A “Summit on Race Matters for the Greenbrier Valley and Alleghany Highlands” area has been planned for Nov. 10-11 at the Roland P. Sharp Alumni Center on the campus of the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg and the public is encouraged to participate. Primary sponsors for the program will be the Greater Greenbrier Valley Community Foundation Inc. and the New River Community and Technical College, which has campuses in Mercer County in Princeton, Advanced Technology Center in Ghent, Raleigh County in Beaver and Beckley, Nicholas County in Summersville and the Greenbrier Valley in Lewisburg. The Summit will open on Nov. 10 with a reception from 5-6 p.m. Discussions will be from 6-8 p.m. On Veterans’ Day, Nov. 11, the Summit will meet from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will include a luncheon. Organizers of the Summit note that after attending a “Summit on Race Matters in Appalachia” last year in Charleston, communities were encouraged to come together to explore the topic of “race matters” locally. “We have considered our ‘local area’ to include not only Greenbrier, but also Nicholas, Pocahontas, Summers, Monroe, and Mercer counties in West Virginia and nearby Alleghany, Bath, Craig and Giles counties in Virginia,” a spokesperson explained. The purpose of the event is to offer a unique opportunity for people throughout our region to participate in a constructive, in-depth conversation about the complicated history and living web of race relations and racial inequalities. Participants are expected to examine the causes and consequences of structural inequities that exist across social, political, education and financial systems and how those inequities negatively affect everyone in the communities. Registration is now open for the Summit with the fee of $15 before Nov. 1 and $25 after Nov. 1 and registration can be made on line at www.gvfoundation.org/events. Questions about the event or on how to register can be answered by telephoning the Greater Greenbrier Valley Community Foundation Inc. at 304-645-5620.
