UB, Buffalo to join for race dialogue March 24
"One America: Conversations That Bring Us Together"

By MARA McGINNIS
News Service Editorial Assistant

Members of the UB and Buffalo communities will have an opportunity to voice their ideas and concerns regarding the issue of race during "One America: Conversations That Bring Us Together," a formal dialogue on the issue that will be held from 3-5:30 p.m. March 24 in the Center for Tomorrow on the North Campus.

The event, part of the White House Initiative on Race: "One America In The 21st Century," will be moderated by William E. Leftwich, III, deputy assistant secretary of defense for equal opportunity. It is sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences.

"UB's 'One America' dialogue promises to be an affair which will move us closer to a community that is absent of the fear and suspicion that too often characterize communities all over the country today," said Brenda Moore, associate professor of sociolo gy and organizer of the event. A military sociologist, Moore serves as a presidential appointee to the American Battle Monuments Commission and to the Department of Defense Advisory Committee on Women.

In 1997, President Clinton asked his advisory board for the "Initiative on Race," chaired by historian John Hope Franklin, to reach out to local communities and organize constructive dialogues with Americans from different races and backgrounds to better understand the causes of racial tension.

In September 1998, the advisory board submitted a report calling for a continuation of these types of discussions, which have been held in cities nationwide since the initiative began. The current initiative for "One America," headed by presidential appo intee Ben Johnson, will continue through 2000.

"Several race and ethnic issues already have been identified in the City of Buffalo and it is important that we examine these issues," said Moore. "UB needs to be part of the discussion. As more people of different cultural backgrounds move into leadersh ip positions, we cannot function as a university, a city, or a nation without eliminating the existing stereotypes."

Dialogue participants will include prominent figures of different racial and ethnic groups from the Buffalo and UB communities who are well aware of the racial and ethnic problems in the City of Buffalo, Moore said.

The discussion panel will be composed of approximately 40 members, 20 from UB and 20 from the City of Buffalo.

President William R. Greiner and Buffalo Mayor Anthony Masiello will give opening remarks at the event.

Moore noted that Leftwich will submit a report to the White House initiative based on concerns raised by the participants during the dialogue.

Leftwich directs the development and coordination of equal-opportunity policies and programs affecting virtually all civilian employees and military personnel within the U.S. Department of Defense and exercises staff supervision over two directorates of equal-opportunity professionals.

A member of the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans, he also is an ex-officio member of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. In 1995, he received the Benjamin L. Hooks Distinguished Service Award from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Moore explained that she chose UB as the venue for the event in the spirit of "building bridges" between the City of Buffalo and the university.

"The UB administration is committed to promoting pluralism on campus. Hosting this dialogue will reflect and reinforce this commitment," said Moore, who chaired the Faculty Senate Committee on Affirmative Action from 1996-98.

Among the UB participants in the dialogue will be Claude Welch, Jr., SUNY Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Political Science; Barbara H. Tedlock, professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology; Henry L. Taylor, Jr., director of the Center for Urban Studies, and Donna Rice, associate vice president for student affairs. Mark Devasagayam, a former student in Moore's "Race and Ethnic Relations" class, will represent students.

City of Buffalo participants will include Frank Mesiah, president of the Buffalo NAACP; Lana Benatovich of the National Conference for Community and Justice; Ellen Grant-Bishop, commissioner for the Erie County Department of Mental Health; Brenda McDuffi e, president of the Buffalo Urban League, and James Pitts, president of the Buffalo Common Council.

The UB "One America" dialogue will be free and open to the public for observation only. Tickets are required. To obtain tickets or for more information, call Bruce Kolesnick at 645-3705. More information on the White House Initiative "One America" is ava ilable at http://www.whitehouse.gov/Initiatives.