Turnaround

Activist Richard Mabion is working toward a “great turning,” and his template for economic and social revival is the neglected Quindaro corridor in Kansas City, Kansas. The Great Turning is the title of author David Korten’s 2006 book, which argues that corporations have created a modern empire in which citizens must reorganize before an impending eco-meltdown.Earlier this year, Mabion went to a Great Turning leadership conference in Ohio, but it wasn’t just the dialogue about empowering citizens and re-localizing commerce that struck him. In a crowd of hundreds, he was one of only 10 people of color. That held true at another progressive gathering in California this summer, where Mabion was one of five African-American attendees out of 700 participants.Mabion became convinced that there could be no great turning if communities remained divided. So he jump-started an effort to make multicultural solidarity the sole topic of the Break the Silence Conference today and Saturday at the Reardon Center (500 Minnesota, Kansas City, Kansas). The main draw is a presentation from Korten, who gives his take on building a sustainable community, at 8 a.m. Saturday. But the conference, with its workshops and vendors, aims to spark broad conversation about involving people of color in progressive causes. Tickets for the conference cost $1; see a full schedule at bseckc.org.

The Great Turning

Fri., Nov. 2; Sat., Nov. 3, 2007