Photo Credit: Bob Glicksmith
Last year I hosted a two part series on race and justice in America. These town hall gatherings were held in Atlanta, Georgia on Sweet Auburn Avenue in the old Fourth Ward. Our venue was Sweet Auburn Seafood Lounge and Restaurant.
We tackled this big topic over a good meal and had a great exchange of ideas. I was inspired to call for this town hall discussion because of the tenor of presidential campaign rhetoric over the issue of race. I believe these discussions compliment my latest book of essays, Justice in the Round: Essays on the American Judicial System.
The video below is a brief clip from the second town hall discussion we held on this topic on October 19, 2015.
Although, I served as the convener of these town hall discussions, I will be the first to admit that I do not have all the answers on this topic. I believed that the conversation had to begin in earnest on race and justice in America, because together as a community, we can come to the answers that can solve this age old problem.
There are those who believe, that racism like the poor, will always be with us. I do not hold onto that pessimistic view. Quite to the contrary, I am the perpetual optimist. I believe, that where there is a willingness to engage in conversations with our neighbors, we can derive a solution to issues of race that tend to provide equal justice under the law for some Americans and a mere modicum of justice for yet other Americans.
If you have not guessed it by now, issues of racial and social justice are very important to me. While others may concentrate their attention on economic development, I have found my life work in searching for ways to secure justice and equality under the law for all American citizens.
I hope you will join me in this project by convening a small gathering of your friends and neighbors to have a frank discussion on race and justice in America, similar to the town hall meeting we were able to convene last year in Atlanta.
Harold Michael Harvey is an American novelist and essayist, the author of Paper puzzle and Justice in the Round. He can be contacted at haroldmichaelharvey.com.