YORKTOWN — Grace Episcopal Church Yorktown announced it is offering a second year of its free speaker series this fall.
According to series organizers, the speakers will explore topics from the history of urban renewal and its impacts in our community today, childhood poverty in America, and the legacy of community displacement present both in film and from a panel of Reservation descendants.
Featured speakers:
Sept. 10, 6:45 p.m. — Johnny Finn — CNU Associate Professor of Geography
During the mid-20th century, slum clearance and urban renewal became vehicles through which cities remade themselves — bulldozing Black neighborhoods in the name of public and private development, entrenching racial segregation, perpetuating school segregation, encircling Black communities with highways and industry, and demolishing Black commercial districts. Today, urban landscapes across the country still bear the scars of urban renewal. In this presentation and Q&A, Johnny Finn will discuss the history of urban renewal in Virginia and its lasting impacts, focusing especially on how its echoes continue to shape urban policy in the Hampton Roads region.
Oct. 8, 6:45 p.m. — Chris Howard — W&M Harriman Professor of Government and Public Policy
Between 1993 and 2019, child poverty rates dropped by half in this country, which was a remarkable achievement. Chris Howard, the author of “Who Cares: The Social Safety Net in America” will discuss how this achievement happened, what government programs have had the biggest impact and who are the children still living below the poverty line. Howard’s presentation will expound on what’s working to alleviate child poverty and what still needs to be done.
Nov. 5, 6:45 p.m. — Jacqueline Bridgeforth-Williams — Founder of The Village Initiative for Equity in Education
Jacqueline Bridgeforth-Williams is the founder of The Village Initiative for Equity in Education and a documentary film producer. The Village Initiative raises awareness about historic and current racial disparities and advocates for equity. She will speak on the history of the Black community, known as the “Reservation” that was displaced for the construction of the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. The presentation will address the legacy of community displacement in Yorktown as told by descendants of displaced residents and in a short film.
Presentations will take place at 6:45 p.m. on Wednesdays, Sept. 10, Oct. 8, and Nov. 5, in Grace Church’s Parish Hall. Admission is free and no reservations are required. Visit gracechurchyorktown.org for more details.
