Community Wide Dialogue to End Racism to present 4th Annual Racial Justice Awards, panel discussion at Syracuse Stage

Community Wide Dialogue to End Racism to present 4th Annual Racial Justice Awards, panel discussion at Syracuse StageMarch 24, 2009SU News ServicesSUnews@syr.edu

Community Wide Dialogue to End Racism will present its Fourth Annual Racial Justice Awards on Wednesday, April 1, at Syracuse Stage. The honor is presented annually to celebrate individuals in Central New York who work vigorously for racial equity.

The event begins at 6:30 p.m. and will include a dessert reception, an awards ceremony, a preview performance of “The Diary of Anne Frank” and a panel discussion, “Stand Against Hate,” that will include two members of the Syracuse University community. A limited number of seats are available; the suggested donation for tickets starts at $25. To inquire about ticket availability or reserve tickets, contact Maquisha Mullins at 449-3552 ext. 119 or cwd1@interfaithworkscny.org.

The evening is a fundraiser for Community Wide Dialogue, a program of Interfaith Works of CNY.

The 2009 Racial Justice Award will be presented to Eva Williams, a school counselor at Corcoran High School, where she has created the Corcoran-Cazenovia High School Exchange, initiated and participated in the staff dialogue titled “Helping Every Student Succeed,” and provided academic and developmental counseling to hundreds of students. Williams launched the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Summer Enrichment Academy, as well as the youth chapter of Rotary International-Interact and the W.E.B. Dubois National Honor Society.

The 2009 Racial Justice Lifetime Achievement Award will honor many years of service by Geneva Hayden, who, upon retiring from a 25-year career as a teacher in Syracuse, launched a second career as a community activist. She developed CURN, a grassroots community action organization to respond to the needs of residents of the Midland Avenue, Furman Avenue and Kennedy Street area. She was also instrumental in the creation of Kwanzaa Park. Her more recent work includes creation of Light a Candle for Literacy, a year-round program that supports adult and child literacy and parenting skills throughout Syracuse’s South Side, and she is currently engaged in a parenting program collaboration with P.E.A.C.E. Inc.

After Hayden’s and Williams’ honors, Syracuse Stage will present a preview performance of “The Diary of Anne Frank.” Moderator George Kilpatrick of WCNY-TV will then lead a panel discussion on courage in the face of hate. Panelists are:

• Joseph Downing, associate professor of music at SU;
• Deputy Chief Frank Fowler of the Syracuse Police Department;
• Imam Abdur-Rahim Muhammad, a member of the Community Wide Dialogue board; and
• Ruth Federman Stein, interim director of SU’s Academic Integrity Office.