The Beloved Community Center, BCC, presented its initiative to organize a North Carolina Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission (NC-TJRC) on February 8, 2024, in Apodaca 201.
According to Dr. Vincent Russell, communication professor and contact point, the initiative “is a grassroots, people-powered process, commission, and movement” designed to bring NC’s diverse populations together to build “community truths.”
BCC encouraged people to get involved with the NC-TJRC. They also explained how a truth process works.
“The Beloved Community Center of Greensboro, North Carolina is a community-based, grassroots empowerment-oriented organization rooted in Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy of proactive struggles for racial and economic justice, democracy, and beloved community,” said Russell.
BCC is a community-based organization in Greensboro, NC, founded by Rev. Barbara Dua, Rev. Z. Holler and Rev. Nelson N. Johnson in 1991.
The group focused on building a community of equality based on Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy. To do so, their mission is to increase leadership quality and guide an era of equality and social justice.
Russell has been periodically involved with BCC for a decade, and helped them connect with the Western community. Russell invited them to partner with his students in Intercultural Communication.
The Long March is the focus for students involved. The series of events will be statewide in the late summer or early fall and will focus on raising awareness for the necessity of the truth, justice and reconciliation process.
“The Long March will be a chance to bring people together to promote truth, healing, and reconciliation,” said Russell.
Russell’s Intercultural Communication class will partner with Dr. Katharine Mershon, professor of philosophy and religion, Feminist Thought course. Students will support the Long March and NC-TJRC.
Students will “engage in service-learning to help lay the groundwork for the NC-TJRC in Western NC,” said Russell.
Five student groups have been formed with different focuses to support BCC. The groups include a teach-in-group, a community scan of Western NC issues group, a strategic communication group and a personal testimony documentary group.
To learn more about the Long March, attend BCC’s conference on April 13, 2024, in Greensboro, NC. RSVP for the conference here.
To get involved or learn more about the BCC, visit belovedcommunitycenter.org, or follow them on Instagram @belovedcommunitycenter.