The 12th annual Annual Racial Attitudes Conference will kick off a week of events celebrating diversity at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock campus beginning Monday, April 13.

The conference includes a panel discussion focused on the annual Racial Attitudes in Pulaski County Survey Report titled “Values, Family, and Community.”

Dr. LaVerne Bell-Tolliver, professor at UALR’s School of Social Work, will moderate.

The UALR Institute on Race and Ethnicity in conjunction with the Institute on Government will hold the public forum from 9 to 11 a.m. Monday at the Donaghey Engineering and Information Technology Building auditorium at UALR.

A networking session with continental breakfast will precede the forum at 8:15 a.m.

This year’s panelists are Dr. David Briscoe, professor of sociology at UALR, Julie Hall, director of UALR Children International, Paul Kelly, senior policy analyst of Arkansas for Children and Families, and Keesa Smith, deputy director of Arkansas Department of Human Services.

More about the survey
The survey stems from telephone interviews with 1,826 respondents representing five geo-racial groups: Little Rock Whites (LRW), Outside of Little Rock Whites (OLRW), Little Rock Blacks (LRB), Outside of Little Rock Blacks (OLRB), and Hispanics.

The report, which highlights statistically significant differences and commonalities among the groups, focuses on three areas identified as Basic Values, Contemporary Trends, and Community Issues.

Respondents were given the opportunity to sound off on subjects ranging from same-sex and interracial marriage, to single-parenting, religious and moral values, police and community relations, unfair treatment in the workplace and public establishments, and the quality of life in their neighborhoods.

One of the most striking responses in the report came from how differently whites, blacks and Hispanics view and interpret the Michael Brown killing incident in Ferguson, Mo., last year.

Dr. Michael Twyman, author of the report and director of the Institute on Race and Ethnicity, said “Many of the responses illuminate just how various community members can see the same things occurring in society so dramatically different depending on their cultural lens and individual experience.”

Twyman added that he hopes that others will find the information useful in helping to respond more effectively to community problems and serving our families with greater cultural awareness and sensitivity.

The full report will be available online at ualr.edu/race-ethnicity following the forum. For more information on UALR Diversity Week, go to ualr.edu/chancellor/diversity.