FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Written by Deshonna Johnson
Athens, GA – Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement hosted its first public workshop of its AADM Workshop Series this Thursday evening at the Athens Clarke County Library. Entitled “Athens Civil Rights Public Meeting and Workshop,” the meeting was divided into three sections hosted by a varying group of community members including Commissioner Melissa Link, UGA professor Dr. Llewellyn “Lee” Cornelius, and local attorney Ryan Heron.
The first half of the meeting served as a public forum between the audience of nearly 100 people and Commissioner Link who asked questions of clarification on what happened during the November 1st city hall meeting. Praising the work of groups like AADM and other activists, Commissioner Link provided background of the events that led to Mayor Denson’s initial removal of the Alcohol and Licensing Ordinance and its associated Commission-Defined Option (CDO) off of the agenda to the current stage of a civil rights committee being in the hands of the Attorney and Manager’s offices, and advice on what needs to happen next.
Ryan Heron addressed the nearly 100 people in attendance with resources and websites on where to go if they feel their rights have been violated until the committee is established and answered the audience’s general questions. Dr. Lee Cornelius handed out pocket constitutions, Know Your Rights packets and a bulleted summary of or constitutional rights. Both volunteered to host a separate, longer workshop in the future for AADM to provide a more in-depth conversation amongst the audience and more time for questions.
Within the last minutes of the workshop, co-founder of AADM Mokah Jasmine Johnson, called for people to support the efforts of the movement and to continue being proactive. To break the cycle of discrimination, Mokah states, “we must try to treat each other with #love #respect, #take action and be willing to step outside the box.” Johnson also launched the organization’s newest website which can be found at aadmovement.com. Moving forward, the Athens Anti-discrimination will continue to empower citizens through education and activism.
For more information please email athensantidiscrimination@gmail.com or jasminejohnsonedu@gmail.com