Challenging Perceptions: Progress and Promises
A year following the brutal death of George Floyd and the onset of a pandemic that shed light on racial disparities, we will discuss what changes, if any, have occurred in how communities view and value Black lives. This discussion will include the founder of the Richmond Racial Equity Essays, Ebony Walden and Dr. Wes Bellamy, Political Science Department Chair at Virginia State University.
The Panelists
Ebony Walden
| Ebony is the Founder and Principal Consultant at Ebony Walden Consulting (EWC), an urban strategy firm based in Richmond, Virginia that designs and facilitates meetings, training, strategic plans and community engagement processes that explore race, equity and the creation of more just and inclusive communities. Ebony is also the creator of the Richmond Racial Equity Essays, a multimedia project focused on advancing racial equity in Richmond which launched in September of 2021. Ebony is an adjunct professor at Virginia Commonwealth University where she teaches Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the City. She holds a Masters in Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia and a Bachelors in Business Administration from Georgetown University. (Photo: Karen Elliot Greisdorf)
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Wes Bellamy
| Dr. Wes Bellamy is the author of When White Supremacy Knocks, Fight Back! How White People can use their Privilege and How Black People can use their Power. He is Political Science Department Chairman and Director of the John Mercer Langston Institute for African American Political Leadership at Virginia State University and serves as the national Co-Chairman of the newly developed Our Black Party – a political platform focused on advancing the needs of Black people in America. Dr. Bellamy is a former Vice-Mayor and City Councilman in Charlottesville, Virginia and developed the “Equity Package,” which included nearly $4 million in aid for marginalized communities, and pushed it through city council. He is the co-founder of the Black Millennial Political Convention, which is focused on bringing together African American millennials from across the country to collectively use their power to create change. (Photo: Yolunda Coles-Jones)
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