On Monday March 30, 2009 roughly 300 citizens of Guilford County met with Sheriff BJ Barnes to engage in a community dialogue regarding Section 287 (g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.  Section 287 (g) "allows the performance of immigration officer functions by state officers and employees" including detaining those suspected to be without valid legal status.  (http://www.ice.gov/doclib/pi/news/factsheets/06081dc287factsheet.pdf).  The meeting was vigorous.  The exchange with Sheriff Barnes was sharp, respectful and revealing.

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On Friday April 3, 2009, NCA&T State University's International Affairs Department, 12 visitors from French speaking Africa, three US interpreters, and BCC staff, joined in a panel discussion at North Carolina A&T State University.  The focus of the panel discussion was truth and reconciliation.  The Beloved Community Center of Greensboro initiated the Greensboro Truth & Community Reconciliation Project, which was the first of its kind in the United States. The GTCRP was modeled after the South African Truth & Reconciliation project and other similar projects.

On Thursday, March 5, 2009 we celebrated African American History with an intergenerational Panel Discussion, Pictorial and Cultural Exhibit entitled “Revisiting Sustainable African American Communities of the Past in the Greater Greensboro Area.” This exhibit included glimpses of community life, education, religious, social and cultural life in the East White Oak Community.   The Panel Discussion – “Remembering Our Community” – featured stories from living residents of this community. They and their neighbors shared memories of both their triumphs and the struggles they overcame as they crafted out and sustained community that nurtured their families and maintained cherished traditions during Greensboro’s past.  Additional historical information on African Americans in Greensboro may be obtained by visiting the BCC at 417 Arlington Street, Greensboro or calling 336 230-0001.  

Approximately sixty years ago in the summer of 1946, two couples in Monroe, Georgia, were dragged out of a vehicle by a white lynch mob, tied to a tree, and brutally shot near the Moore's Ford Bridge. Dorothy Malcolm, one of the victims was seven months pregnant at the time of the shooting. The reason behind what is strongly believed to be a racially motivated incident is still being investigated by law enforcement agencies and the Monroe community.  The community is seeking to understand and heal from this tragedy that has had long term effects on its well being.

On October 25, 2008, Joseph Frierson, Coordinator of the Greensboro Truth & Reconciliation Local Task Force, Lewis Brandon, Beloved Community Center Grassroots Coordinator, and Ed Whitfield, of the fund for Democratic Communities and the Beloved Community Center, traveled to Monroe, GA, to participate in a panel and share how Truth & Reconciliation processes can help a community examine the past, and heal in the present. Representatives for Southern Truth and Reconciliation (S.T.A.R) as well as community leaders were also present. The panel discussion was organized by interested and concerned citizens of the Monroe community.

On Tuesday, October 21, 2008, New Voice Youth Group hosted their second intergenerational conversation.  During the first conversation held in the month of September, the group discussed issues such as perceived generational gaps between elder and younger generations in the African-American community as well as education, economics, and community building.

The pertinence of the upcoming 2008 elections was the central focus of the second conversation. All were in agreement that the intergenerational dialogue must continue and that there is important community work that must be done now and post election time.