Speaker: Tom Bullock, Member, Local Government's Clean Energy Caucus and Member, Lakewood City Council Given global warming, city and suburban governments are collaborating via a Caucus to dramatically increase clean energy by 2025. LED street lights, solar systems in government buildings, clean power purchases, and other action plans are being debated and approved by local … Continue reading Renewable Energy Action Plans – Is Your Town Included?

Speaker(s): Lewis Katz, Professor, CWRU School of Law; Ronnie Dunn, CSU Associate Professor of Urban Affairs; Kareem Henton, Cleveland Co-Founder, Black Lives Matter The U.S. has the highest prison population (2.3 million) in the world. Nationally, black men are almost 2 1/2 times more likely than white men to be arrested or killed by police. … Continue reading Police Accountability: Racism, Reforms and the Future

Speaker: Karen Hurley, Psychologist and Assistant Professor, CWRU School of Medicine Along with increased time at home with family, the pandemic is causing a marked rise in stress, depression, suicide, domestic abuse, loneliness and other psychological problems.  How can we personally and collectively alleviate the mental distress, and increase the positive impact of staying at … Continue reading Navigating Psychological Effects of Covid 19

Speakers: Racial Justice Leadership Team, UU Congregation of Cleveland In what ways does white skin color provide tremendous advantage in our culture and everyday lives?  Is this hierarchy of unearned white privilege overt, subconscious or both?  During this forum specific questions will be asked to document and deconstruct our own subtle and visible privilege and … Continue reading White Privilege, Daily Life and Racism

Speaker: Dr. Amy Ray, MD, Director, Metro-Health System Infection Prevention, CWRU Associate Professor of Medicine; and Member, Infectious Disease Society of America Covid 19 research, tests, and clinical trials for a vaccine have been locally and internationally prioritized. What's the status of a Covid-19 vaccine? Can we develop a universal vaccine for different strains of the virus? There are currently … Continue reading Covid 19: Research, Projections and the Future

Speaker(s): Richard Perloff, CSU Professor of Communication; Rachael Collyer, Organizer and Program Director, Ohio Student Association; Melekte Melaku, ACLU Cleveland Organizing Strategist How effective are protests in changing systemic racism? Organized dissent provides a powerful mechanism for marginalized voices to be heard. Are protests more compelling than progressive legislation?  What produces lasting, progressive change in … Continue reading Frank Talk on the Protest Movement

Speakers: Jonathan Entin, David L. Brennan Professor Emeritus of Law and Adjunct Professor of Political Science, CWRU The November election is happening against a backdrop of unprecedented social, political, and economic challenges. Misinformation has been spread about the rarity of election fraud. Early winners cannot be announced in all states since approximately 40% of absentee … Continue reading A Contested Presidential Election? What’s at Stake?

Speaker: Brent Larkin, PD Columnist, and former PD Editor Democracy is based on the will of informed citizens. Truth and facts are the basis of journalism.  Without public accountability, corruption can flourish in all levels of government. Given our political division, the decline of fact based journalism, and the rise of social media, a comprehensive … Continue reading Crisis in Journalism, Democracy, and the Facts

Speakers: Tom Sutton, Political Science Professor, Baldwin Wallace, and Director, Community Research Institute Ohio has 8 million registered voters. Turnout was 55% in 2018.  What was it in 2020? What role did Covid-19, economic uncertainty, grassroots activism, protests, gerrymandering, online negative messaging, and super-PACS play in this election?  How have the political parties been changed?  … Continue reading The 2020 Presidential Election: What Happened?

Speaker: Dr. Gregory Hall, MD Director, CSU Partnerships for Urban Health; Assistant Professor, CWRU School of Medicine, and Former Chair, Ohio Commission of Minority Health. Covid-19 and other diseases disproportionately affect African Americans in severity and numbers. Life expectancy in poverty stricken African American areas of Cleveland is typically more than 20 years less than … Continue reading Racism, Health Care Inequities, and the Future

Speakers: Allan Georgia, Ph.D., Director of Religious Education, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Cleveland; Timothy Beal, Professor and Chair, CWRU Department of Religious Studies. QAnon conspiracies and right wing religious cults are on the rise.  Why?  What are their beliefs?  What role can the study of new religious movements play in helping us understand and deal … Continue reading QAnon Conspiracies, Religion and Politics – What’s Coming?

Speakers: Erika Anthony, Executive Director, Ohio Transformation Fund; Crystal Bryant, Director, Cuyahoga County Office of Reentry The crisis of mass incarceration and racial inequality continues. Of Ohio’s 45,000 inmates, 45% are African American but they comprise only 14% of the population. Judges wield immense power via length of sentence and by fines, fees, and bail. … Continue reading Mass Incarceration, Judges, and Reentry: An Overview