NASHVILLE, Tenn. ñ Finding resolution to long-standing and seemingly unbridgeable conflicts is the subject of a Sept. 21 forum at Vanderbilt University Law School.
"A Way from No Way: Conversations About Conflict, Injustice, Transitions and Reconciliation" brings together leaders in conflict resolution ranging from victims of Ku Klux Klan violence to a Middle East peace negotiator to lead a series of discussions on finding constructive ways to mediate what to date have been impossible disputes.
The forum, which is being held in conjunction with the Andrus Family Fund’s annual national conference of community reconciliation grantees, is free and open to the public.
"The memory of past injustice is powerful and painful," explained Roger Conner, a research associate with the Project on Leadership, Advocacy and Cooperation at Vanderbilt Law School. "Unless the past conflicts are addressed, the old arguments resurface each time a new dispute arises. That’s why stalemate is the common result, whether it is a zoning fight in Nashville or settlements in the Middle East.
"We won’t make real progress, whether in Nashville or Jerusalem, until people find a way to make the transition from resentment to hope," Conner added.
The forum is scheduled from noon to 6:30 p.m. with a reception to follow. Highlights include:
* "Truth and Reconciliation: Justice or Whitewash for the Greensboro 5?" featuring the Rev. Nelson and Joyce Johnson of the Greensboro Justice Fund and Naomi Tutu of the Office of International Relations and Programs at Tennessee State University. Tutu will discuss the effectiveness of truth and reconciliation commissions as a means to conflict resolution. The Johnsons will talk about the recently empaneled Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission, modeled on that of South Africa and established to address the violent deaths in 1979 of five civil rights demonstrators. This session is scheduled from noon to 1 p.m.
* "Blacks, Power and Reconciliation: Contradiction or Synthesis?" featuring Anees Fardan and Nashid Sh’akir, co-directors of the Cincinnati Collective Learning Center. This session is from 3:40 to 5 p.m.
* "Reflections of a Middle East Peace-Seeker: Now What Do We Do?" featuring Jay Rothman of the Action Evaluation Research Institute. An internationally noted mediator, Rothman has worked to bring resolution in cases ranging from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Cincinnati racial profiling lawsuit and the dispute over the Confederate flag in South Carolina. This session is scheduled from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
In addition, there will be an opportunity to meet the Andrus Fund’s 2004 Community Reconciliation grantees and a session on how to start a program or a career in social justice advocacy or alternative dispute resolution.
The sessions will be interactive, allowing attendees to participate in the discussion.
The Andrus Family Fund, part of the 12th largest family foundation in the United States, awards grants to innovative community reconciliation advocates. This year’s grantees are working on racial conflicts, hate crimes, policing, clashes between environmentalists and developers and youth leadership.
Supported by a grant by the Andrus Family Fund, the Project on Leadership, Advocacy and Cooperation provides technical assistance to innovative grass roots advocates of community reconciliation and improved foster care in the United States and links these leaders with students, faculty and staff of the law school and the university.
In addition to the Project on Leadership, Advocacy and Cooperation, other sponsors for the Sept. 21 forum include the Vanderbilt Alternative Dispute Resolution Organization, the Thurgood Marshall Legal Activist Society, the Jewish Law Students Association, the Black Law Students Association, the Foreign Service Legal Society and the Black Student Alliance.
For more news about the forum, go to http://law.vanderbilt.edu/awayfromnoway. For information about the law school, go to www.law.vanderbilt.edu, and for more news about Vanderbilt, visit www.vanderbilt.edu/News.
Media contact: Susanne Hicks, (615) 322-NEWS
Susanne.hicks@vanderbilt.edu