The Destiny Center will be hosting its second annual Dialogue on Race Saturday at Tallahassee Community College Turner Auditorium, located at 444 Appleyard Drive, from 1-3 p.m.
The panel was inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ideology on generating positivity within communities. The event kicked off last year during MLK weekend.
The dialogue gives people of all races to promote peace and unity within a safe, nonjudgmental environment.
Local pastors and activists were invited to be panelists, while community members are encouraged to engage within the conversations while in the audience.
“Last year the event was held at the church located at 2640 Old Bainbridge. We had a great turnout and were able to canvas the whole community and reach out. We felt that having it at a church caused people to not express themselves completely so we decided to have it at a neutral location and branched out to TCC,” Larry Simmons, the organizer of the event, said.
Pastor Clarence Jackson shared with WTXL that during last year’s event, he was inspired by Simmons, a mentor at the Destiny Center.
Simmons proposed the idea of having a conversation on race amongst multiple races because race relations is such a polarizing conflict within today’s society. He wants the audience to participate so that everyone can get the chance to voice their opinions freely to ignite the discussion on solutions to the conflicts.
Jackson said that last year people did not know what to expect when they arrived at the panel, but everyone left with a better understanding of each other’s experiences.
When the panelists expressed their different opinions, it opened the window for their peers to get a sense of why they feel, act and view the world the way they do.
“That’s what happens a lot of times with race relations. We can’t understand each other because we don’t understand each other’s experiences,” Jackson told WTXL.
Restorative justice advocate Agnes Furey, Pastor Copeland from First Presbyterian Church, activist Chuck Hobbs, and Pastor Rudy Ferguson of New Birth Tabernacle are a few people that will be in attendance as part of the panel. They will lend their experience that they have gathered within the Tallahassee community.
For more information, call (850) 274-8201 or visit http://www.mydestinytoday.net.