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An Atlanta-based professional group is encouraging white people to make Black friends with a “Come Meet A Black Person” event. Yes, this is the real title of the meeting.

Urban Mediamakers, a consortium of content creators, is hosting this networking event Thursday in Lawrencesville, a suburb of Atlanta. The group created a Facebook event page for it.

Some revealing research about three-quarters of white people lacking Black comrades compelled the group to host the meeting, said Cheryle Moses, president and founder of the organization who is African American, according to CNN.

Public Religion Research Institute study from 2013 said that 75% of white people in America don’t have any nonwhite friends. The study also discovered that for most whites, their circle of friends is about 91% white. About 65% of black people are without white friends, and the average social circle for a black American is nearly 83% black, the study also revealed.

Instead of just grappling with these race-based statistics, Moses wanted to build relationships of trust between Blacks and White folks, she said.

“My question is why do a lot of white folks get offended when anyone brings up race or racism?” Moses explained to CBS News. “Let’s walk through it, talk about it. If we are friends, you can sit down with friends and agree to disagree.”

 

Upon hearing about the event, several Black people expectingly had an angry reaction.

The event’s name is most offending, several people, who live with the truths of racism, said on social media. Though Moses is seemingly coming from the right place, the event feels somewhat like a spectacle that puts Black people on display. The reactions made it clear that there are better ways to address strained race relations.

People who are upset over the event’s theme “don’t understand what she’s trying to do,” Moses said.

SOURCE: CNNCBS News

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Why Is An Atlanta Group Hosting This ‘Come Meet A Black Person’ Event?  was originally published on newsone.com