County’s Created Equal Event Continues Crucial Community Dialogue
The event returned in person after one year of being held virtually
Leon County Government and The Village Square hosted the seventh annual Created Equal program, the first in-person event of its kind since the start of the pandemic. Hundreds of residents gathered at The Moon, 1105 E. Lafayette St., for this award-winning program on voting access and security titled, “Created Equal: A Conversation on Race in Our Elections.”
"We cannot grow as a community if we only surround ourselves with people that think like us,” said Leon County Commission Chairman Bill Proctor. “So, it’s extremely critical and important for us all to have real, frank, and tough conversations about issues we don't necessarily agree on so that we can see different perspectives.”
The panel discussed how measures, such as voter ID laws, restricted registration and narrowed voting times, impact voters, specifically people of color. The panel included Florida A & M University’s Dr. Keith Parker, University of Florida’s Dr. Sharon Austin and Florida State University College of Law Professor Michael Morley along with WFSU Public Media’s Tom Flanigan serving as moderator. Following the panel discussion, residents were invited to join the discussion with roundtable conversations.
“By encouraging civil discourse, this year’s Created Equal built on the success of previous programs and continued to encourage frank conversations on race and racial equity,” said Leon County Administrator Vincent S. Long. “This program encouraged attendees to consider whether we all have equal access to our right to vote.”
Since 2015, the Created Equal program has brought thousands of citizens together to discuss race-related issues within our own community including previous topics, such as the anniversary of the Tallahassee Lunch Counter Sit-Ins and Florida Emancipation Day. This program has won numerous awards for exceptional programming and promotion from the National Association of Counties, Florida Public Relations Association, and the City-County Communications & Marketing Association.
The Created Equal program is part of Leon County’s Citizen Engagement Series which connects residents of diverse backgrounds, education, and age on a variety of topics that matter most in our community. Other Citizen Engagement Series events going on right now include the Breaking Bread Together: Neighborhood Dinner & Conversation on Tackling Food Insecurity. Find the next upcoming discussion at LeonCountyFL.gov/GetEngaged.
For more information, contact Mathieu Cavell, Leon County Community and Media Relations, at (850) 606-5300 / CMR@LeonCountyFL.gov .
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