Pastor Matthew J. Watts of Charleston’s Grace Bible Church and Charleston Police Department Corporal Errol Randle will be the principal speakers at a Summit on Race Matters that will take place in Lewisburg on Nov. 11 from 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the Greenbrier Valley Campus of the New River Community and Technical College.
The site for this meeting will be the new Kyle and Ann Fort Arts and Science Building a few yards up the hill from Carnegie Hall. The college and the Greenbrier Valley Community Foundation provide major contributions to the organization of the event. Breakfast and lunch will be served. Registration costs $10 until Nov. 1, then it goes up to $15.
This is the third November in a row that a Summit on Race Matters has been held in West Virginia. The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy is also a partner in the organization of these events. Last year’s event in Lewisburg involved a multiracial gathering of about 120 people. The theme for this year’s summit is “Equal Justice Under Law.” Watts will speak in the morning right before an attendee’s participatory activity, and Randle will speak in the afternoon before a panel discussion.
As a community leader, Watts established the HOPE Youth Development Movement with its staff working with over 500 youth each week in Kanawha County public schools. He has also developed two models for juvenile offenders titled “Prevention, Intervention and Diversion for Juveniles,” and “After-Care and Transitioning for Juveniles.” These models have been well received by the Kanawha County Juvenile Probation Department. He implemented a similar model for adult offenders entitled “Alternative Sentencing for Non-Violent Offenders” that is being used in the adult probation department. He is on the Supreme Court Juvenile Justice Commission working closely with the state legislature and the WV Department of Corrections to develop a plan to address the prison over-crowding problem in West Virginia.
As a strategic planning officer with the Charleston Police Department, Randle takes part in the intensive efforts in Charleston to improve race relations between the public and law enforcement. He is one of the officers involved in Project West Invest which has the goals of creating safe neighborhoods, revitalizing single family homes, and improving community policing efforts in Charleston’s West Side. Randle has been working with former prisoners on the house where he will live on the West Side and be a part of that community.
Early registration helps and costs less ($10 versus $15 after Nov. 1 deadline). Online registration using a credit card or Pay Pal is available at www.gvfoundation.org/#!events/xemse. Checks may be mailed to Greenbrier Valley Community Foundation, P.O. Box 1682, Lewisburg WV 24901. Otherwise, stop by the foundation office on the second floor of the City National Bank building in downtown Lewisburg. The foundation’s Executive Director, Courtney Smith may be contacted for more information at 304-645-5620 or info@gvfoundation.org.
