Enita Okodiko, UNC Asheville Black Student Association president, and more than 150 other students and local residents will spend next Saturday exploring some of the biggest challenges facing the African American community in Asheville.

UNC Asheville’s inaugural The State of Black Asheville conference will bring together community members with decision makers to discuss education, health care, law enforcement and housing. The State of Black Asheville will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, in UNC Asheville’s Highsmith University Union Mountain Suites. The event is free and open to the public. Shuttles from local neighborhoods as well as childcare and lunch will be provided at no cost. Space is limited and pre-registration is required.

“This conference presents an opportunity for people who don’t usually speak directly to each other to do so,” said Okodiko. “It will provide a forum for Asheville residents to voice their opinions to decision makers and allow the decision makers to better understand how their actions affect others.”

The conference was the brainchild of Dwight Mullen, UNC Asheville political science professor and director of Africana Studies. He has involved students from the beginning to help plan and organize the conference as well as to research the subject areas that will be discussed.

“I believe the conference will begin a serious dialogue that will benefit the community as a whole,” said David Cox, a junior political science major and student coordinator. “I hope we can all join together to have the hard conversations that are needed to uncover why things are the way they are in Asheville and how we can work to make life better for all our citizens.”

Sessions on education, health care, law enforcement and housing will be lead by local experts. Education panelists include Gene Bell, Asheville City School Board member; Robert Logan, Asheville City Schools superintendent; and Al Whitesides, Asheville City School Board member. Panelists discussing health care will include physician Dr. Charles Blair; Jim Pitts, UNC Asheville sociology professor; Marsha Stickford, Buncombe County Health Department Board chair; and Sharon West, executive director of the Institute of Parity Achievement of Asheville-Buncombe County. Law enforcement panelists will feature Theodis Beck, secretary for the North Carolina Department of Correction; Buncombe County Sherriff Van Duncan; Asheville Police Chief Bill Hogan; and Asheville City Councilman Carl Mumpower. Leading the discussion on housing will be Gene Bell, Asheville Housing Authority director; local activist Isaac Coleman; and Scott Dedman, Mountain Housing Opportunities executive director. Each panel will also include a member of the Asheville City Council.

For more information or to register, call UNC Asheville’s Political Science Department at
828/251-6634 or e-mail mmoore@unca.edu.

A complete schedule is available online.