UNPACKING THE 2010 CENSUS: New Realities of Race, Class, and Jurisdiction

Join us at the RPL Main Library on Wednesday, April 11, 6:30 - 8:30 for Unpacking the 2010 Census: New Realities of Race, Class, and Jurisdiction. This program will help us examine the dramatically changing landscape of human needs and what we must do collectively to address the plight of our neighborhoods and to build a just and inclusive community. The Unpacking the 2010 Census program was conceived, researched and designed by Dr. John V. Moeser, a renowned urban planning expert, Senior Fellow at the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement at the University of Richmond, and a member of the Hope in the Cities Council.

In March of 2011, Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones launched his anti-poverty commission to focus on employment, education, transportation, and health.  Heroic efforts are being made by countless volunteers to address the consequences of our unequal systems, but as yet there has been no deliberate attempt to educate people on the underlying causes and alter the basic structures that would enable Richmond area residents to move out of poverty.

The Census project is presented in partnership with the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities and is supported by a grant from The Community Foundation.

The project aims to:

-Provoke long-needed discussion about new policy options to address poverty and structural inequity in the region. The disparities in public education, access to transportation, healthcare, and affordable housing are rooted in the structures of our economic and political systems, and their historical context.

-Educate people on the underlying causes. This approach is unique in that it highlights the role that history has played in the current situation, and how we all have the power to make history ourselves, by taking action now to alter the basic structures that would enable Richmond area residents to move out of poverty.

-Create a grassroots domino effect where those who have taken part in a facilitated discussion will be empowered to share what they have learned with others in the community.

We want as many voices as possible in these discussions! Please call and reserve a space for what promises to be a rigorous and enlightening evening: 804-646-7223