PHILADELPHIA – November 12, 2020 – Join the Urban Affairs Coalition (UAC) for a special virtual forum – “Ending Racism: This is Movement, Not A Moment” – on Friday, November 20, from 9-9:30 a.m. The virtual event will convene local business leaders, decision-makers, and grassroots community nonprofits to connect on individual and collective efforts to tackle the challenges of race, poverty, health, equity, and diversity in Philadelphia.
The pandemic forced UAC’s annual in-person fundraising breakfast – always held the Friday before Thanksgiving – to go virtual. Civil unrest, in response to police brutality, economic uncertainty, and COVID-19 over the past year propelled the organization and its more than 50-year legacy of driving change to prioritize ending systemic racism and inequality in Philadelphia, once and for all.
Anchoring the “Ending Racism” event will be a forward-looking, future-building conversation between Sharmain Matlock-Turner, UAC president and CEO, and Daniel Hilferty, CEO of Independence Blue Cross (IBC), who, as long-time colleagues and influential civic leaders, will initiate a blueprint for building a just and equitable society in our communities. UAC business partners and event sponsors will share their organizations’ commitment to investing resources to make concrete goals happen. Sponsors include Independence Blue Cross; AmeriHealth Caritas; PECO; Comcast NBCUniversal; Philadelphia Eagles; Philadelphia Foundation; Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health; Trion Group, a Marsh & McLennan Agency, LLC Company; Walmart; Wells Fargo; Wescott Financial Advisory Group, and lead sponsor Merck & Co.
Setting ambitious goals is not new for UAC, which was founded days after Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination in 1968 to bring together community, government, and business leaders to stem civil unrest and better understand how to work as a community and as people.
“Over the past several months, we’ve opened the door to thinking, talking, and listening. Now it’s time to act decisively,” said Matlock-Turner, who has led UAC for two decades. “And UAC will be the proud catalyst for turning intent into impact in our communities.”
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The Urban Affairs Coalition is home to 80 nonprofits and community initiatives that work to improve the quality of life in our communities. UAC’s priorities are to build wealth in urban communities, develop youth and young adults, create strategic partnerships, and strengthen nonprofits. To learn more about the Urban Affairs Coalition, please visit www.uac.org.