The next meeting of the Danville United Community Relations Coalition will be held Thursday, May 14, at the Pepsi Building, which is located at The Crossing at the Dan on Craghead Street.
The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will feature a relationship building activity for small groups using the theme “Reimagine You and Me.” As part of this activity, those attending the meeting will form racially diverse groups of two to four.
“Then, we will simply go on a stroll along the Riverwalk so that we can get to know one another,” explained the Rev. John Carroll, vice chairman of Danville United. “A list of questions will be provided to get the conversation started.”
After the stroll, the groups will meet back at the Pepsi Building to share their insights.
Citizens who cannot walk far may remain in the Pepsi Building with others for conversation. The Pepsi Building also will serve as the location in the event of rain.
Carroll, pastor at First Baptist Church in Danville, called the activity an opportunity to make new friends and break racial divides.
“When we think about you and me, we have a particular image of who that ‘you’ should be, and often that ‘you’ looks a lot like ‘me,’” Carroll said. “If we are to be a welcoming and unified community, then we need to reimagine who that ‘you’ next to us could be.”
Joshua DuBois, the former head of the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships in the executive office of the president of the United States under President Barack Obama, encouraged activities such as this one because of its informal and relational nature.
Danville United provides a means for networking, information sharing and strategy development to make Danville a more tolerant, friendly and welcoming community to all regardless of race, gender, religion, creed, ethnicity, nationality or economic status.
The Rev. Ron Johnson, pastor at Holbrook Presbyterian Church in Danville, serves as chairman of Danville United.
Membership is open to all individuals and organizations. For more information on Danville United, visit www.danvilleunited.org.