Past Projects

Past Projects

Juneteenth Together


Thank you to Commonwealth Credit Union for the invitation to share about Juneteenth with your staff!

Historic Marker Dedication

On Saturday, October 22, 2022 the organization, Focus On Race Relations, once again made history with the unveiling of a Historic Marker for two black men that were lynched on our own singing bridge here in Frankfort Kentucky. A crowd of approximately 300 people filled the First Baptist Church on Saint Clair. The program included the leader of our city, Mayor Layne Wilkerson; the leader of our county, Judge Executive Huston Wells; the leader of our Commonwealth, the Honorable Governor Andy Beshear; the leader of the Lexington and South Eastern Kentucky Catholic Diocese, Bishop John Stowe; the faith leaders from First Baptist on St Claire, First Baptist on Clinton, First Corinthian Baptist Church, St John AME Church and Ariel Wesr, a representative from the Equal Justice Initiative, EJI.


The combined choirs of First Baptist on Clinton and First Baptist on St. Claire proved once again that the FORR slogan “We Are Better Together “ is more than mere words, but it is a way of life. The crowd was entertained by a soloist from KSU and two poetic compositions for the occasion, also by two faculty members from KSU. The Unity of African Communities Living in America - African Performers entertained the crowd as they marched across the Singing Bridge and provided a drum role for the unveiling.


The entire Historic Marker program was both epic and historic. Thank you to the FORR members who worked so hard for so long to make this happen. Thank you to all of the volunteers that assisted us in making this happen. Thank you to all the faith leaders that came and represented their congregation. Thank you to the Frankfort/ Franklin County community for supporting this historic event.


Special thanks go out to all those whose donations made all of this possible.

Together, we organized Frankfort's
first Juneteenth celebration
.


June 17-20, 2022 | Events across Frankfort


"One of the goals of the organization FORR was to raise the level of awareness about race and race relations in Frankfort and Franklin County,” said Ed Powe, co-founder and president of FORR. “The four day Juneteenth event has allowed us to accomplish that goal in a major way. The entire community, including local government, businesses. financial institutions, schools, churches, community individuals and community organizations pulled together to make the Juneteenth event educational and fun at the same time. Proving once again that we are ‘better together.’”

With generous support from the city of Frankfort and Franklin County Fiscal Court, as well as major sponsor WesBanco, FORR pulled together a full schedule of events spanning four days in the southern capital.

”The City of Frankfort is a proud partner in local events celebrating Juneteenth and is committed to the continued improvement of equity in our community,” shared Frankfort mayor Layne Wilkerson. “There is something for everyone at this year's Juneteenth festivities and I encourage everyone to participate."


The schedule of events included:

  • The Race for Race Relations 5KFamily Fun Day
  • What is Juneteenth?
  • Juneteenth Forum
  • Free Movie at the Grand
  • Community Picnic
  • Perspectives on Juneteenth


BETTER TOGETHER WORKS.

To all our sponsors, vendors, participants, and hardworking volunteers, thank you. Your support enabled our community to learn and celebrate Juneteenth together. You make our community a better place for everyone!


OFFICIAL SPONSORS

City of Frankfort
Franklin County Fiscal Court


MAJOR SPONSOR
Wes Banco


SUPPORTING SPONSORS
First Federal Savings & Loan
Investors Heritage
Commonwealth Credit Union
Joe Graviss


CORPORATE SPONSORS
Independence Bank
Whitaker Bank
Expree Credit Union
Inside Out Design
Community Trust Bank
Traditional Bank
Citizen Commerce Bank


PARTICIPATING SPONSORS
Kentucky Historical Society

Capital City Museum

Grand Theater

Kentucky Humanities Council

Paul Sawyier Public Library


2022 Projects

  • Martin Luther King Day Celebration

    Members of the FORR Church Committee were intimately involved in the  planning and execution of a magnificent Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration in Frankfort, Ky, on January 16 at South Frankfort Presbyterian Church.


    Click to watch the service.

  • Conversations with Churches

    Creating space for open and honest conversation is what FORR is all about. 


