If it’s September in the Keweenaw, it must be time for the Parade of Nations. Sure enough, on Saturday September 17, 2022, the 33rd Parade of Nations and Multicultural Food Festival will kick off at 11 a.m. The Parade returns this year to its traditional route from downtown Hancock, over the Portage Lift Bridge and on to Dee Stadium, where tasty international foods will once again be on offer.
How did this wonderful event come to be? The story begins with President Dale Stein (president of Michigan Tech from 1979-1991) calling to convince Betty Chavis to move 500 miles and several climate zones north from her native Detroit to Houghton. Stein wanted Chavis on a team working to diversify and grow the student base of Michigan Technological University.
"I flew up in a snowstorm and landed in my high-heels and fur coat," Chavis says.
Her city style contrasted somewhat with her new home, but the job sounded interesting, it was a good time to take a break from Detroit, and -- what the heck -- it would be fun to try something new for a few years. That was 1989, and Betty is still here.
Betty Chavis is friendly, outgoing, and utterly charming; thus, she was a natural at recruiting. Chavis heard about the job at Tech through Nettie Jones, a friend on the fine arts staff, who recommended her to President Stein. Once convinced to take the job, Chavis hit the ground running, traveling all over the Midwest and beyond, talking up the merits of Michigan Tech.
It was on one such trip through Saint Paul, Minnesota, that Chavis saw an international parade and had a flash of insight: She thought to herself, "You know this would be a wonderful thing if we could bring this whole thing back to Houghton, and which we did the next year," said Chavis. She and International-Programs colleague Mary Ann Brunner "came up with the idea of having the Parade of Nations. And we said, 'Let’s … do food, entertainment, the whole 9 yards.' That was a blast."
And thus, it was done. Well, you can imagine that it was not that simple. Every year a large team of volunteers and staff pull off the planning, marketing, and implementation of the Parade of Nations, and the community turns out. The Parade is the centerpiece -- led by members of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community ("They were here first," says Chavis, "and so they go first.") The parade showcases students and community members from more than 60 nations, robed in their native dress.
"Not costumes; this is their native dress," Chavis emphasizes. "It is disrespectful to call them costumes."** (See link below to video of scenes from the Parade of Nations with comments from Betty Chavis and others.)
These representatives share of themselves and thank the local community for sharing with them. The parade proceeds from the north side of the Portage Lake Lift Bridge to the south, leading the way to the best part: the food.
But who is this Betty Chavis, who started a three-decade beloved tradition in the Western U.P. (Upper Peninsula of Michigan)? And why was she successful in recruiting a diverse group of Midwesterners and international students to the remote, snowy, and technologically focused Michigan Tech?
Betty Chavis grew up in Detroit, and is a proud alumna of the renowned Cass Technical High School. Until 1977, Cass was Detroit's only magnet school and the only non-neighborhood enrollment school in Detroit; and admission was selective. Chavis thus started out with a great education and knew what it took, and meant, to get a great education. She followed this up with studies at Wayne State University, and she also studied dance. Betty’s era was the era of Motown. With her interest in the arts, she gravitated to the Motown scene and knew many of the famous who were part of that scene.
Dance caught her. Chavis auditioned for the Katherine Dunham Dance Company and won a spot in an experimental group that allowed her to travel extensively. She had the opportunity to perform at the famous Idlewild Resort in northwest Michigan -- a resort developed for members of the Black upper class in that era of segregation. This was an exciting time for Chavis. She developed a deep knowledge of the entertainment industry and of what it takes to be a successful entertainer. This knowledge and her innate sense of style led to her first business, Queen’s Lair in Detroit, where she sold stylish clothing and offered training in the finer points of how best to present oneself and how to perform on stage.
Chavis’ educational, entertainment, and business background made her an exceptional university recruiter. She knew how to talk to people, how to get them to listen, and how to land a sale. Her goal was convincing folks who were a bit skeptical of a long trip to the north that there was a pot of gold there. Southeastern Michiganders were not sure what they would find up there: Would there be bears? Would the welcome be friendly? Parents asked, will my child be safe? Happy? Would he/she feel a sense of belonging? As part of her new job at Michigan Tech, Chavis took on the responsibility of reassuring these parents.
