Congratulations to St. Dominic parishioner Janetta Hammock, one of the original co-chairs of our St. Dominic Racial Equity Task Force, who was recently honored for her continuing work to promote diversity.

Hammock, who is vice president for Diversity, Equity & Belonging at Magnificat High School, received the 2025 Diversity Education Leadership Award on November 12 from the Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio at its annual Humanitarian Award Celebration.

Hammock was applauded by an audience of more than 500 guests for helping Magnificat students gain skills they need to advocate for inclusion and belonging both inside and outside of the classroom.  

A circle of Hammock’s Magnificat students joined her on stage, and she commended them for staying curious and for being courageous. “Our program pushed many of them out of their comfort zones, engaged them in difficult conversations, and provided space for them to reflect on their own biases as well as their actions and at times inaction,” Hammock said. “Our students have grown tremendously as a result of our program and our community is stronger because of their growth.”

She then asked her students to choose a single word that describes their experience in the program or what they gained from participating.

They answered: “Ambition.” “Unity.” “Empowerment.” “Understood.” “Inclusion.” “Belonging.”

It was one of many memorable moments during the event. Speakers emphasized the need to champion diversity at a time when the nation is backtracking, and the Diversity Center shared its new call-to-action video,“Reaffirm Diversity”.  

Said honoree Kirsten Ellenbogen, CEO and president of Great Lakes Science Center, “We need to make equity so fundamental to what we do that it’s impossible to stop it.”

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