Enlarge Phillip Agnew talks with his table at 'Can We Talk.'

Posted: July 7th, 2011 Tonya Jameson

A murder uptown. School closings and re-assignments. Property re-evaluations. A hyphenated America. According to the approximately 200 people who recently attended "Can We Talk About Living Together In a Divided Community," these are a few of the issues dividing our community.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee (CRC), Community Building Initiative (CBI) and Mecklenburg Ministries spearheaded the event, which drew a panel and audience on June 30 to Pritchard Memorial Baptist Church.

In many ways the meeting was familiar--more talk and vows to put talk into action. Elected officials promised to listen. Participants promised to get involved. Many in the audience challenged the panelists--Mayor Anthony Foxx, County Commission Chair Jennifer Roberts, along with Councilmen Warren Cooksey and Jim Pendergraph--to try to relate more to their constituents' challenges and to tone down divisive rhetoric.

Cooksey bluntly explained that politicians are politicians.

“Some division doesn’t make sense and we should fight to get rid of it,” Cooksey said. “Some division is adherent in the way we operate as human beings. The challenge is not to get rid of it, but to continue to work together for the betterment of the community in spite of it.”

Phillip Agnew, Chicago transplant, attended the meeting to find out how he can become more involved. A few months ago, he was arrested for not adhering to the EpiCentre's dress code, an incident that landed the venue in the news for being unwelcoming to black patrons--especially men. 

“I got to meet some people I didn’t know. I got to hear some perspectives I didn’t know. I’ll definitely become more involved,” said Agnew.

It’s the kind of talk Mayor Anthony Foxx and County Commission Chair Jennifer Roberts encouraged, while pushing participants to move beyond talking into action.

“Our challenges are big enough for us to start doing some work on them,” Foxx said. “This is the time for us as a community not to get broken down. This is the time for us to build stronger."

Building on Foxx’s comments, Roberts recognized the various community organizations represented at the meeting, such as Meck Ed and Men Who Care Global, and encouraged those groups to continue their efforts in the community

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