    Ed Powe (President, FORR) arranged for Kathy Fields, Director of Human Resources for the City of Frankfort, and Dustin Bowman, Frankfort's new police chief, to address four churches in the community. 


    They spoke about increasing diversity, culture change, job opportunities and open lines of communication.

  • Candidate Forum

    April 20, 2022


    We hosted our local nonpartisan candidates for a panel discussion on race and race related issues in Frankfort/Franklin County. This discussion took place at the Old Capitol from 5-8:30 pm. We welcomed all members of the community to join us as we learn more about the candidate's platforms and dive into their views on the current state of relations in our town.

  • Teacher Appreciation Luncheon

    FORR and our community provided a luncheon for EVERY teacher in the Frankfort & Franklin County school systems. More than just a free lunch, we'll be offering our encouragement and support to these hardworking individuals.

  • EJI Essay Contest

    FORR, in partnership with EJI, hosted an essay contest for high school students.


    To learn more visit the Essay Contest page.

  • Juneteenth Celebration

    One of the goals of the organization FORR was to raise the level of awareness about race and race relations in Frankfort and Franklin County,” said Ed Powe, co-founder and president of FORR. “The four day Juneteenth event has allowed us to accomplish that goal in a major way. The entire community, including local government, businesses. financial institutions, schools, churches, community individuals and community organizations pulled together to make the Juneteenth event educational and fun at the same time. Proving once again that we are ‘better together.

  • Historic Marker Dedication

    On Saturday, October 22, 2022 the organization, Focus On Race Relations, once again made history with the unveiling of a Historic Marker for two black men that were lynched on our own singing bridge here in Frankfort  Kentucky. A crowd of approximately 300 people filled the First Baptist Church on Saint Clair. The program included the leader of our city, Mayor Layne Wilkerson; the leader of our county, Judge Executive Huston Wells; the leader of our Commonwealth, the Honorable Governor Andy Beshear; the leader of the Lexington and South Eastern  Kentucky Catholic Diocese,  Bishop John Stowe; the faith leaders from First Baptist on St Claire, First Baptist on Clinton, First Corinthian Baptist Church, St John AME Church and Ariel Wesr, a representative from the Equal Justice Initiative, EJI.


    The combined choirs of First Baptist on Clinton and First Baptist on St. Claire proved once again that the FORR slogan “We Are Better Together “ is more than mere words, but it is a way of life. The crowd was entertained by a soloist from KSU and two poetic compositions for the occasion, also by two faculty members from KSU. The Unity of African Communities Living in America - African Performers entertained the crowd as they marched across the Singing Bridge and provided a drum role for the unveiling.


    The entire Historic Marker program was both epic and historic. Thank you to the FORR members who worked so hard for so long to make this happen. Thank you to all of the volunteers that assisted us in making this happen. Thank you to all the faith leaders that came and represented their congregation. Thank you to the Frankfort/ Franklin County community for supporting this historic event.


    Special thanks go out to all those whose donations made all of this possible.

2021 Projects

  • Juneteenth Celebration

    Frankfort Juneteenth

    a roundtable with poetry & song

    Saturday, June 19th


    Together, we learned the history and context of the Juneteenth holiday and heard from key members of Frankfort's educational, spiritual, and cultural organizations as they engaged in dialogue about the concept of freedom in Frankfort’s past, present and future. We were uplifted by poetry, prayer, and song shared by local community leaders and artists. 


    Partners: Focus on Race Relations, Josephine Sculpture Park, The Grand Theatre, Frankfort Plant Board, Together Frankfort and Beta Upsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.


    Sponsored by Joe and Debbie Graviss


    More information about Juneteenth is available at togetherfrankfort.org.


    To watch a portion of the presentation, click here.

  • Facing Racism Series

    Franklin County Cooperative Extension Service in partnership with FORR presented a six part series of community conversations on Facing Racism in a Diverse Nation.

