Creating a safe space for conversation and dialog during an unprecedented moment in history was the impetus for “Conversations Toward a Culture of Justice,” a discussion group, meeting 4-6 p.m. each Thursday via Zoom, July 9-Aug 20.

The first hour each week will include brief presentations, poetry readings, speeches, stories, and other content presented by the facilitator, speaker, or poets, followed by a few questions.

The second hour will be an opportunity for extended dialogue in a less-structured framework.

The series is free and open to the public, who can join with the following Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/99105600039.

The series was inspired PC Upward Bound Coordinator Nitasha Lewis, who brought her idea to a group of colleagues who agreed that the college has an important role to play in the social, political, and historical moment the country and world find themselves in, and that creating a safe place for dialogue and discussion is a valuable educational framework the college can offer to students and to the larger communities that PC serves.

“2020 has been a prodigious year,” Lewis said. “Apart from facing a health pandemic and an economic recession, this year has also brought us face-to-face with injustice. Injustice is not a minority problem; it is a problem for us all. Only together will we be able to transform our communities to reflect a system of equality.”

Her July 9 conversation focuses on protests, police brutality, and how people are cultivating peace and finding their way forward in these times.

“The Peninsula College Board of Trustees recently adopted a resolution, urging the college community to take ‘actions that seek to dismantle systemic inequality and bias (and) confront hate and violence,’” said Dr. Helen Lovejoy, series co-coordinator and English faculty member.

“These conversations are a step toward this important and necessary work.”

The series is co-sponsored by Studium Generale, Magic of Cinema, PC Forks, the Peninsula College English Department, PC Library/Media Center, and ʔaʔk̓ʷustəƞáwt̓xʷ House of Learning, PC Longhouse. The programs are made possible through contributions to the Peninsula College Foundation.

For more information, contact Lovejoy at hlovejoy@pencol.edu or Dr. Kate Reavey at kreavey@pencol.edu.