Our Social Change Portfolio
Dr. Marcus Robinson is a member of the Board and Director of the Collaboraction Theatre Company. This 2-time Emmy Award-winning production company uses devised theatre as a venue for social change and community transformation. In this capacity, Dr. Marcus provides strategic leadership, operational management, and proprietary transformation technology to a theatre company that uses devised open-source programs designed to educate, inspire, and activate positive social change in organizations and the community at large. Dr. Robinson's dynamic facilitation style and subject matter expertise in the equity, diversity, and inclusion space allow Collaboraction to conduct compelling audience dialogue at the close of each production in a way that allows greater insight and clarity on the themes highlighted in the stage work, leading to greater empathy and motivation to engage these critical issues as we encounter them in life.
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Join Collaborations Artistic Director Anthony Moseley and Dr. Marcus Robinson for Becoming: Unlearning White Supremacy and Creating a Path to Active Anti-racism.
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The program's goal is to continue to provide space and fellowship for people looking to understand White Privilege, unlearn inherent White Supremacy, engage in meaningful dialogue around systems of oppression with others, and support each other in being actively anti-racist moving forward. As a group, we will explore racism and White Supremacy, including history, modern-day events/issues, and best practices for communications, and share our journeys.
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Crucial Connections is a highly interactive online show that is "hyper-local thinking global", radically inclusive and provocative, yet entertaining while reflecting on life in a post-Coronavirus world and the reshaping of the human experience. Crucial Connections will be hosted by Anthony Moseley (Artistic Director), J. Nicole Brooks (Assoc. Artistic Director - De Anna Nicole Brooks ), and Dr. Marcus Robinson and feature two interviews and one performance weekly on Thursday nights at 8 pm CST
George H. Bush
41st President of the United States
[Marcus] "The true measure of any individual is found in the way he or she treats others - and the person who regards others with love, respect, and charity holds a priceless treasure in his heart. Your efforts provide a shining example of this standard."
Phenom and Toni Mono in PEACEBOOK 2018 in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. Photo by Joel Maisone
Charles Pfeffer
CEO Coach and President of Contextus, LLC
Marcus is a brilliant, big picture thinker with the rare capability to take the big picture to the ground level. He instantly connects with people in a way that they remember forever. This combination of talents makes him a genius at marshaling collective energy and resources toward any goal. His grand vision for a better world ensures that he focuses this genius on issues that truly matter to society. It is always a privilege to work with him.
At the turn of the century, Dr. Marcus Robinson and Mr. Richard Kaplan release the best-selling book "A Time for C.A.R.I.N.G." In this book, they describe a vision of public-private partnership to solve some the nation's most pressing social issues. Working with with local leaders in education, business and government through the Consortium for Community Development, Dr. Robinson led the effort to create the Benton Harbor Promise Zone Authority and Promise Zone Foundation.
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The Benton Harbor Promise launched in 2011 with a mission to help all students in the greater Benton Harbor area achieve a post-secondary education. The Benton Harbor Promise realizes that every student regardless of financial means should have the opportunity to earn post-secondary credentials. The program provides full tuition and mandatory fees at any accredited community college or Career Technical school in Michigan where the student is accepted.
The program also offers various opportunities for students through high school programs, counseling and career guidance, and work internships throughout the post-secondary education experience.
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Affording every Benton Harbor Promise Zone student a post-secondary education is the vision of the Benton Harbor Promise because we believe that every child in our community deserves the type of education that will prepare them for life after high school.
Consortium for Community Development
(CCD) (2000-2013)
The CCD was a bold attempt to end the plague of chronic extreme poverty due to segregation and the socio-economic oppression of racism in Southwest Michigan. Originating out of the blight of a collapse in the auto manufacturing supply chain, White Flight, Black Brain Drain, regional leaders from business, clergy, education, and local government called the community together. They called us together to reconcile the past and dream about a shared future “that is based on a culture of diversity with inclusion, where everyone can contribute their full potential, and where no one is left behind.” The four pillars of the organization were:
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Cultivate a unique public/private not-for-profit partnerships with a share vision for social change
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Utilize a signature economic development project to enable systemic and lasting change
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Employ strategies focused on building human and community capacity for change
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Engage committed nd accountable leadership from across our collection of communities
Forthcoming Projects​
Master Class on Equity, Inclusion, and Social Change: Understanding the ecology of human oppression
Based on decades of experience at the bleeding edge of change in racism, gender and identity oppression, and classism, in this workshop, participants will 1) learn the five ways that oppression acts in culture and society, 2) gain insight into the continuum of responses to oppression, and 3) discover one’s self as a natural agent of change in anti-oppression movements.
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Master Class on Community, Civility, and Character: The rise of civil actors in modern times
Steeped in Social Innovation Group’s proprietary model for personal transformation, this master class offers its participants the opportunity to speak truth to power about the oppressions to which
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Keith Oppenheim
Associate Professor at Champlain College
"I have worked with Marcus on communications for community development projects in Benton Harbor and watched him in action. I have seen, that - with humility, humor, and directness, Marcus has been a truly inspirational figure in our community. He has the intellect, the understanding, and the personality to get people to work together, and to create progress, even when the environment is extremely challenging. Marcus understands systems, the complex interaction between government, schools, community groups, and citizens. He has the experience of years of working with foundations and community development organizations, and can articulate why communities fail, and what must be done to bring them back. Without ever being condescending, he is a gifted communicator....able to tell people who are struggling with what they need to do to bring about change in their lives. Similarly, he can speak convincingly to people in positions of power and influence, and explain why more needs to be done.....why community development is critical to a region's survival. In short, Marcus is a leader, a person with vision who can reach out, build coalitions, and make lasting change."