2020 Projects

  • Candidate Forums

    FORR: Frankfort held two candidate forums on race relations which were well attended by candidates and constituents. These forums gave candidates the opportunity to share their current understanding of racism and privilege. This also served to start a community dialogue about these issues and how they play out locally. One of the things that we learned is that there are gaps between those who are on the receiving end of racism and those who are privileged enough to go through life unaware of the racism around them. FORR: Frankfort held these forums with the goal of helping the community begin building the tools to begin bridging these gaps.


    Watch Candidate forums for Frankfort Mayor and City Commissioners on FORR's YouTube Channel.   

  • Church Conversations

    Using curriculum and discussion outlines from Be the Bridge, we hosted groups for White Bridge Builders and later multiracial Be the Bridge Discussion Groups. The idea behind the White Bridge Builders is to familiarize white allies with terms and concepts necessary to move forward into conversations with people of color. Since racism is a very painful experience, it would be unfair to ask people of color to explain it to white people. In order to avoid causing unnecessary pain, the White Bridge Builders group will use already existing curriculum. An informational session for our first White Bridge Builder discussion group was held on Monday, February 11. The group met each Monday starting February 25 from 6-7 at First Presbyterian Church, 416 West Main Street.

  • Juneteenth

    Juneteenth Virtual Celebration in partnership with Josephine Sculpture Park.

  • Education

    FORR’s Education Committee partnered with the Kentucky Historical Society to offer two virtual workshops for educators. The first workshop presented teachers with opportunities to discuss true personal narratives in which individuals had encountered racism in a K-12 educational setting.  The second workshop focused on implicit bias, a topic identified as a high priority by participants in the first workshop. The second session opened with the presentation by Michelle Pennix, a consultant whose work focuses on actionable ideas and practical strategies around racial injustice and culturally responsive environments in the community and school, and used true scenarios to generate discussion about the role of implicit bias in specific school-based incidents. Both workshops were funded in part by the Kentucky Storytelling Association.


    FORR’s Education Committee also evaluated hundreds of online resources to create resource pages especially for parents and educators.  


2019 Projects

  • Truth & Resolution Luncheon

    In February 2019, FORR: Frankfort sponsored an event to facilitate learning and conversations between officials at Kentucky State University and officials in city and county government.  It was agreed that racism still exists in our community. Participants were told that to begin to address these race and race-related issues it would be necessary for them to step outside of their comfort zone and to engage in open, honest, face to face conversations about race and race related issues. No longer can they be afraid to talk about race.  Dr. Crystal deGregory, Ph. D was the event speaker.

  • Church Conversations

    Using curriculum and discussion outlines from Be the Bridge, we hosted groups for White Bridge Builders and later multiracial Be the Bridge Discussion Groups. The idea behind the White Bridge Builders is to familiarize white allies with terms and concepts necessary to move forward into conversations with people of color. Since racism is a very painful experience, it would be unfair to ask people of color to explain it to white people. In order to avoid causing unnecessary pain, the White Bridge Builders group will use already existing curriculum. An informational session for our first White Bridge Builder discussion group was held on Monday, February 11. The group met each Monday starting February 25 from 6-7 at First Presbyterian Church, 416 West Main Street.

  • Soil Collection Event

    Working with the Equal Justice Initiative we commemorated lynching victims from Franklin County through educational displays and a community-wide event in August 2019. See the Events page, The Singing Bridge for more details.  Watch news coverage.  See exhibit at Kentucky State University. 

  • Education

    We began working with local schools to encourage more diversity in the curriculum and more discussions about race.  As part of the  activities in association with the Soil Collection Event, we distributed educational materials from the Equal Justice Initiative to all our middle and high schools.


    Visit our K-12 Educators Resource Page.


2018 Projects

  • Candidate Forums

    FORR: Frankfort held two candidate forums on race relations which were well attended by candidates and constituents. These forums gave candidates the opportunity to share their current understanding of racism and privilege. This also served to start a community dialogue about these issues and how they play out locally. One of the things that we learned is that there are gaps between those who are on the receiving end of racism and those who are privileged enough to go through life unaware of the racism around them. FORR: Frankfort held these forums with the goal of helping the community begin building the tools to begin bridging these gaps.

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