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National Day of Racial Healing events to be held next week

1/17/2020, 6 a.m.
Richmond will join in marking the National Day of Racial Healing next week with a series of events that will …

Richmond will join in marking the National Day of Racial Healing next week with a series of events that will extend beyond the actual day, Tuesday, Jan. 21.

Kicking off the observance will be a panel discussion, “Repairing the Breach: History, Religion and the Racial Divide,” from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21, at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, 428 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd.

The public event is to focus on reparations and repairing what is broken in Richmond and the nation and to take a candid look at historical events, social activism and the role of the church in shaping the American narrative on race, according to Danita Rountree Green, co-chief executive officer Coming to the Table RVA, a racial reconciliation group that is co-sponsoring the event with the museum.

The panelists include Dr. David Ragland, founder and co-director of the Truth Telling Project of Ferguson and the National Reparations Network; Dr. Edward L. “Ed” Ayers, historian and former president of the University of Richmond; and Dr. Brian K. Blount, president and professor of New Testament at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond. Dr. Corey D.B. Walker, a visiting professor at the University of Richmond and former dean of Virginia Union University’s seminary, is to moderate.

Tickets are $10. Details and ticket purchase: www.virginiahistory.org.

Other events during the week that are open to the public include a community Drum Circle from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24, at Studio Two

Three, 3300 W. Clay St. People are invited to bring drums or other instruments to the drum circle, which is part of a two-event program, “Equity 2020: A Clear Vision for Repairing Historical Harms,” sponsored by Dr. Ram Bhagat and his Massive Resilience or Drums No Guns Foundation.

The companion event, a Carnival Masquerade, will be held 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at Studio Two Three. The masquerade will include performances, world music DJs and an open mic.