Taubman College Urban Planning MLK Symposium – What would a reconciled metropolitan Detroit look like?
Join us tomorrow evening as we continue the dialogue around Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with the Urban & Regional Planning event titled: What would a reconciled metropolitan Detroit look like?
THURSDAY, January 24, 2012
6-8 pm, reception to follow
Room 2104 Art & Architecture Building
2000 Bonisteel Blvd, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the foremost spokesperson of the U. S. civil rights movement; he helped mobilize people and communities against explicitly racist policies and vocally racist opposition to the cause of equality. Today, we are able to look back and acknowledge that progress has been made. However, the United States has still not fully confronted racial injustice in a meaningful way; the continued concentration of low-income and minority populations – and the injustices they face – in today’s urban centers bears witness to the continued presence of the injustices Dr. King fought against. This symposium, focused primarily on metropolitan Detroit, will explore the possibility of a truth and reconciliation movement, analogous to the process begun by Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu in the wake of South African apartheid. Leaders from the Detroit area will be brought together to discuss what form truth and reconciliation might take in the region. Issues the panel will explore include: Is a truth and reconciliation process necessary? What truths must be exposed? What kind of leadership would such a movement require? How can metropolitan Detroit and other communities begin to make peace with their histories? What would a truly reconciled metropolitan Detroit look like?
Featuring:
- Hanson Clark, Former U.S. Representative to Michigan’s 13th Congressional District
- Stephanie Johnson-Cobb, Community Involvement Coordinator, Focus: Hope
- Harvey Hollins III, Director of the Michigan Office of Metropolitan and Urban Issues
- Conan Smith, Executive Director, Michigan Suburbs Alliance
Attending the event? Use Twitter? Be sure to tweet updates and activity using the #TaubmanMLK hashtag
