FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Todd Chas
Telephone: 843-953-5079
Fax: 843-953-7713
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Web: www.cofc.edu/~diversity

College of Charleston Brings Community Together on “Autonomy”

Charleston, SC, November 1, 2007 — The Center for Cultural Diversity at the College of Charleston, in conjunction with Communities Connecting for Change, a collaboration between the College of Charleston and a steering committee of community leaders to build and foster community awareness and partnerships for social change in the Lowcountry, will be hosting a community forum on November 16. This unique event, entitled “Human Rights: The Components and Ramifications of Autonomy,” will bring together leading voices from diverse communities around South Carolina in an effort to raise awareness of human rights issues and the interconnectivity of human beings across the cultural spectrum.

According to event organizer, Todd Chas of the Center for Cultural Diversity, “This gathering presents us with a very special opportunity to focus on the basic and essential ways in which we share a common struggle for self-determination in a complex world. This topic is one to which we can all relate.”

The event will feature guest panelists including: Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah-Geechee Nation; William Saunders, long-time community activist and founder of the Committee on Better Racial Assurance; Jennie Stephens, Executive Director of the Center for Heirs Property Preservation; Marco Torres, a local attorney and immigration rights advocate; and Glynndeavin Fox, a young leader from the Santee Tribe of Eutawville.

The discussion, which begins at 6 pm in the Wachovia Auditorium on Liberty Street, will include a lengthy opportunity for questions from the audience. Immediately preceding the forum, there will be a reception featuring light refreshments beginning  at 5pm in the Tate Center for Entrepreneurship which is located above the auditorium.

Communities Connecting for Change is a collaboration between the College of Charleston and a steering committee of community leaders to build and foster community awareness and partnerships for social change in the Lowcountry. Thematic community events are scheduled from September 2007 to March 2008 when the project will culminate in a two-day alliance-building conference.

For more information on the event, please visit the Center for Cultural Diversity web site:

www.cofc.edu/~diversity