"I told them I would be there. I promised to take care of their kids and keep them safe. They trusted me," said Chavis.
Also in her favor, Chavis had many diverse contacts and understood the concerns and experiences of her fellow southeastern Michiganders. She was able to employ these assets on the job and was successful in broadening the pool of Michigan Tech recruits, especially in nonwhite communities.
Thanks to Betty Chavis’ efforts, a whole generation of "Betty’s recruits" made their way to the Western U.P. This group of students, with encouragement and assistance from Chavis and her colleagues in the Educational Opportunity Department at Michigan Tech, made Tech their own. In 1989 when Chavis started at Michigan Tech, there already existed a Black Student Association (advised by the late Dr. Willie Melton, a professor in Social Sciences). This organization was soon joined by the Society of Intellectual Sisters, the Society of African-American Men, and the National Society of Black Engineers chapter (NSBE), all founded by the students.
The students also founded a gospel choir and the University hired a choir director, opera singer Ms. Inetta Harris, who skillfully directed the choir until student leadership eventually took over. Except for the Echoes from Heaven Gospel Choir, all of these organizations continue to thrive on the Michigan Tech campus today.
Chavis was also instrumental in bringing a wide variety of speakers to Houghton for the benefit of the community, including Ilyasah Shabazz (Malcolm X’s daughter) and the renowned Rosa Parks.
"We brought up so many people, biggies," Chavis says, "people who had made large achievements in their lives."
Chavis found financial support for these programs on campus from a variety of generous administrators and department heads. Chair of the Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Bill Predebon (who retired this year) was a key supporter, Chavis noted.
"There are a lot of people in this village," she says.
Betty Chavis has also supported community organizations, such as the Barbara Gundlach Shelter Home for Abused Women.
We are only touching the surface of Chavis’ contributions in this profile. She had so much impact during her Tech career that the largest function room in the downtown Franklin Square Inn was full of her admirers when she retired in 2008 as Director of Outreach and MultiEthnic Programs.
After having done so much, what do you do for your encore act? In the case of Betty Chavis, you open up a new store, Betty’s CAAT (Collectables, Antiques, Art and Treasures). A life-long interest in antiques and beautiful things had filled her home (and several storage units) and in retirement Chavis shared once again. Betty’s CAAT gave back too. As a storeowner, Chavis was able to meet another whole bunch of people. She ran into old friends and made new ones. It was delightful to find that folks know her as the founder of the Parade of Nations. Even during a recent appointment, the young medical student helping her was excited to find out that her patient was the famous Betty Chavis from Betty’s CAAT in the Houghton mall. And the co-founder of the Parade of Nations.
Chavis’ life has been a full one, and there have been challenges. People of color have not always been welcomed in the Keweenaw, and Chavis has needed to provide a patient ear to her recruits and to suggest coping strategies. She herself has been on the receiving end of unpleasant language from some who think this area is for them and not for others. Part of her mission was always to do battle with attitudes such as these, and she has borne the weight of these interactions. The work continues, but thanks to Chavis’ recruitment and hard work others are following in her wake and joining in to perform the work of making our communities welcoming of all.
A Detroiter, Cass Technician, dancer, shop owner, part of the Motown scene, political aide (a role we did not have time to delve into!), university recruiter, student mentor, Mustang convertible driver (red!), change maker, world traveler, Yooper, and shop owner again. Betty Chavis has worn many hats and touched many lives. And, the beat goes on.
* Guest author Faith Morrison is Michigan Tech professor emerita and a Hancock resident.
** Author's Note: Some of the quotes in this article are from the 2014 video, Silver Jubilee: Parade of Nations 1990-2014, directed by Vienna Chapin (Leonarduzzi), accessed online HERE.
