2024 Bridging 23 Unity Walk Individual Registration
June 8, 2024 @ 10:00AM — 3:00PM Eastern Time (US & Canada) Add to Calendar
Starting Walk Location: United Way of Southeastern Michigan // End Walk Location: Brown Chapel AME Church: 2305 Platt Rd Ann Arbor, MI 48104 Get Directions
2024 Bridging 23 Unity Walk
Bridging US 23 was founded on the belief that when people unite for the greater good, positive change is inevitable. Developed in collaboration by The Dispute Resolution Center (DRC) with The Association for Youth Empowerment (AYE), Bridging US 23 is dedicated to transforming the way the people of Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and the surrounding communities relate to one another. Our ultimate goal is to connect communities, inspire compassion and take action to call forth the beloved community. HISTORY OF THE UNITY WALK The Unity Walk was born out of a Bridging US 23 restorative circle in 2017, when community members spearheaded the Walk as an annual fundraiser for the DRC. The Unity Walk builds on the foundation of taking action and bringing public visibility to the inequities between the Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor communities.
YOUR DOLLARS SUPPORT THE DRC'S RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PROGRAM
The Dispute Resolution Center (DRC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community dispute resolution program that was founded in 1983. The DRC forged a new partnership with the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office through the Restorative Justice Program in 2021.
The Restorative Justice Program aims to decrease mass incarceration by keeping adults and youth out of the criminal legal system and brings healing and wholeness to families and our community.
Restorative Justice is an alternative to the traditional criminal legal system and offers a survivor centered and healing model to address wrongdoing, harm or crime.
The restorative justice approach is deeply rooted in North American Indigenous cultural and sacred practices to address harm or wrongdoing between all involved - also known as Peacemaking.
Restorative or healing circles aim to create safe space for all involved to:
- Address the harm(s)
- Enable the survivor to be heard
- Provide an opportunity for the person who committed the harm(s) to make amends
- Assist the survivor and the one who caused the harm to create a plan for re-entering their communities, and
- Foster understanding, connection, and reconciliation
HONORING CULTURE AND COMMUNITY
We continue to honor local black history in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti and bring forth the contributions of the black community. We are proud to partner with the African American Cultural Historical Museum of Washtenaw County - who has preserved local Black history for decades.
We want to ensure that black legacies and voices in our community are not erased from our local history; that the truth of black history is celebrated and honored with reverence; and to embrace and celebrate the deep cultural roots of the Black community that enriches us all.
We are also proud to partner and end in fellowship for 3 years in a row with the historic Brown Chapel A.M.E Church in Ypsilanti. In1843, Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church came into existence as a mission without a name - 22 yrs after slaves were freed As the Second oldest active A.M.E. Church in Michigan, it is likely that Brown Chapel at Adams and Buffalo assisted in the safe travel through Ypsilanti visit the underground railroad of many slaves on their way to the “Promised Land” of Canada.
*All proceeds support the DRC's Restorative Justice programming