Ophelia Garmon-Brown and Charles O’Dell, co-chairs of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Opportunity Task Force, will speak at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 20, in the Cone University Center, McKnight Hall. Their free, public presentation is for the ninth annual Bertha Maxwell-Roddey Distinguished Africana Lecture.
Garmon-Brown and O’Dell will discuss “A Road Map of Opportunity for Charlotte.” The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Opportunity Task Force, which they co-chaired, was a 20-member group that gathered to address the social and economic divide in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community. The task force studied the difficulties in escaping poverty for children born in the county and developed a plan of action to bring about change in this long-standing situation.
Garmon-Brown is senior vice president of community wellness and education for Novant Health; O’Dell is senior vice president and group head, national corporate banking, U.S. Bank.
The Bertha Maxwell-Roddey Distinguished Africana Lecture honors its namesake for her pioneering contributions to the development of Africana Studies as an academic discipline at UNC Charlotte as the department’s founding chair; she also helped build black cultural institutions in the greater Charlotte area and nationally. A reception will follow the lecture.
RSVPs are requested by calling 704-687-5161 or email africana_studies@uncc.edu.