Granby Racial Reconciliation (GRR) has big plans for 2024, and its members are hoping that Granby residents will take advantage of the learning, entertainment, community, understanding and connections to be experienced through multiple events.
Throughout the year, GRR’s education committee will host a series of events designed to educate, enlighten, and stimulate conversation, including several Courageous Conversations on race, religion and politics. On Friday to Sunday, January 12–14, the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend of events will be held in Granby houses of worship. The annual George Floyd Memorial Vigil will be held on Sunday, May 19 in Granby.
For those who are not yet familiar with GRR, the group was founded in Granby in 2020 in response to the murder of George Floyd and the community’s desire to connect and mobilize following that tragedy.
GRR is comprised of Granby residents committed to the work of racial reconciliation in and around our community. As stated on the GRR website, its purpose is to “raise awareness and continue the conversation on racial justice in our community, so that Granby can be a great place for everyone.”
GRR has planned and sponsored several events since its founding, including Courageous Conversations in Salmon Brook Park, an annual vigil for Victims of Racial Violence such as George Floyd, trips to area museums and other activities designed to educate and inspire. In October, the group held a well-attended rally in response to the white supremacist hate mail distributed to many Granby homes. The speakers and attendees cultivated a loving and encouraging energy.
GRR may be best known for the annual Granby Celebrates Juneteenth festival, held with great turnout in 2022 and 2023. For 2024, GRR’s calendar will feature a significant change to its summer programming—holding two exciting events.
First, on June 15, Granby will collaborate with other towns in the Farmington Valley in a more expansive Juneteenth Festival, to likely take place at Simsbury Meadows. This festival will draw a larger and more diverse attendance of Connecticut residents.
The other big summer event will be the Granby Race Unity Festival, to be held a bit later in the summer. GRR recently became familiar with a new concept that is gathering steam around the country: Race Amity. The word amity means “friendship” or “friendly relations.” The National Center for Race Amity, founded in 2010 in Massachusetts, has as its mission “to cultivate race amity as a key tool, as well as the end goal in advancing access, equity, social justice and unity.”
As GRR founding member Ken Mouning expressed it, “Isn’t this exactly what GRR is all about—race amity? When I learned about this concept, it just sounded like a perfect fit for Granby Racial Reconciliation’s intention and goals.”
The Race Amity Center states on its website: “We move the public discourse on race beyond the blame-grievance-rejection framework to one that recognizes and celebrates our ability to overcome racial prejudice through association, amity and collaborative action.” Visit raceamity.org to learn more.
Two GRR members attended the 2023 National Race Amity Conference in November to learn how to best implement this concept. While “amity” is a new concept to many, everyone knows what unity is. The Granby Race Unity Festival will be an arts and educational festival designed to help us understand and appreciate our differences while embracing and celebrating our commonalities. The committee has not finalized the date or location yet, but the festival will take place next summer.
Please keep an eye on GRR’s website calendar and attend some of these events! To receive news and information, please subscribe at GranbyRR.com