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A North Carolina Summit: Progress and Economic Justice in a Time of Crisis

March 28, 2011 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

Location: George Watts Hill Alumni Center, UNC-Chapel Hill

For most of the last decade, poverty rose in North Carolina - even as the economy grew. Then in 2008, with the onslaught of massive recession, the wheels came off. Poverty rates soared. More than one in six Tar Heels now live in poverty. The numbers are worse for persons of color. And, stunningly, almost a quarter of our kids are poor.

Unemployment has rocked much of the state, leading to one of the highest losses of health care coverage in the nation. In addition, the past two years have seen dramatic reductions in social services, further threatening the security, dignity and opportunity of poor and working families in North Carolina. We now face a massive state budget deficit that will likely be narrowed by fiscal decisions that place the greatest burdens on the most vulnerable. These are, in short, emergency times for poor and working people in North Carolina.

The UNC Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity will convene a summit to explore the dramatic challenges faced by low income North Carolinians and the crucial steps that must be taken, in the months ahead, to address them. We hope that North Carolinians from all walks of life will join us.

Speakers will include:

-Rev. Dr. William Barber, NC NAACP (Keynote)

-Andrea Bazan, Triangle Community Foundation

-Anita Brown-Graham, Institute for Emerging Issues, NC State University

-Angela Bryant, NC House of Representatives

-William A. "Sandy" Darity, Duke University

-Chris Fitzsimon, NC Policy Watch

-Ferrel Guillory, Program on Public Life, UNC

-Bob Hall, Democracy North Carolina

-Jarvis Hall, Institute for Civic Engagement and Social Change, NC Central University; NC NAACP

-George Hausen, Legal Aid of NC

-James H. Johnson, Jr., Kenan-Flagler Business School, UNC