UAB will explore community well-being in "Critical Conversations" civic dialogue forum

A civic dialogue forum Jan. 24 will explore community engagement and collaboration.

Written by: Tiffany Westry

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critical conversationsThe University of Alabama at Birmingham will host a forum to explore better ways to facilitate community engagement between UAB and the Greater Birmingham area. The forum is a part of the UAB Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion’s “Critical Conversations” series.

The civic dialogue forum, “Critical Conversations: Creating and Sustaining the Beloved Community,” will take place Wednesday, Jan. 24, from 6-8 p.m. in Heritage Hall, Room 102. The event is free and open to the public. The conversation will focus on the idea that community well-being is the result of a complex interplay of social, cultural, economic, political and environmental factors beyond the influence of any one individual, organization or level of government alone. 

In addition, the panel will explore ways in which we can better facilitate community engagement between UAB and Greater Birmingham. The panel includes Jarralynne Agee, director of the Birmingham Violence Reduction Initiative; Tiffanie Agee, local attorney and Birmingham community activist; Josh Carpenter, UAB External Affairs; Martez Files, UAB Ph.D. student, scholar and community activist; Ashley Kuntz, director of the UAB Honors College; Jennifer Sanders, pastor of Beloved Community Church; and Tameka Wren, local attorney, activist and Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority board member.

Critical Conversations” is a campuswide civic forum series that provides a platform for civil discourse. The goal is to foster a diverse, equitable and inclusive community by using education and civil discourse as tools to encourage and empower UAB and its surrounding communities to engage, collaborate and create solutions to social issues affecting our communities.