Auburn/Cayuga NAACP President Eli Hernandez knows all too well that there isn't an easy recipe for solving racism in the community, but he also understands that nothing will change if there isn't talking and taking action.

Last month, a group of local stakeholders began doing just that, opening up the lines of dialogue to help move the community past racism with the “Moving Past Racism” forum hosted at the Auburn Holiday Inn.

Hernandez said he and his fellow community leaders grasped that the path to real understanding and creating lasting solutions would not happen with just one dialogue. Within one week of the first forum, there was consensus to host a second to delve even further into racism, its entrenchment in local spheres, and how to end it.

“We were all on the same page,” he said Monday. “As soon as the first one started, in my mind it was like, 'When are we going to do a second one?' We all got together and decided that this isn't a one-time thing, this isn't a quick fix and we needed to move forward with it.”

To continue the dialogue initiated last month, the Auburn NAACP, Cayuga Community College, Change International and the New York Institute of Dance and Education as well as the Cayuga-Onondaga Board of Cooperative Educational Services are sponsoring another “Moving Past Racism” forum, hosted at BOCES' Regional Education Center.

Facilitated by NYIDE President Sean McLeod, this forum, slated for Monday, Oct. 20, will feature a panel discussion with people from different backgrounds. Panelists are still being confirmed and names will likely be released later this week.

“These forums are not about teaching people,” he said. “It is about learning from people. This is not about the magic pill; this is about creating the new prescription.

“Make no mistake that people want to feel like there's an instant pill,” he added. “That instant pill can only exist in your day-to-day life, because you can accept people being bigoted or not. ... These forums are not about bringing people with answers as much as it is in creating the opportunity for questions where we can find the answers together.”

The intent of the panel discussion is to foster community participation, so people can submit questions to the panelists through various means.

Those in attendance can submit questions on index cards, can ask panelists directly, or post questions online through a forum offered by The Citizen.

Lonnie Love, who sits on the NAACP executive board and a founder of Change International, said he was disappointed with the first forum, its format and small attendance. However, he believes this forum and its diverse panel will foster greater awareness that racism is not limited to black and white, that inclusion and unity pertain to everybody.

“I think the one thing that was not identified in the first forum, that one we didn't have a panel so people could visually see that it was not just about black and white,” he said. “Racism affects everyone as a community and as a nation.

“It's about how do we work at creating an inclusive environment, so everyone feels validated and everyone understands that racism is a word that affects every individual on the face of the Earth.”

Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net