Community discusses racial equity
—Glynn County residents came together Wednesday to discuss racial equity in the community.
The Partnership for Southern Equity hosted a listening session at College of Coastal Georgia as part of its Equity Tour, which has included stops in Albany and Savannah.
The purpose of the session was to promote collaboration between those working to improve the health and well-being in communities of color.
In attendance were local, state and federal partners.
“We have an opportunity to come together and do something,” said Nathaniel Smith, founder and chief equality officer at PSE, an
Atlanta-based nonprofit. “Do something for our communities. Do something for our young people. Do something for our elders.”
PSE aims to connect “builders and disrupters” in this work, Smith said.
“For us, it’s about bringing people together in ways that will stop and disrupt the systems that continue to create the injustices that we’re facing in the community, in particular Black communities and historically disinvested communities of color,” he said.
PSE works to promote laws and policy that support equity, Smith said. Equity is not the same as equality, he added.
“For us, equity means just and fair inclusive,” Smith said. “That is the definition that we use. It’s about creating the conditions where all people — regardless of where you live, whether you’re on the north side or the south side or the east side or the west side — have an opportunity to reach their full potential.”
PSE focuses on numerous justice issues, including climate justice, development and economic inclusion.
PSE has worked for several years with the local Community First Planning Commission, a network of pastors and stakeholders working to improve the community.
The Sapelo Foundation provided a grant in 2020 after the onset of COVID-19 to bring PSE to Brunswick and other communities in Georgia to advance racial justice.
“We look at the work as a marathon not a sprint, so for us it was looking for ways to ensure that whether it’s five years from now or 15 years from now the work will continue through the support and development of strong institutions and leaders on the ground that can help to move this work forward,” Smith said.
Lericia Harris, coordinator for the Community First Planning Commission, shared some of the recent work the organization has supported.
Two priorities for the group are criminal justice reform and environmental justice, she said.
Community First is in the process of establishing a citizens review board to oversee county law enforcement. They also plan to soft launch a Justice Center at the Rise Risley camps this spring, where residents can voice concerns about local law enforcement.