Study Circles Orientation Seminar will be held in the College’s Cole Cinema from 10:15 – 11:45 a.m., Jan. 16, following the 2nd Annual Southern Maryland Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast. The seminar will introduce the study circles concept and topics for study, as well as seek participants for the community-wide study circles initiative that will take place in the early months of 2006.
A study circle is a group of 8 to12 people from different backgrounds and viewpoints who meet several times to talk about an issue. All of the study circles work on the same issue and seek solutions for the whole community. The community-wide study circles planned for St. Mary’s County are being organized by the College and the St. Mary’s County Human Relations Commission.
There will be 10 groups of 10 people from all walks of life and areas of the county who will look at specific race issues, focusing on the areas of law enforcement, employment and education. The groups will meet two hours a week for two months. At the end of the two months, the groups will reconvene as a group-of-the-whole with action items for improving the race issues explored by their groups.
The prayer breakfast will be held from 8:30 – 10 a.m., Monday, Jan. 16 in the Great Room of the College’s Campus Center. Speakers for the event are Michael Fauntroy, political columnist and media commentator; and Harold Herndon, president of Compliance Corporation in Lexington Park. Music will be provided by the St. Peter Claver Gospel Choir. A full breakfast will be served; the cost is $6. The event is sponsored by SMCM, the St. Mary’s County Human Relations Commission and the College’s African and African Diaspora Studies program. For more information, contact Marc Apter at 240-895-4381 or by e-mail at mlapter@smcm.edu.