Inequality Series At Dalton State Continues With Perrin Lance

  • Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Perrin Lance
Perrin Lance

Inequality cannot be fixed by giving everyone material objects, but by affording everyone the basic essentials of humanity, according to Dalton State College Assistant Professor of Political Science Matthew Hipps. 

The Inequality Series, a yearlong focus on inequality in America with programs focused on social injustice, continues Thursday, April 2, with a lecture from Perrin Lance, executive director of Chattanooga Organized for Action. 

The free program, starting at 7 p.m. in Goodroe Auditorium of Gignilliat Memorial Hall at Dalton State, will focus on equity and finding one’s moral compass.

Mr. Lance is a graduate of UTC, and one of the original co-founders of COA, along with Megan Hollenbeck and Chris Brooks. The program is a community-organizing nonprofit that works to initiate, support, and connect popular grassroots organizations for the purposes of advancing the local social justice movement. 

Mr. Lance took an early interest in grassroots community organizing, particularly in public housing, and was COA's lead organizer for the "Not for Sale" campaign, which sought to prevent the sale of public housing in community in Chattanooga. 

He became executive director in 2013. As director, Mr. Lance has emphasized COA's partnerships with community leaders and has encouraged efforts towards increasing greater community self-determination.  

“Perrin Lance works daily to secure justice for marginalized peoples, and he is a natural choice for our program on inequality,” said Dr. Jodi Johnson, Dalton State vice president for enrollment and student services. “While the Inequality Series has explored issues of inequality on a global scale, Mr. Lance will bring these issues into focus at the local level. I hope audience members will leave with both a desire to work towards making our community a better place for all citizens and a better idea of how to go about doing so.” 

“The main reason to attend these inequality events is the fact that we all want to live in a better world, and it’s almost impossible to do that until we address the fact that there are some people in this world whose opportunity to succeed is far less than others,” said Mr. Hipps. “Perrin is a great example of how some people talk about doing things while other people do them.” 

“Perrin and his organization live and breathe the ideals of democratic citizenship and provide real world commitment and backing to the community he is part of,” Mr. Hipps continued. “I can’t think of a better example to inspire us to action than Perrin Lance.” 

 

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