Anti-Racism Speaker Series

The Better Together Advisory Board and the City of Decatur announces an Anti-Racism Speaker Series designed to generate awareness of equity concerns in the city and to hold the city and community accountable for meeting established goals and implementing policies to achieve the aspiration of being an inclusive, equitable and just city.

Purpose 

In 2020, a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on the neck of George Floyd for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. The history of racism collided with a fierce urgency for change as people watched the video footage of George Floyd calling out to his deceased mother while gasping for his last breaths of life. That horror was the tipping point in ongoing demonstrations of a value gap in federal, state, and local policies. Those 8 minutes and 56 seconds made it untenable to argue that our governing systems value people equally and generated a global awareness that the racism of the past informs and legitimizes the racism of the present in far too many communities. At this moment, The Better Together Advisory Board and the City of Decatur are pondering our next step to make right what so many others before us made wrong?  

While The Better Together Advisory Board and the City of Decatur are committed to interrogating and addressing the myriad of injustices and inequities that creep into our practices and norms, we know that cannot be done without ongoing conversations with community members and experts focused on studying and resolving racism influence on governmental policies. With that in mind, the Anti-Racism Speaker Series will engage nationally renowned scholars, educators, and activists as they help us formulate a better approach for meeting the established goal of being an inclusive, equitable, and just city. 

The Speaker Series seeks to mine the knowledge and wisdom of numerous thought leaders to challenge and inspire our community to take actionable steps to instill anti-racism throughout our norms and practices. Each series will consist of a set of presentations over five months and conclude with a city-wide event dedicated to exploring community informed policy changes. 

Goals 

  • Demonstrate a sustained commitment to incorporate anti-racism into the City of Decatur planning and governance. 
  • Leverage national and regional expertise to aid community members, organizations, and city officials in formulating strategies for combating racism in policies, practices, and norms. 
  • Create an easily accessible repository of anti-racism lectures and other educational materials  
  • Create a model for using national and regional experts to guide local decision-making for responding to other complex governance issues. 

 

2023 Speakers

This year’s speaker series is guided by the belief that stories are the foundation of cultural change. Humans are storytelling creatures. Stories about our shared goals and heritage have galvanized history's most miraculous moments of empowerment and emancipation. Conversely, other more harmful stories sowed the seeds for communal acceptance of race-based dispossession and displacement. This year's speaker series is guided by a belief that we must actively choose the stories that we admire and listen to. We believe that the seeds of change reside in our willingness to seek and hold out the "hidden stories" of struggle, strain, and success that remain buried in the annuals of our racial history. 

 

Emory University's Twin Memorials
Dr. Anjulet Tucker, cultural sociologist and Director of Presidential Initiatives at Emory University
Sept. 14, 2023

Webinar Recap

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agnes Scott College: Acknowledging and Learning from Our Past; Acting Now for a Transformed Future
Dr. Robin Morris and Dr. Yves-Rose Porcena
Oct. 17, 2023

Webinar Recap

 

 

 

 

 

 

Connecting Community through Storytelling- CANCELED
City of Decatur Leaders

Thursday, Nov. 16 • 5:30-7 p.m. • Decatur Recreation Center
 

Learn about the City’s 200 Stories initiative and join a discussion about the importance of lifting up hidden narratives. Also join us in activities that will encourage building connections and developing your storytelling skills. 

 

2021 Speakers

 

Robin Rue Simmons, former Alderman and
current Executive Director of FirstRepair 
December 8, 2021
Webinar Recap & Resources

 

  • Kayla Evans (Decatur High School Student and member of the
    Student Coalition for Equity)
  • Dr. Maggie Fehrman (Superintendent, Decatur City Schools)
  • Fonta High (Co-Chair, Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights)
  • Captain Jennifer Ross (Decatur Police Department)
  • Koan Roy-Meighoo (Decatur High School Alumni and co-founder
    of the Student Coalition for Equity)

October 13, 2021
Webinar Recap

Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal
September 1, 2021
Webinar recap & resources

 

2020 Speakers

 


Jane Elliott, Internationally known teacher, lecturer, diversity trainer
August 27, 2020
Webinar recap & resources
 


Catherine Meeks, Executive Director of the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing
Sept. 17, 2020
Webinar recap & resources

Dr. Andra Gillespie
November 6, 2020
Webinar recap & resources

Tim Wise
December 3, 2020
Webinar recap & resources