Kirwan Institute to host inaugural conference

The Kirwan Institute on Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University, headed by executive director john powell, will officially launch its mission by hosting a national conference this week that will examine the civil rights implications of Smart Growth.

Titled “Growing Together: Achieving Racial Justice and Sustainable Growth Through Regional Planning,” the conference involves national scholars, policymakers and Smart Growth advocates who will participate in a luncheon, community conference and celebration of the institute at various campus and city venues.

Established in direct response to the university’s Diversity Action Plan, the work of the Kirwan Institute will involve examining and challenging racial and ethnic marginalization in the United States and throughout the world, and will seek to resolve social inequities.

The institute will foster and attract cutting-edge scholarship and research on many the social dynamics involving race and equity, putting Ohio State at the forefront of key societal issues, said powell, who does not capitalize his name.

“Essentially, we will have the best in the academic field facing challenging issues that will have significant impact on people,” he said.

The approach will involve an interdisciplinary collaboration among the colleges of Law, Humanities, and Social and Behavioral Sciences.

powell added that the solutions involve understanding the issues and then creating programs and systems and structures and opportunities for change.

“We all know there is disparity between blacks and whites on almost every indicator that we keep, the same is true for blacks and Latinos,” powell said. “It’s not just true in the United States but also true when we move outside our country, including Europe.

“So if you are talking about birth rates, test scores, employment, health care or transportation there are huge disparities. You can take one issue and work on it forever but what we are really talking about is the constellation of disparities and we need to find effective ways of dealing with it.

“The real goal is to disrupt and change the hierarchy regarding social justice issues. It is wrong and wasteful and we want people to be uncomfortable about that regardless of their position.”

The conference, funded by the Ford Foundation, marks the start toward that goal, powell said.

“The purpose of the conference is to examine and merge the focus of space to social justice and equity,” he said. “To do that a more regional approach needs to be established involving a coalition of environmentalist, faith-based organizations, developers, social justice advocates and farmers.

“Zoning and spatial dynamics are two of the most important civil rights issues of this decade. Segregation is a result of the way we structure regional growth.”

Thursday’s (5/22) session begins with a luncheon from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Faculty Club, Grand Lounge, 181 South Oval Dr., and will feature former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening, president of the Smart Growth Leadership Institute; former mayor of Albuquerque and author David Rusk; and Hattie Dorsey, president of the Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership, Inc. Reservations are required.

A community forum will be held from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the King Arts Complex, 867 Mt. Vernon Ave. powell will be joined by Glendening, Rusk and Ford Foundation Program Officer Carl Anthony, director of the foundation’s Sustainable Metropolitan Communities Initiative.

Various planning sessions will be held throughout the day on Friday (5/23) at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, 400 N. High St. An open house will be held from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Mendenhall Laboratory, Room 433, 125 S. Oval Mall. Ohio State President Karen A. Holbrook will make the conference’s closing remarks at 4 p.m. Friday in the Faculty Club Grand Lounge.