Working together for a better Community
Mr. Ricky Wolfe
Rev. Carl Von Epps
In 2015, former Troup County Commission Chair Ricky Wolfe and former State Representative Carl Von Epps, Jr. combined their energy and their passionate belief in building a healthy community for all of the citizens of Troup County to spearhead an initiative to address an issue that had been alternatively overlooked, denied, or adjudged too challenging to resolve. The issue was race relations. The initiative became Racial Trust Building, Inc.
Wolfe and Epps introduced the proposal to multiple stakeholders, including county and city government officials and business, public service, and community leaders. Citizens discussed the concept in print media as well - some were staunchly opposed to the initiative based on dialogue intended to acknowledge and eliminate barriers, while others embraced the opportunity to bring historic and current racial issues to the surface in a thoughtful process that would result in stronger interpersonal relationships within the county.
“People have to admit that both black and white members of our community have contributed to racial divides”
“Both black and white people have continued to perpetuate the problem, and it’s up to all of us to mend the problem”
Quotes taken from Staff Reports, 2015, ‘West Point council pledges $30K
to racial reconciliation plan’, Lagrange Daily News
“This requires leadership. There is a lot of negativity in the world, and for you to step forward and want to do something about it takes leadership.”
Mayor Drew Ferguson
Click article below to read
Mayor Jim Thornton
More than a year ago, the mayors of LaGrange, West Point, and Hogansville and the chairman of the Troup County Commission met for lunch. We often do. The subject of race relations was raised, and we agreed racial issues plague our community. It was time to face and deal with them. Read more . . .
Mayor Bill Stankiewicz
Click article below to read
“an effort to bridge racial divides is long overdue in Troup County.”
“We, as a nation, have done a good job of legislating equality, as we should. However, we have not been effectively healing the wounds of the past. This has to be a matter of the heart. You can pass the laws, but it really is a matter of the heart”
“Racial divides in our community are real. ”
“I’m not willing to pretend they don’t exist. We may not be able to solve all our issues, but I believe we can make progress”
— Mayor Jim Thornton
“We can either be proactive or reactive. And there’s a real cost to ignoring these issues.”
— Mayor Bill Stankiewich
Dan McAlexander
President
Dan and Lagrange College was one of our early supporters and the host for many of our training sessions and breakfast. LaGrange College was our launch pad. It made getting this initiative going much easier.
“This initiative will provide a framework and training for a diverse array of citizens to get to know each other better, to understand the perspectives of those who have experienced their cities and county in ways different than their own, and to appreciate the impact that our racial history has on our present and our future.”
Star’s Mission
To bring healing, restoration, justice, and unity to communities and organizations adversely affected by divisive issues and events, particularly where those divisions involve race and/or violence.
Rev. Dr. Theophus (Thee) Smith
In launching the initiative, Von Epps and Wolfe sought the expertise of the leaders of Southern Truth and Reconciliation (STAR) and Hope in the Cities. STAR, organized in Atlanta in 2003, partners with communities that desire to acknowledge their historic past of racial conflict and injustice while creating a new narrative built on reconciliation and justice. STAR facilitated the first trust-building workshop held in LaGrange in March 2015, attended by 30 invited community leaders. The participants held honest, sometimes difficult conversations that acknowledged the county's racial history and addressed the current environment and perspectives held about "the other". Many who completed the workshop made a commitment to work toward building a community in which issues of racial, social, and economic justice are not characterized by "us" and "them", but are understood as "we".
Cricket White
Rev. Tee Turner
Ricky Wolfe and Rev. Carl Von Epps traveled to Richmond, Virginia to conduct research on a program aimed at ending racial divides. The Hope in the Cities model was selected as one of two to help us get started in Troup County.