Woburn Forum Aims for Proactive Approach to Race Relations

WOBURN, MA — Issues of race relations have taken many headlines in recent months, and community leaders in Woburn are attempting to identify the prevalence of those issues in the city. Social Capital Inc. of Woburn and St. John's Baptist Church have teamed up to host a race relations forum to analyze the state of race relations in Woburn, as well as identifying steps to improve upon issues raised in the discussion.

"We want to create a safe space to talk about these issues, or maybe identify particular things that are challenging in the community," said SCI president David Crowley in an interview with Patch."Maybe there's something else that's under the radar that we should be raising up."

Following the 'Woburn Unites' vigil which took place in June, Crowley said that both SCI and the community hoped to do more to address the issues of race relations than just holding a vigil. Following the vigil, St. John's pastor Rev. Dr. Neal E. Pearson and Crowley teamed up with a desire to move the discussion forward.

Pearson, who does not live in Woburn, added that there have been no major events of racial tension in the city to his knowledge but that there may be issues for everyday residents in the city. Therefore, the goal of the discussion is to be proactive about issues in the community.

"The goal is just to be proactive and have an open dialogue," Pearson, who's parish community is predominantly african-american, told Patch."I can categorize [race relations] as good, but you might get something different from somebody who lives there 24/7."

Crowley will moderate the discussion alongside Ron Walker from St. John's. The discussion will also feature a panel consisting of Pearson, Mayor Scott Galvin, Superintendent Mark Donovan, Rev. Dr. Yoo-Yun Cho-Chang of the Woburn United Methodist Church and Woburn Police Chief Robert Ferullo. The panel will also include Woburn Memorial High School sophomore Francis Kitiibwa.

The event will feature a paneled discussion as well as a period of questions from the audience. Crowley stated that he anticipates a spirited, yet measured discussion.

"I'm sure we are going to hear from people who may have some anger about the way they have been treated," Crowley added. "I hope and expect that it will be civil."

Both Crowley and Pearson added that they hope the discussion will not end at Friday's forum. The two hope that other churches and city organizations will hold their own forums, in order to maintain the proactive approach.

"When we see things happening on TV we often talk about it in groups, but don't talk about it as a community," Pearson added. "I'd love to get to the point where [community discussion] happens every other month or quarterly."

The event will be held at the St. John's Baptist Church Friday evening from 7 to 9 p.m. All in the community are invited to attend the event.

"We hope people will attend whether they have hopes of chiming in or just listening [to the discussion]," said Crowley.

Image via Joe Lipovich, Patch Staff