population
• The percentage of students who qualify for free lunches.
  Volunteers from St. Clare’s work with Title I teachers in helping 1st graders with reading or help out in individual classrooms. It is a way of showing teachers that we not only value what they do but take the time to provide extra support. For the students, there is an extra hand to hold and an extra voice to tell them “You are loved.” Volunteers’ reflections on their experience at Perry can be found here.

A list of EEAC activities can be found here.

Interested in learning more about the Equity Education and Action Committee (EEAC)? Contact Ann Putallaz at annp1025@yahoo.com.