LATE FALL NEWSLETTER!

January has several significant topics related to diversity. Since I am a history person, I wanted to highlight a couple of key events in history that have significance today. As many of you know, our country fought its only war on American soil, the Civil War. Many people see at as a war between the North and South. On January 1, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. In the end it led to the freedom of slaves in the US. In January of 1865, both Houses of Congress passed the 13th Amendment, and it was ratified in December of that year. This meant the abolishment of slavery.

In terms of today, we are still dealing with race issues and as we all know there is still a long way to go before, we actually see the African American community achieving true equality. To name a few there are still issues with unequal treatment in policing, jobs, and voting rights and voting suppression. We have made progress, but there is a lot of work to do. We recognize February as Black History Month.

I would feel remiss if I did not mention a significant birthday in January of an individual who spent his whole life fighting for the rights of the African American community, Martin Luther King Jr. Sadly he was assassinated April 4, 1968, with so much more work to be done. While we have a holiday the third Monday of January, Martin Luther King Jr. day. His actual birthday is January 15th. Illinois was the first state to establish a state holiday recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day, that happened in 1973.

The second remembrance is related to the horrific treatment by the Nazis of the Jewish peoples during WW II. Over six million Jewish people were victims of what is known as the Holocaust. The UN General Assembly established January 27th as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This was established to remember all the victims of the Nazi regime. It also is an opportunity for others to learn about the Holocaust.

Sources:

The Emancipation Proclamation, National Archives 

10 Facts: The Emancipation Proclamation, American Battlefield Trust 

Eric Foner, The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery (New York: W.W. Norton, 2010) 

Allen C. Guelzo, “Emancipation and the Quest for Freedom.” National Park Service.  

Citation Information 

Article Title 

Emancipation Proclamation 

Author 

History.com Editors 

Website Name 

HISTORY URL - https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/emancipation-proclamation 

Martin Luther King Day - https://ourlutherking.com/about-martin-luther-king-day-the-history-when-and-why 

Holocaust Remembrance Day - https://www.ushmm.org/remember/international-holocaust-remembrance-day

Thanks to Charlie Galassini for bringing us this message!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!                                                                                      

"NIEAPA members shall seek to develop an awareness of their own personal and cultural values and beliefs as one way of appreciating the importance of multicultural identities in our own lives and in the lives of those we serve.  NIEAPA members shall have and continue to develop specialized knowledge and understanding about the values, traditions and systems of all employees at the workplaces they serve."

The Resource Directory is a central source of services that fall under the EAP umbrella and is a great tool for all.  We encourage you to use and share with your colleagues.

Please use the Resource Directory if you are looking for up to date information on treatment centers' recent changes, additions or reduction of services. The link also provides contact information for each center's outreach professional.

This list has been provided by the Chicagoland Professional Liaison Association, which is an organization for outreach professionals in the behavioral health field working in the Greater Chicagoland area. We thank the group for sharing this information with their NIEAPA colleagues.