Our Local Color Project 2019-20 season is made possible by the generous support of Bank of America.

As our beloved community joins others around the nation in the important unfinished work to make the promise of equality a reality, constructive conversation helps to illuminate the path to progress and meaningful change. In that spirit, a group of community leaders share diverse perspectives about critical and relevant issues in a special series of Town Hall presentations — presented by The Village Square in partnership with Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, and Sachs Media Group.

As Americans unite in a shared mission about the civil rights issues of our time in the aftermath of the tragic killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, former Tallahassee Democrat publisher Skip Foster moderates a dialogue and takes questions from the public for the first program “Equality in Life: Justice and Law Enforcement.” Subsequent topics include “Equality in Life: Business and Growth,” facilitated by Heidi Otway, President of SalterMitchell PR; and “Equality in Life: The Role of Government,” facilitated by Lila Jaber, President of the Jaber Group.

Joining the conversation: Reverend R.B. Holmes, Bethel Missionary Baptist Church Attorney Ben Crump, Attorney for the family of George Floyd U.S. Attorney Larry Keefe, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida Rachel Rojas, Special Agent in Charge, FBI State Attorney Jack Campbell, 2nd Judicial Circuit Sheriff Walt McNeill, Leon County Chief Lawrence Revell, Tallahassee Police Department Adner Marcelin, President, Tallahassee NAACP Talethia Edwards, Founder & President, Greater Bond Community Neighborhood Association

Mentioned in this program: You can view the results of the Sachs Media Group Survey on equality in our hometown here.

And please watch this truly extraordinary video (made by high school students) about poverty in Tallahassee mentioned by Ms. Talethia Edwards during the program.

To learn more about 2-1-1 Big Bend including the critical role they play in providing front line mental health support, check out episode 9 of Let’s Get Local Tallahassee podcast.