Southern Miss School of Social Work Fall Colloquium Addresses Social Justice

The University of Southern Mississippi School of Social Work hosted its fall colloquium - “Where is the Dream in 2013? The Rocky Road to Social Justice” Friday, Nov. 15 at the Thad Cochran Center on the Hattiesburg campus.

More than 100 students, faculty, and members of the professional social work community gathered to hear presentations on social justice issues prevalent in the South Eastern region.

Keynote speaker and director of outreach at Southern Poverty Law Center, Lecia Brooks, presented on fighting hate, teaching tolerance and seeking justice.

Tom Fortner, a public defender in Hattiesburg, addressed “What is Justice?” Fortner, a founding member of the Mississippi Public Defender Association, was the first Chief Public Defender in Jackson County (Pascagoula) and Hinds County (Jackson).

Derrick Evans, a native of Turkey Creek, Miss., addressed the connection between social and environmental justice issues. Evans is the co-founder of the Gulf Coast Community Fund for Community Renewal and Ecological Health, which supports community groups addressing the region's challenge of poverty, racism, gender inequality and environmental destruction.

“The conference was a great event and featured a fantastic set of speakers. Their content was relevant and informative,” said Dr. Tim Rehner, director of the School of Social Work.

To learn more about the School of Social Work at Southern Miss, call 601.266.4168 or visit http://www.usm.edu/social-work