Decatur, GA — The city of Decatur and the city’s Better Together Advisory Board are hosting an anti-racism speaker series this fall to generate awareness of equity concerns in the city and to hold the community accountable to achieve the goal of being an inclusive, equitable and just city, according to an announcement from the city.

This fall, the virtual series will engage community leaders, city officials and activist in exploring the trust deficit in the community, how it impacts race relations, and how individuals can deepen collaborative relationships and trust throughout Decatur. This can’t be done without studying and resolving the influence of racism on governmental policies and community norms, the announcement says.

The Better Together Advisory Board hops to challenge and inspire the community to take actionable steps to instill anti-racism throughout city policies and practices.

The four-part series will be moderated by Better Together Co-Chair Ed Lee and will culminate in an exploration of community-informed policy changes.

The first discussion of the series will kick off on Wednesday, Sept. 1, at 7:30 p.m. with a virtual conversation with two local authors, Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal, who wrote “I’m Not Dying with you Tonight.” The book follows two teen girls — one Black, one white — who have to confront their own assumptions about racial inequality as they rely on each other to get through the violent race riot that has set their city on fire with civil unrest, the announcement states.

The panel discussion will look at how people establish interpersonal relationships across racial and cultural differences.

Other events in the series will include:

— An exploration of effective strategies government officials can use to deepen trust throughout communities;

— A conversation with citizen leaders in Decatur about their strategies to build trust across differences; and

— An opportunity to learn from other cities.

For more information about the series and to register for Wednesday’s webinar, click here.

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