June 9, 2008

Charlotte, NC -- A Community Conversation to discuss Race, Ethnicity and the role of the Media will be held Wednesday, June 18 from 7 - 9 p.m. in Fellowship Hall of Covenant Presbyterian Church, 1000 East Morehead Street

The Community Relations Committee, the Community Building Initiative and Mecklenburg Ministries are sponsoring a series of community dialogues around how and why the process to select a new sheriff for Mecklenburg County exposed levels of mistrust and misunderstanding.  As we asked in our January open letter to the community: "What's in the ground in our community that was once again stirred to the surface?"  Could this issue, which expanded so quickly into divisiveness within and between groups, be a window into a larger issue about how we think about and respond to one another?

Setting the stage for the dialogue is Dr. Claude Alexander of The Park Ministries. Moira Quinn of Charlotte Center City Partners will moderate.  The panelist include Ann Caulkins, The Charlotte Observer; Gerald Johnson, Charlotte Post; Hilda Gurdian, La Noticia; and Bea Thompson, CBS Radio/ WBAV-FM.

The intent is for these dialogues to be inclusive of various perspectives and different points of view and to model behaviors that strengthen relationships in our community.

To RSVP email rthompson@ci.charlotte.nc.us or call 704-336-2424.