FSU's human rights center and The Village Square to examine the legacy of 9/11
Florida State University's Center for the Advancement of Human Rights, in partnership with The Village Square, will present "Ten Years Time: 9/11, The Heart of America, The Shadow of the Middle East," a forum examining the effects of the Sept. 11, 2011, terrorist attacks on the United States.
On Tuesday, Sept. 13, Barry Richard, a partner at the Greenberg Traurig law firm who was recognized by the National Law Journal as one of "the 100 most influential lawyers in America" in 2006, will address "Security, Pseudo-Patriotism, And the Erosion of American Liberties" in a keynote presentation at St. John's Episcopal Church.
Following the presentation, Mark Schlakman, senior program director for the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights and coordinator of its "Human Rights and National Security in the 21st Century" lecture series, will moderate two panel discussions. The first panel will focus on domestic security imperatives with panelists Thomas Battles, regional director for U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service; Rob Davis, first assistant to the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida; and Robert LeFiles, director of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Fusion Center.
The second panel, "America and the Islamic World: Clash or Convergence," will feature Parvez Ahmed, an associate professor of finance at the University of North Florida and a frequent commentator on the American Muslim experience; Adam Gaiser, an assistant professor and Islamic-studies scholar in FSU's Department of Religion; Mildred Duprey De Robles of the U.S. Department of Justice's Community Relations Service; Rabbi Jack Romberg of Tallahassee's Temple Israel; and radio talk show host Preston Scott of WFLA's "The Morning Show with Preston Scott."
The program is the kickoff event in The Village Square's new "Dinner at the Square" season, themed "It's the End of the World As We Know It, And I Feel Fine?" The event is the first of three programs that will examine the decade of tumultuous change that started on Sept. 11, 2001.
"We are thrilled to be bringing the high-caliber programming that the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights offers to our 'Dinner at the Square' series," said Liz Joyner, executive director of The Village Square. "We're looking forward to a frank and constructive discussion on the legacy of the Sept. 11 attacks on America."
"Ten Years Time: 9/11, The Heart of America, The Shadow of the Middle East" will be held:
TUESDAY, SEPT. 13
5:30 P.M. – 8:30 P.M.
(2nd PANEL FROM 7:30 TO 8:30 P.M.)
ST. JOHN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
211 N. MONROE ST.
TALLAHASSEE, FLA.
The Village Square, a nonpartisan 501(c) 3 public educational forum organized by a bipartisan group of community leaders, seeks to improve the factual accuracy and civility of public discourse. Each year, The Village Square offers a new topic in its "Dinner at the Square" series in order to promote constructive engagement between neighbors of differing political ideologies.
For more information about the dinner forum, visit www.tothevillagesquare.org or call (850) 590-6646.