Outlasting Racism through
Lasting Friendships

Professor
Deborah Plummer talks about building interracial relationships at The City Club
of Cleveland.

CLEVELAND, OH—Dr. Deborah L. Plummer, professor
and director of the Diversity Management Program at Cleveland State University,
will discuss her latest book “Racing across the Lines: Changing Race Relations
through Friendships� at noon on Friday, February 11,
2005, at The City Club of
Cleveland.

In “Racing across the Lines,�
Plummer examines contemporary race relations through the lens of friendship and
patterns of cross-racial socializing. She is struck by the relationship between
Cleveland’s number-one ranking in poverty of residents and its ranking as the
fifth most segregated city and fourth most likely to remain that way. Plummer
feels society is tired of the “race thing,� and in order for us to achieve
meaningful progress in race relations, we must instill diversity in our lives
outside of the workplace, especially in our churches.

Dr. Plummer received her B.A. from
Notre
Dame College in
Ohio and her M.Ed. and Ph.D. from
Kent State University. As president and principal
consultant at D.L. Plummer & Associates, she has delivered a variety of
diversity training and consulting services for more than 50 organizations,
including corporations, nonprofit agencies, educational facilities and
others.

“Dr. Plummer offers her personal
insight and perspectives from focus groups she conducted in this how-to guide to
beginning an honest dialogue with people of other colors,� said Jim Foster,
executive director of The City Club of Cleveland. “We
are pleased to provide her with this forum to teach us how to incorporate
diversity in our lives outside the workplace.�

Tickets for this City Club Friday
Forum are $15 for members and $25 for non-members. Lunch is included. They can
be purchased by calling The City Club at 216.621.0082 or visiting the website at
www.cityclub.org.

Established in 1912 to encourage new
ideas and a free exchange of thought, The City Club of Cleveland is the oldest
continuous free speech forum in the country, renowned for its tradition of
debate and discussion. The City Club’s mission is to inform, educate and inspire
citizens by presenting significant ideas and providing opportunities for
dialogue in a collegial setting.

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