The Race Relations Council will host a forum on “Confronting Racial Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination” from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, June 11. This forum will be in the Upton Education Center at Lakeland Hospital, 1234 Napier Ave., St. Joseph. There is no charge for participating in this event.

The forum will begin with a presentation from four panelists, followed by small group discussions facilitated by the panelists, and a concluding report-out and large group discussion. The panelists for this forum will be Larry Feldman, Sandy Feldman, Pat Leonard and Pastor Maurice McAfee.

The focus of the forum will be on specific strategies for confronting racial stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination. A wide range of issues will be discussed, including constructive ways to confront: 1) racial stereotypes or prejudice when expressed by acquaintances, friends or family members; 2) inflammatory racial hate speech, either in person, online, or in the media; 3) racial discrimination in everyday life (for example, at the grocery or department store); and 4) institutional racism in education, employment, criminal justice and health care.

The Race Relations Council encourages all members of the Southwest Michigan community to participate in this free educational event.