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Schools

Antioch University Panel on Race Relations

The Culver City based university will host a community dialogue on race on Wednesday evening.

Race relations will be the focus of a discussion on Wed. May 23 at .

The panel discussion, “From Rodney King to Trayvon Martin: Racial Profiling and Race Relations in Los Angeles,” will feature community leaders and scholars lending their voices to the topic of race and diversity.

Antioch University Los Angeles Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Luis Pegraja hopes tomorrow’s presentation will shed some light on what he says are important issues.

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“I believe very strongly that the basis of racism happens often because of a lack of education,” he said. “I think education and dialogue are ways to overcome biases.”

He said “ignorance and fear” are among the contributing factors that lead to racial profiling. The university held a similar forum earlier this year to discuss the killing of Trayvon Martin.

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“I think the more we engage in these difficult dialogues, the greater chance we have to solve them with love and compassion and justice,” said Diana Pei Wu, director of the university's undergraduate program in urban communities and environment.

Pegraja said the goal of the event, which is open to the public, is designed to help people come together to share their experiences with each other.

“We really believe as a part of our mission at Antioch University Los Angeles is a commitment to social justice and community engagement,” he said. “I think the important thing is we want to encourage other community members to develop this dialogue.”

Vincent Jones, deputy director of “Common Agenda” and a senior program officer at the Liberty Hill Foundation, Victor Rios, associate professor of Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, writer and teacher Ky-Phong Tran and the Youth Justice Coalition, a South Los Angeles youth group, are the featured panelists.

The panel discussion is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. in Room A1000 at Antioch University.

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