The Fanning Institute at UGA will be leading a series of community forums on race, equity, inclusion and justice in Coweta. From left to right are Cynthia Jenkins, Hasco Craver and Cleatus Philips.
A countywide plan to host a series of community forums on race, equity, inclusion and justice is moving forward.
Nine county agencies have now signed onto an intergovernmental agreement for the forums and study; the remaining three are considering the agreement.
Coweta County approved the intergovernmental agreement this week, and the Coweta County Board of Education approved it last week. Along with the city of Newnan, which initiated the idea, those were the three entities who needed to sign to move the process forward.
Last week, the Newnan City Council also approved an agreement with the Fanning Institute for Leadership Development at the University of Georgia, which will moderate the community forums and focus groups.
Assistant City Manager Hasco Craver told the council that, despite searching, “we were unsuccessful in finding an outfit that wanted to do an open forum.” Most of the groups the city talked to said that open forums weren’t the way to go.
“They said if you want to find a fruitful resolution, we suggest you take a different path,” Craver said.
The proposal from the Fanning Institute is what city staff believes will be a manageable way to reach the goals of the community forums while providing a clear plan of work and a clear pathway of getting there.
The plan is very detail-oriented, Craver said. “Everything from setting a planning committee to collecting data using empirical data sourcing and some proprietary software they have that allows small group discussion, focus group discussion in a very meaningful purposeful way. So we’re not going into a room of people pointing fingers at each other but instead trying to find a path forward.”
The forums and focus group meetings will be followed up with an analysis of all the information that is collected. There may be some work sessions with the planning committee, and then the consultants will construct a plan, Craver said.
Under the intergovernmental agreement, the city will cover 35 percent of the cost. The county and school system will cover 25 percent each, and Senoia, Grantville, and Palmetto will each pick up 5 percent. The proposed total cost is $33,825.
In addition to Coweta, Newnan and the school board, current signers are Senoia, Sharpsburg, Palmetto, the Coweta District Attorney, Coweta Solicitor’s Office and Coweta County Sheriff’s Office.
The council voted to approve the agreement with the Fanning Institute contingent upon approval by the county and school board.
City Manager Cleatus Philips said that while there isn’t a specific timeline as of yet, “we should be kicking off the program very shortly.”
The city discussed having community forums in June, in response to community concerns about historically inequitable treatment, particularly by law enforcement and other city agencies, of African Americans and other minority groups, which included downtown protests.
The city has also hired consultants to review city policies, both law enforcement policies and other city policies and procedures, from top to bottom.
Councilwoman Cynthia Jenkins had proposed that the city take the lead on the community forums, and Mayor Keith Brady had brought forward the idea for policy review.
Jenkins said one reason the city had a hard time finding an organization or company to help facilitate the forums is that a lot of communities around the country are doing this work.
“They’re deciding this is a conversation we need to have – which is a good thing,” Jenkins said. “It wasn’t so good for us in the process of trying to find somebody, but it is a good thing to know that these kinds of conversations are happening all over the country.”
Jenkins said that though professionals have said that forums tend to just result in arguing, she does want to make sure the city hears what people have to say.
“This seems to be a more organized and more direct way to get some constructive conversations to happen and not let it turn into something that we never intended for it to be,” she said. “So I’m very hopeful. I’m looking forward to what they have to say to us on how they want to engage the public.”
Jenkins said she wants to talk to all sorts of people in the community about this. “I don’t think this is aimed at a certain group of people. I think this is trying to get a wide variety of input on this.”
Jenkins said the city’s undertaking is a bit different than what some other communities are doing. “Many do one forum and they’re done. We are not doing a one and done,” she said. “We’re doing a multi-meeting approach to this to really bring about something. Instead of saying we did something, we’re actually trying to do something.”