| Civility in Action: Dialogues across Difference | ||||||
| Please join Dr. DeRionne P. Pollard for a series of conversations focused on building civility across difference. |
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Tuesday, February 28 ▪ 7 p.m. | |||||
| Drs. Dennis W. and Christine Y. Wiley Co-pastors, Covenant Baptist Church of Christ |
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| Drs. Dennis W. and Christine Y. Wiley have decades of experience in theology, ministry, and counseling, and have led countless conversations about the intersections of racial difference and reconciliation. They are active in the struggle for justice for all people, with a special focus on the places where difference—around race, class, gender, or sexual orientation—has created barriers to communication. The Wileys’ dialogue will bring a special focus on how communities that have been divided by difference and incivility can move beyond bitterness to improved trust and potential understanding. | ||||||
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Thursday, March 9 ▪ 7 p.m. | |||||
| Chief J. Thomas Manger President, Major Cities Chiefs Association |
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| As Chief of Police in Montgomery County, Maryland, since 2004, Chief Manger leads a department of 1,252 sworn police officers and 669 civilian members. The diversity of Montgomery County, with nearly 1.1 million residents, has grown continually since 2010. With a special commitment to expanding community policing, Chief Manger has been credited with successfully leading law enforcement officials in how to engage with residents who are different from themselves in race, age, language, gender, and immigration status. His commitment to the highest ethical standards for policing and his enactment of new policies to increase departmental accountability have earned him significant recognition from the community. He continues to affirm that Montgomery County will maintain its policy of not asking people about their immigration status. | ||||||
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Thursday, March 30 ▪ 7 p.m. | |||||
| The Honorable Connie Morella Ambassador and Congresswoman |
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| Transcending partisan politics is sometimes the most important skill a politician can have. As a Republican who won re-election to Congress seven times in a heavily Democratic region, Connie Morella has spent much of her political life working across the aisle. While remaining a Republican she broke with her party by voting against bills that sought to combat illegal immigration and to make English the official language of the US. Throughout her political career she has taken courageous stands on women’s health, human rights, and domestic violence that have demanded collaborative approaches. Finding—and nurturing—common ground among those of different political persuasions has been her trademark. | ||||||
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Monday, May 8 ▪ 7 p.m. | |||||
| Neel Saxena Executive Director, Asian American LEAD |
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| Imam Yahya Hendi Muslim Chaplain, Georgetown University |
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| As the child of Indian immigrants, Neel Saxena understands the cultural and linguistic difference that many Asian immigrants experience and is a vociferous advocate for education. As the executive director at Asian American LEAD, his work supports low-income and underserved Asian Pacific American youth, helping them to construct educational goals, learn about their own and others’ cultures, and take on leadership roles in the community. In Saxena’s experience, engaging across cultural difference can be empowering and transforming, for people on both sides of the conversation. Reaching across difference to make education accessible to all is his personal and professional mission. | ||||||
| As the first Muslim chaplain at an American university, Imam Yahya Hendi teaches across difference everyday. As a chaplain at Georgetown University, a Catholic institution, part of his job description is to lead explorations about religious traditions and the roles they play in multicultural societies. As religion continues to be cast as a political narrative—as much as a cultural or national one—speaking productively across different forms of worship will be a skill that is much in demand. Imam Hendi’s experience and theological training will shed light on these processes and their impacts. | ||||||
| About the Series Civil discourse is a practice that strengthens society because it opens lines of contact and communication, and builds relationships. In the wake of a year marked by public incivility in politics, strained relationships in law enforcement, and violence that has planted suspicion across difference, more than ever our communities need to build bridges of understanding. A series of conversations led by MC President DeRionne Pollard will attempt to do that. The series will invite several experts in their fields to provoke dialogue that is inclusive, intelligent, and civil. By welcoming community members, students, faculty, staff, and elected officials, we invite all interested participants to join our engagement efforts to challenge misperceptions, interrogate contradictions, and explore solutions to community problems that respect all parties. |
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| For information, call the President’s Office at 240-567-5267 or visit montgomerycollege.edu/dialogues |
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| Attendance at one or more of these events meets multicultural and diversity training criteria for Montgomery College staff. For special accommodations, please contact Lori Stegeman at 240-567-7301 or lori.stegeman@montgomerycollege.edu. |
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Special thanks to our co-sponsors:
