Hope to Host Ottawa Area Summit on Racism

HOLLAND - Hope College will host the fifth and final annual Ottawa Area Summit on Racism on Tuesday, Feb. 15.

The all-day summit, sponsored by the Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance (LEDA), will begin at 8:30 a.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel and will continue until 2:45 p.m.

The first four summits brought together more than 2,000 community members in exploring significant issues related to racial diversity. Each summit has resulted in action plans designed to eliminate barriers to racial inclusion.

This year's summit will feature six workshops, each focused on a different strategy area: business, community, education, faith, government and health care. The topics are: business, "Supplier Diversity"; community, "Comfortable Communities for Diverse Populations"; education, "Improving Minority Graduation Rates"; faith, "The Role of the Faith Community in Healing the Racial Divide"; government, "Ensuring Diverse Neighborhoods - A Regional Approach"; and health care, "Eliminating Disparities in Health Care - First Steps."

The event's keynote speaker will be Frank H. Wu, who is the dean of the Wayne State University Law School. He is the author of "Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White" and co-author of "Race, Rights and Reparation: Law and the Japanese American Internment." His writing has appeared on a professional basis in periodicals such as the "Washington Post," "Detroit Free Press," "Chicago Tribune," "Baltimore Sun," "Chronicle of Higher Education," "Legal Times" and "Asian Week."

Following registration from 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., welcoming remarks will be made by Hope College President James Bultman. Closing remarks will be presented by Alfredo Gonzales, who is associate provost at Hope, and by Gail Harrison, who is the summit coordinator and executive director of LEDA.

Additional information about the summit may be obtained by calling (616) 846-9074.

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