Overcoming Richmond's Racial Divide: Standing Together to End Poverty October 9, 2012

On Tuesday, October 9, at 7 p.m. the Richmond Peace Education Center (RPEC) will sponsor a public forum: "Overcoming Richmond’s Racial Divide: Standing Together to End Poverty", featuring presentations by Duron Chavis, David Hicks, Thad Williamson and Sookyung Oh. The program will be held at First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1000 Blanton Avenue, in Richmond.

The forum is timed to coincide with the anticipated release of the
report from the Mayor’s Anti-Poverty Commission. It is free and open to
the public. All members of the greater Richmond community are invited to attend.

The panel will examine a variety of strategies for tackling poverty and
building a more economically and racially just community and region. The discussion will consider the mayoral commission’s new anti-poverty report; state and national obstacles affecting Richmond efforts to alleviate poverty, and grassroots economic empowerment efforts already underway in the community.

The panel will feature:
• Duron Chavis, community activist and founder of Happily Natural Day
and the Richmond Noir Market;
• David Hicks, Senior Advisor to Mayor Dwight Jones;
• Sookyung Oh, Policy Analyst from the Commonwealth Institute for
Fiscal Analysis;
• Dr. Thad Williamson, of the University of Richmond’s Jepson School of
Leadership Studies and a member of the Mayor’s Anti-poverty Commission;
• Cathy Woodson of Virginia Organizing will serve as moderator.

The participation of Dr. Hicks, the mayor’s senior policy advisor, will give participants an opportunity to engage a key decision-maker who will be involved in implementing anti-poverty policy in the city.

The evening will focus on the urgent need for a variety of community mobilizations to advance a genuine anti-poverty agenda. The program will include a question and answer period and an opportunity for interaction among audience members. After the Q&A, participants who wish to do so will gather in small interest groups with the panelists to discuss ideas for taking further action.