How does economic inequality divide our community?
And how do we, as a region, bridge that gap to create a more fair and just world for people from all walks of life?
A daylong summit at Northern Kentucky University on Friday will convene experts from across Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky to seek answers to those questions.
“Economic Inequality Summit: Building Just Communities” is part of a yearlong initiative called The Great Divide, led by Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement, the Honors Program, and NKU’s Office of Inclusive Excellence, in collaboration with the American Democracy Project.
“This summit will present different narratives surrounding the issue of economic inequality through the voices of community leaders, students, and faculty. Participants will also engage in a collective solution-oriented process designed to generate new solutions to the social issue of our times,” said Dr. Kathleen Roberts, Senior Advisor to the President for Inclusive Excellence.
The event will include workshops by Ohio Justice and Policy Center director and Chase College of Law professor David Singleton, who will discuss the school-to-prison pipeline; Cincinnati author Alice Skirtz, who will discuss urban gentrification and its impact upon the poor; and Cincinnati author Peter Block, who will discuss building an economy rooted in compassion. The day will conclude with a creative solution-oriented process to engage all the voices in the room.
The summit is 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday, April 8 in the James C. and Rachel M. Votruba Student Union Ballroom on NKU’s Highland Heights campus.
It is free and open to the public, and attendees are welcome to come and go throughout the day.
The event is sponsored by NKU’s Office of Inclusive Excellence, the Honors Program, and the Chase College of Law Center for Excellence in Advocacy.