UGA Plans Diversity Forum on Trayvon Martin Incident

A panel of professors from the University of Georgia will lead a community conversation about the Trayvon Martin case and its implications.

Scheduled for this Friday, at 2;30pm, in Room 248 of the Miller Learning Center, the event includes various department’s and offices from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

According to psychology professor Dr. Kecia Thomas, who works in the Franklin College Office of Inclusion and Diversity Leadership, the genesis for the forum came from geography professor Hilda Kurtz. She came to Thomas, wanting to have a discussion about the case, in which an unarmed, 17-year-old black young man was shot and killed by a neighborhood watch person.

She and Thomas brainstormed, and came up with the idea of a diversity forum.

“ We're hoping to share our perspectives and feedback based upon our disciplinary perspectives, our own work, and our identities and background,” said Thomas. “We want to promote a critical dialogue about why this occurred and how we can prevent future similar tragedies. We think about this as just one stop along a journey of formal and informal conversations on Trayvon and other issues of inclusion and diversity.”

The forum is open to the University and the local community.