DEI&B Updates for January

December 18, 2025

Month-Long Observances:

National Mentoring Month
National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month
Poverty in America Awareness Month

Religious or Cultural Observances:

Final day of Kwanzaa (Dec. 26-Jan 1)
Epiphany/Three Kings Day (Jan. 6)
Mahayana New Year (Jan. 3, Buddhism)

Dates of Significance:

World Braille Day (Jan. 4)
Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 19)
International Holocaust Remembrance Day (Jan. 27)

LIBRARY RESOURCES

Links shared are ebooks, all others are physical resources in our Behind the Eyes Collection.

MONTH-LONG OBSERVANCES

National Mentoring Month

Mentor: Guiding the Journey of Adult Learners (with New Foreword, Introduction, and Afterword) by Laurent A. Daloz

National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month

From Human Trafficking to Human Rights: Reframing Contemporary Slavery by Alison Brysk and Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick
Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery Law and Practice by Philippa Southwell, Michelle Brewer, and Ben Douglas-Jones KC
Modern Slavery: A Comparative Study of the Definition of Trafficking in Persons by Dominika Borg Jansson

Poverty in America Awareness Month

Poverty in America: A Handbook by John Iceland
Poverty in America: An Encyclopedia by Russell M. Lawson and Benjamin A. Lawson
Someplace Like America: Tales from the New Great Depression by Dale Maharidge

DATES OF SIGNIFICANCE

World Braille Day (Jan. 4)

Beginning with Braille: Firsthand Experiences with a Balanced Approach to Literacy by Anna M Swenson

Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 19)

Martin Luther King: The Civil Rights Movement and the Fight Against Segregation by 50MINUTES
Martin Luther King Jr by John A. Kirk

International Holocaust Remembrance Day (Jan. 27)

The Holocaust: Memories and History by Victoria Khiterer, Ryan Barrick, and David Misal
After the Holocaust by Monty Noam Penkower

You’re Invited: CommUnity Cultural Connection Event

We are excited to invite all members of our community—faculty, staff, and students—to our third annual CommUnity Cultural Connections (CCC) event.

Community is one of the things that makes NECO so special. On January 22 from 12:00–2:00PM in the Clausen Room, we will come together to share a meal, our stories and experiences, and to celebrate the rich diversity within our community. Please RSVP here. For faculty, staff, and students who will not be at Beacon St. or are unable to travel, many of our health centers and clinics will be participating at their respective locations!

Lunch will be provided, but if you enjoy cooking, we highly encourage you to bring a dish or item to share for a potluck-style meal. This could be something from your cultural or ethnic background, a dish you love to make, or one that holds personal meaning. If you’re unable to bring food, we still welcome you to share a recipe or a personal story to be added to our NECO CommUnity Cookbook (see the cookbook from last year attached!).

Story or not, please join us! Food connects us all, and we look forward to sharing a meal—and more—together as a NECO family.

Warmly,

Simone & ABIDE Association for Belonging, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity

DEI&B Announcements

We’re excited to share that NECO’s newly reimagined CommUnity Engagement Committee (formerly the Employee Engagement Committee), is back and ready to connect! This enthusiastic group is dedicated to planning and meaningful activities and events for our faculty and staff – creating spaces where we can strengthen connections, explore new interests together, and nurture our relationships across the college.

Keep an eye out for a variety of events in the new year, both on campus and around Greater Boston, as we explore all the wonderful opportunities our community has to offer.

If you’d like to get involved, or have ideas for ways we can come together, please reach out to any or all committee members: Simone Jadczak, Elizabeth Perreault, Ryan Hamelin, Rich Kelley.

We’d love to hear from you!