New ‘Coalition 4 Justice’ to host online forums
Discussion on race set Jan. 11
LOWERGWYNEDD » A new coalition is in place and hoping to bring new lines of communication to the area in 2021.
The “Coalition for Racial Equity and Social Justice,” founded last summer, is planning to start the new year with an online discussion on race on Jan. 11.
“I founded the‘ Coalition 4 justice’ to create a safe space for people in our communities to come together and have meaningful and authentic discussions about discrimination and racism,” said organizer Bernadine Ahonkhai.
Following the nationwide protests over racial violence last summer, Ahonkhai said this week that she decided to reach out to friends and acquaintances interested in doing more to improve race relations. A Lower Gwynedd resident and “semi-retired educator,” Ahonkhai said the Coalition has held meetings twice monthly over the past half-year where anyone interested can learn and listen.
“We also provide education and training on race issues and bring in
special guest speakers to present once a month,” she said, on topics which include promoting “systemic and institutional transformation” in education, healthcare, housing, community policing, criminal justice, economic justice, income and wealth disparities, and voting rights.
“We hope to access schools and youth programs to provide education and training also,” she said.
Short-term goals of the coalition include promoting collective awareness of, and interactions toward, the elimination of racism and social inequity; providing changes for community conversations about racial equity and social justice; and providing programs and activities for schools, community members, policymakers and government.
The Jan. 11 Zoom meeting, set for 7:30 p.m., will feature Tim Dutton, CEO of UNITE Pinellas, Florida, who Ahonkhai said oversees a collective of organizations and individu
als committed to generating policy changes to increase racial equity.
That meeting will be followed by a similar online meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 8 that will feature Aima Ahonkhai Nottidg, an infectious disease and HIV physician and researcher who has helped establish collaborations with NGOs in Africa to improve lives there, and has more recently worked on local and global programs to increase testing, treatment and vaccination access to combat COVID-19.
While some group members took part in protests last summer, the coalition does not aim to organize protests, Ahonkhai said, but rather “works to impact attitudes, behaviors and system policies through education and training.” The Lansdale Public Library has accepted the Coalition as a member of its Diversity Committee, Ahonkhai said, and will likely host in-person gatherings once COVID-related restr ictions are lifted. In August 2020 the group organized a viewing of “Good Trouble,” a film depicting the life of civil rights activist John Lewis, at Lansdale’s
Whites Road Park.
“People have been very grateful and enthused about what the Coalition has been doing since June 2020. We hope to work with area schools and youth programs once COVID-19 is out of the way,” said Ahonkhai.
The coalition hopes to change policies that foster racism, discrimination and oppression of any one group by another, and has also begun building ties with other groups that aim to do the same, including the “Lansdale Equality Coalition” that was also founded last summer, and includes members of other groups including the AAUW, NAACP, Rotary Clubs and more.
“Overall, we are providing people a safe space to dialogue and have meaningful and authentic conversations about the horrific events of American colonization and the contemporary effects of its legacy (racism and discrimination) on the health and well-being of people of color disproportionately, and frankly on all Americans,” she said.
For more information or to participate, visit www. coalition4justice.com.