The event Imagining Community: Shaping a More Equitable Dayton was held this past Thursday, April 7, and Friday, April 8, in downtown Dayton. Scholars, community organizers, local business people, and people from all over the Dayton metro met at The Hub at the Dayton Arcade for their inaugural symposium. Over 30 talks and presentations were given, and topics such as redlining, health equity, peace, human rights, art, entrepreneurship, and public parks were covered. Exhibits, such as Undesigning the Redline in the Arcade’s rotunda, were perused by the public. The event wrapped up with an open mic and spoken word event that included poet Sierra Leone.
According to a representative from the Entrepreneurs’ Center at The Hub, the event was well attended and there was lots of activity around the spaces where the event and its sessions were held. Two Sinclair professors, Faheem Curtis-Khidr and Furaha Henry-Jones, were speakers at the event.
Dr. Leslie H. Picca, a professor of sociology at the University of Dayton and their chair of social sciences, helped organize the symposium. She felt that there was a lot of great conversation and engagement at the event, and that it brought groups together that don’t often interact with each other. Nonprofits, the corporate world, artists, librarians, folks in the city, and people from the surrounding suburbs all came to the event.
“This was such a great partnership across the Dayton region. Some people may have seen this as a UD event, but it was a community event,” said Picca. “It really spoke to the need in this area. These are complex issues we are dealing with and they will involve complex solutions. It’s going to take all of us working together in the community to create a more equitable Dayton that really benefits all of us in the community.”
Conversations are in progress about holding a second symposium in 2023. Find out more information about the symposium on the University of Dayton website.
Carlos Jillson
Reporter