City of Alexandria, Virginia
Office of the City Manager
Alexandria City Hall
301 King Street, Suite 3500
Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211
www.alexandriava.gov
Telephone: 703.838.4300
Fax : 703.838.6343

MEDIA ADVISORY


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
DATE: JANUARY 8, 2001

CONTACT: Elbert Ransom, Jr., (703)838-4971
City Manager’s Office
ALEXANDRIA HOSTS SECOND STUDENT FORUM ON RACE AND CULTURE
City, Schools Continue Call to Community Initiative

The Alexandria City Council, the Alexandria City School Board and the Call to Community Steering Committee will sponsor the Second Student Forum on Race and Culture on Thursday, January 18, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at the Charles Houston Recreation Center, located at 905 Wythe Street in Alexandria. The forum is Alexandria’s latest initiative under Call to Community, a program first organized in 1998.
Student representatives from T.C. Williams High School, Minnie Howard School, George Washington Middle School, Francis C. Hammond Middle School, Secondary Training and Education Program, Bishop Ireton High School and Episcopal High School will be participating in next week’s event. Reginald “Asante” Clark of Northern Virginia Community College will serve as the moderator of the forum. Under the auspices of the Call to Community initiative, student volunteers in grades 6 through12 are taking part in planning the event, identifying racial and cultural topics facing them.
“This is a special opportunity for students – from public and private schools – to be part of Alexandria’s efforts to promote positive racial and cultural relations,” said Elbert Ransom, Jr., Special Assistant to Philip Sunderland, City Manager. The forum is part of a series of school-wide programs and projects designed to foster better understanding and communication across racial and cultural lines.
There are 56 languages spoken and 84 countries represented among the City’s 11,167 public school students, and according to the 1990 U.S. Census, Alexandria ranked first in the state among jurisdictions having the most diverse population.
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