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Buffalo, What's Next? | Integrating Churches, Activism for Peace And Justice

In April of 1960, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. famously described 11 am on Sunday as “the most segregated hour in America”, suggesting that while churches are open to all races, few have true integration. Does the problem still exist? DeMar Dowell is the founder of God’s Dream Inc., a ministry and DEI consultancy in Buffalo that works to bring Black and White people together on specific spiritual projects that he hopes will “build bridges of diversity .. and generate opportunities that change lives.” Then a wide-ranging talk with Jim Anderson, a long time civil rights and peace activist talking about social justice, anti- militarism, housing and the modern protest movement.

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  • On this episode of What’s Next?, Dr. Marcus Watson, Associate Professor of Africana Studies at Buffalo State University, discusses the history of Juneteenth, its significance in the American story, and why understanding this history remains important today.
  • On this episode of What’s Next?, contributor Saladin Allah speaks with Charlynn Rivera of the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center and Danessia Scott-Warren of the Niagara Organizing Alliance for Hope about social justice, community engagement, advocacy, and civic participation.
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  • (CORRECTION) Part two of What’s Next?’s three-part anniversary series examining the aftermath of the May 14 Tops mass shooting focuses on the distribution and impact of millions of dollars raised to support Buffalo’s East Side.
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