Presented by the City of Pittsfield’s Human Rights Commission and the Berkshire Branch of the NAACP, co-sponsored by the Second Congregational Church UCC
Friday September 21, 2018, 7:00-8:30 PM at the Second Congregational Church Onota St., Pittsfield
 
With Russell Boyd, Alfred K. Enchill, Shirley Edgerton, Dr. Eden-Reneé Hayes, Dr. Frances Jones-Sneed, and Dennis Powell.
 
Please join us for a panel discussion of what it means to be ‘Black in the Berkshires’. African Americans have always been part of the rich history and culture of the Berkshires. But how many of us are aware of that history? What are the stories that are not being told, the voices that are not being heard? Remembering the past, assessing the present, and planning for the future – please be part of this important community conversation. Free – everyone welcome!
Russell Boyd is a Court Officer with the Berkshire Juvenile Court.
 
Alfred K. Enchill is the District Aide in the Berkshire County Office of Senator Adam Hinds.
 
Shirley Edgerton, M.Ed., is a Cultural Competency Coach, the Founder and Director of Rites of Passage and Empowerment Program (ROPE), and the director of the Youth Alive Step Dance and Drum teams.
 
Dr. Eden-Reneé Hayes, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Psychology, is the Dean of Equity and Inclusion at Bard College at Simon’s Rock. An expert in the social psychological factors related to bias, and the intersecting identities of race, class, and gender, she has presented papers on her research at a number of conferences.
Dr. Frances Jones-Sneed, Ph.D., is a professor of history and former Director of Women Studies at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, Massachusetts. She is co-director of the Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage Trail, a former board member of MassHumanities, and is presently a member of the Samuel Harrison Society.
Dennis Powell is president of the Berkshire County Unit of the NAACP. Dennis currently serves on the Pittsfield Licensing Board, the Pittsfield School Committee, the Steering Committee of the Four Freedoms Coalition, and the Steering Committee of the W.E.B. Du Bois Educational Series in Great Barrington, and is Board Vice-Chair of the Clinton Church Restoration Project.
For more information please contact Drew Herzig – drewherzig@yahoo.com