NORFOLK, Va. — One year after a blackface scandal nearly forced him from office, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam is hosting statewide community forums. The idea is to come up with a plan to talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The first meeting was held at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk Monday night.
Governor Ralph Northam appointed his first diversity officer, Dr. Janice Underwood, in September.
"At the end of the day, it's about fairness, leveling the playing field and making sure everybody feels welcomed in Virginia," Northam said.
Diversity and inclusion topics range from healthcare, voting to criminal justice and education.
The governor said he is working to make early childhood education more accessible and also to improve black history lessons.
For example, many Virginians didn't learn the story about pioneer mathematician Katherine Johnson until the movie “Hidden Figures” came out.
She was the civil rights icon who was famously known as the renowned "human-computer" for NASA. She passed away on Feb. 24 at the age of 101. Johnson worked at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton for more than 30 years.
Dr. Northam told 13News Now, "I didn't hear of her either and I suspect if you ask a lot of folks, they hadn't heard of her. So we are taking a deep dive and looking at how we teach our children African-American history, how we have access to the books and who's teaching it and what we have found. Is it inadequate and also inaccurate?"
The governor said in order to move forward, you have to know where you've been.
There are four other community forums in other parts of Virginia this month.
All will take place from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on these dates:
- Monday, March 9
- Charlottesville High School, Media Center, 1400 Melbourne Road, Charlottesville, Virginia 22901
- Wednesday, March 18
- Harrisonburg City Hall, 409 South Main Street, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22801
- Tuesday, March 25
- James Lee Community Center, 2855 Annandale Road, Falls Church, Virginia 22042
- Monday, March 30
- Bristol Virginia Public Schools, School Board Office, 220 Lee Street, Bristol, Virginia 24201
Those interested in attending one of the upcoming community forums should register here.
Dr. Underwood is also accepting applications for positions within the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Interested individuals should submit their resume and a cover letter outlining how they will contribute to equity and inclusion initiatives across state government.
Application materials must be emailed to DEIDirector@governor.virginia.gov by May 1, 2020.
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