The Princeton Area Democratic Organization (PCDO) will kick off its fall program series with a panel discussion on “Getting Beyond Racism.”

The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held on Sunday, September 20, at 7 pm at the Suzanne Patterson Senior Center, 45 Stockton Street, behind Monument Hall (formerly Borough Hall). The purpose of the panel is to initiate dialogue and communication in our town and what we all can do to move forward in a positive way, as well as to honor the “Black Lives Matter” movement and the tragic events that have led to it.

The panel will be moderated by Michele Tuck-Ponder, former mayor of Princeton Township and co-host of the Reed  & Ponder cable television program. Members of the panel include: Princeton University graduate Rhinold Lamar Ponder, an artist and attorney who runs a Facebook page, “Beyond Black and White,” which has more than 500 members; Carlton Branscomb, Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Princeton, and Board Member of the Coalition for Peace Action/Cease Fire NJ; Princeton native Shirley Satterfield, retired School Guidance Counselor and expert on the history of the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood; Deborah Blanks, retired Associate Dean of the Princeton University Chapel; Calvin Reed, who grew up in Princeton, and is now on the staff of Congresswoman Bonnie Watson-Coleman; and Leticia Fraga, Vice-Chair of the Princeton Human Services Commission and Chair of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights. For further information on the Princeton Community Democratic Organization, go to https://www.princetondems.org.