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About Us

OWOF stands for One World One Family. Our official name is The Chelsea Area One World One Family Task Force, Inc.

For many years, different groups of Chelsea residents had quietly discussed the (unfortunate) fact that Chelsea has a fairly homogeneous population, that racist attitudes were evident, and that our children were growing up without the tools to live in a diverse world. This all seemed symbolized by the fact that Chelsea had never acknowledged Martin Luther King Jr. Day even though it had been a Federal holiday since 1983.

In November 2001, a group of citizens were finally motivated to action. They organized Chelsea’s first Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration in January 2002. To everyone’s surprise and joy, over 500 people turned out.

From this beginning, OWOF has continued to grow. We have organized MLKJr. Day celebrations each year since. In 2003, we began an essay contest which we hope to continue. We have sponsored, along with the District Library, Chelsea’s Community Reads. The first year, the book was Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Patillo Beals, who is one of the Little Rock Nine. We even brought her to town for a wonderful evening. We have organized a Film Series with a different multicultural film on the first Friday of the month. We have an information table at the Summerfest and a float in the Fair Parade.

For more information about OWOF or to ask to be on the mailing list, please email us at owofchelsea@gmail.com.