Achieving Racial Equity: National Experts Discuss Local Opportunities

 

Dear CCM Race Equity Regional Forums Panelists, Once again, we’d like to thank you for making our first CCM CARES discussions a great success. Over the course of the four panels, we drew in over 400 people viewing us live and nearly 7000 views on Facebook! We received much feedback about how insightful, informative – and brave – panelists’ comments were.  These forums were necessary, however, we recognize that this is only the beginning of the work needed to combat racial inequities in our state, and we need your help once again to keep this conversation going. At the CCM Annual Convention on December 3, we are hosting the panel Achieving Racial Equity: National Experts Discuss Local Opportunities on December 3, from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m, co-sponsored by Connecticut Interlocal Risk Management Agency, CIRMA.  And we’d like for you to register for this very important conversation, click here for the Zoom registration link. The event will feature Wes Moore, best-selling author; Betsy Hodges, humanitarian and former Mayor of Minneapolis; Tim Wise, author and activist; and Bree Newsome Bass, activist, as panelists. Clarence Anthony, Executive Director of the National League of Cities, will serve as moderator.  See below for additional information on panelists. Our panelists represent some of the best minds on racial equity in America: Wes Moore is the New York Times Bestselling Author of “The Other Wes Moore,” is a decorated US Army Veteran, a Rhodes Scholar, and a fellow to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. He is now the CEO of Robin Hood, one of the largest anti-poverty organizations in the nation. Moore is a news contributor to The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The New York Times, and many other publications. He has also made appearances on various notable programs including Face the Nation, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, and Real Time with Bill Maher. Betsy Hodges, in addition to being the former mayor of Minneapolis, was a fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics and Atlantic fellow on Race Equity. She also wrote the viral op-ed “As Mayor of Minneapolis, I Saw How White Liberals Block Change” for the New York Times this summer.  Hodges met with Pope Francis on July 21, 2015, to discuss climate change and human trafficking. She was one of eight mayors and leaders from US cities and cities from around the world invited for the discussion. Tim Wise has become one of the most well-known anti-racist speakers in America, and one of Utne Reader’s magazines “25 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World.” His most popular of his nine books is “White Like Me,” which tackles his experiences with white privilege, was made into a feature-length documentary. He has trained teachers, corporate employees, non-profit organizations and law enforcement officers in methods for addressing and dismantling racism in their institutions. Bree Newsome Bass, an American artist and activist, drew national attention when she removed the confederate flag from the South Carolina Capitol building after the AME Zion Church shooting that killed 9 Black parishioners. In recognition of her Civil Rights work she was named to the Root 100 and the Ebony 100, as well as receiving the NAACP Image Award – Chairman’s Award given to individuals who demonstrate exemplary public service and use their distinct platforms to create agents of change.  Panelists will guide us through the conversation that you helped begin by speaking on racial equity from a national perspective and setting up a framework for the work that needs to be accomplished in the months and years to come. To join us on December 3 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., click this link for Zoom registration. And please share the Zoom registration or Facebook Event page among your constituents and peers who might care to listen to this thoughtful dialogue so we can spur words into action. Visit us at www.ccmcares.com for full biographies and videos of our panelists, subjects for discussion, and information on how you can be a part of the Zoom or Facebook Live audience and pose questions to the panelists.  We hope you join us for a fun and informative convention, including an engaging, enlightening and frank race equity panel discussion. Joe DeLong CCM Executive Director & CEO Connecticut Conference of Municipalities 545 Long Wharf Drive New Haven, CT 06511 203-498-3000 jdelong@ccm-ct.org