Alliance of Cultural and Ethnic Harmony

Our Mission Statement

The Alliance for Cultural and Ethnic Harmony is dedicated to promoting unity, justice, equal opportunity, ethnic awareness, cross-cultural understanding and appreciation for diversity.

All That Jazz - A Historic Idlewild Experience!

The Alliance for Cultural and Ethnic Harmony is pleased to invite you to our annual potluck dinner/auction event!
It’s fun, fellowship, fabulous food and *ALL THAT JAZZ!*
Please bring a food dish to share that celebrates your heritage -- or maybe it's just a popular family tradition!
Learn more about the entertainment history of Idlewild, MI -- a special place that hosted noted Black entertainers and performers -- with a short video about its history and hear live jazz.
Help support local scholarships through our auction fundraiser.
Bring a nonperishable item to help stock a local food bank.
Kid's activities! Children can show their creative side shaping clay with Annie.
A door prize of an historic Idlewild piece will be given away to one lucky winner.
No charge. Open to the public.
Saturday, March 28, 5-8:30 p.m.
First United Methodist Church, 57 W. 10th St. Holland.
CLICK HERE TO RSVP!

Great turnout for Intersection of Race, Gender

The Alliance for Cultural and Ethnic Harmony hosted Dr. Sonja Trent-Brown speak about “The Intersection of Race and Gender” Friday evening at the Holland Museum.
The program was tied to the Museum’s current exhibit Us vs THEM, a collection of materials and artifacts from the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia located at Ferris State University, Big Rapids, MI.
Trent-Brown helped listeners understand that being both a woman and person of color opens up the possibility of further discrimination.
Ultimately, she encouraged the audience to get to know others, especially those who aren't a lot like you. One great opportunity to meet your Holland area neighbor's is "All that Jazz!" our upcoming potluck dinner-auction, 5-9 p.m., March 28, First United Methodist Church in downtown Holland.
Dr. Trent-Brown serves as the chief officer for culture and inclusion at Hope College and is an associate professor in the Psychology Department, holding the John H. and Jeanne M. Jacobsen endowed chair. She has received numerous research grants and awards, including the student-selected Hope Outstanding Professor Educator Award in 2012 and two awards from the Acoustical Society of America for excellence in student mentoring. Her undergraduate degree is from Harvard/Radcliffe and her master’s and Ph.D from the University of South Florida.

Microaggressions in the community

In April 2019, the Alliance for Cultural and Ethnic Harmony hosted "Microaggressions: When I our biases show up in the community," facilitated by Alan Headbloom. The ACEH sincerely encourages you to consider having Alan into your church, your business, your club or any other organization you belong to. Everyone could benefit from this discussion. Learn more about Alan and his history and how he helps people address their biases here.

About Us

Founded in January 1999, the Alliance for Cultural and Ethnic Harmony, ACEH, is a non-profit, non-partisan, grass-roots group of ethnically diverse people from Holland and nearby areas. ACEH is a friendly organization that welcomes all people and works to create the feeling that our communities belong to everyone. ACEH is not affiliated with any political or religious groups, and is supported by membership dues, donations and grants.

What does ACEH do?

Holds monthly public meetings to talk about local and national justice and diversity issues, listen to speakers from different ethnic groups, and take part in "walk in my shoes" cross-cultural exercises.
Provides a safe and respectful place to share experiences of prejudice and racism and to work on solutions.
Works with ethnic and civic groups on projects to foster an inclusive community, including the Lakeshore Area Summit on Racism.
Offers resources of ideas, speakers, materials and diversity training to schools, businesses, clubs, and religious organizations.
Supports public efforts to oppose discrimination, racism, and violence.
Publishes a monthly newsletter sent via email or regular mail; also sends e-mail bulletins about events and issues in West Michigan.
Holds annual potluck with ethnic foods and family games, sponsors other social events.
Encourages patronage of ethnic businesses and events.

Resources for Discussing and Disrupting Racism

Holland's (Un)affordable Housing:

You are a retail clerk, a teacher, a chef, a worker at a local manufacturing plant. You are single, married, with children or without. You work in Holland--but you can’t find an affordable apartment or home, so you commute miles to work or you double up with friends and family. You are an employer, but potential employees turn down your job offer because they can’t find a place to live here.

In Holland, and Ottawa County, people in need of rentals have struggled for years to find housing that suits their needs and matches their income. For them, relief from unaffordable housing can’t come soon enough. A recent proposal for a mixed-income rental development in downtown Holland was defeated by a 5-3 vote in city council.

“It is not just those you see on the street corners with signs, but individuals who have jobs and are one paycheck away from being homeless,” ACEH board member Viola Jackson-Cleveland said. “When you have to decide on dinner or paying rent, that is a sad statement for our community.”

It’s the age-old problem of supply and demand. The rental supply is not meeting the demand, driving up rental rates. Civic leaders recognized the problem in 2014 and began to collaborate to address the need. In early 2015 the team finalized the Ottawa Housing Next document with data supporting the need for affordable housing. This study shows that while poverty plays a role in the need for affordable housing, the reverse is also true: the lack of affordable housing is creating poverty. Housing Next was implemented in November 2017.

The ACEH Board has chosen to face this issue head on. After hosting a forum in October, the board is looking for ways to keep the conversation going, partners to collaborate with and answers that will help sooner than later. If you have a question or suggestion or want to be part of the (un)affordable housing discussion, please email aceh@harmonyalliance.org.

"We need diversity of thought in the world to face the new challenges." - Tim Berners-Lee