Reclaiming Southern History and Narrative
October 27-28
Join us at our True South series inaugural event in Durham! We're inviting policymakers, academics, nonprofit leaders, artists, and community to discuss policy and pathways to create equity in the South.
Thursday, October 27, 7-9pm Hayti Heritage Center
An Evening of Art and Dialogue
Join us for an honest and optimistic reflection on the past, present, and future of the South. Through conversation and performance, we'll explore how art can reflect what society ignores, bear witness to historic and present inequities, and envision potential futures.
Please join us at 6pm for a welcome reception catered by Ava’s Cuisine and Catering
Friday, October 28, 8:30am-4pm, North Carolina Central University Student Center
Topics
- The Tie that Binds: The history and policy of inequity: How have policies and systems been designed to include or exclude people and communities from prosperity? How can we redesign policy to be both inclusive and reparative?
- Reclaiming the Past, Reimagining the Future: The transformation of Dix Park in Raleigh: How can cities recognize traumatic histories of public spaces while envisioning new possibilities to serve local community? Organized by South Arts and Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources, City of Raleigh
- Building an Inclusive Democracy: Increasing access to and accountability within our political systems: How can we ensure communities are inspired to vote? What protections need to be in place to ensure they have unobstructed access? How can we ensure elected leaders represent the needs of communities?
- Equitable Economic Development: Investing in what works for communities: How can communities evaluate economic opportunities to ensure that quality jobs are created and that communities that historically have been excluded from economic prosperity actually benefit? What policies and practices are needed to create equitable entrepreneurial pathways for Black, Latinx, and other historically marginalized communities?
- From Dreams to Action: Community responses to gentrification and displacement in Durham: How can we envision housing as a basic human right? What policies can protect communities from gentrification and displacement in the face of new economic growth?
- Policy Discussions & Closing Town Hall: Opportunities for participants to identify critical policy and systems change strategies that are required for making equity and opportunity a reality in the new South.
- Radical Imagination Space: A reflective space where participants can stop by to share their vision for a thriving South through art, writing, or other creative expression.
Speakers
- Dr. Nicole Diggs
- Fay Horwitt
- Councilmember Leonardo Williams
- Chris Kromm
- Irene Godinez
- Anita Scott Neville
- Johnny Lee Chapman III
- Trey Roberts
- Kate Pearce
- Reverend Dr. Jay Augustine
- Vice Chief Dr. Marvin Richardson
- Alexandra Zagbayou
- Anita Brown-Graham
- Dr. Adriane Lentz-Smith
- Professor Irving L. Joyner
True South
For 25 years, MDC’s State of the South has shown the importance of creating a South that is unflinchingly true to the past, courageously true to the present, and unfailingly bound to a future in which all Southerners thrive. MDC’s 2022-2023 State of the South series, True South, will weave together community conversations, artistic expression, online content, and a series of reports to explore how—and if—Southerners are reckoning with this moment of economic, social, and environmental upheaval.
Our inaugural State of the South convening in Durham will center around historic and contemporary issues in the South. We’ll examine how policy has been designed and to whose benefit and detriment. Conversations will focus on understanding issues faced by communities in the South, what’s necessary to create new policies to better serve communities, and what coalitions need to institutionalize change.