A major policy conference dealing with the new realities of African-American and Latino ethnic relations in the Southeast, jointly sponsored by the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute and the Institute for African-American Studies, will be held at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel on April 5 from 9 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
The conference, “Black and Brown Bridges: Building Successful Partnerships Among African Americans and Latinos in the New South,” and a luncheon buffet to follow are free and open to the public.
The conference was inspired in part by the efforts of two ministers, one African American and the other Latino, the Reverends Harvey Williams and Atanacio Gaona, of Atkinson County in South Georgia. The recent experiences between these community leaders were reported widely in the national media in October 2006. Their work has called attention to the importance of addressing the implications of the dramatic social changes facing both Latinos and African Americans in the state of Georgia and the region.
The conference will address social problems and conflicts, as well as opportunities that may result as Latinos move into communities in which blacks were previously the largest ethnic minority population.