Gwinnett County

Local group hosts 'Come Meet a Black Person' event

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Gwinnett County group is holding a mixer called “Come Meet a Black Person” to try to improve race relations.

The event will he held Thursday night in Lawrenceville.

The meeting has been getting mixed reviews.

Channel 2's Tony Thomas spoke to the organizer who said she didn't think twice about the name when she sent out the announcement.

Others said they were taken aback by the invite.

“They are calling it ‘Come Meet a Black Person?’ What? Here?” Tim Carter said. “That’s crazy.”

Urban Media Maker Founder Cheryl Moses, a black woman, is behind the event and said she chose the title after reading a study that found 75 percent of white people in America don’t have nonwhite friends.

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“So I said if I cook some of my great chili and wonderful cornbread and give people a space where they can actually come and meet people of color,” Moses said.

She said in the end it’s about relationships.

“Don’t get it twisted. I know racism can only be solved by white people. That’s not what I’m trying to do. What I’m trying to do is bring the two together,” Moses said.

The organizer said at the gathering, there will be a time to meet and greet and then a cultural scavenger hunt.

“The country is all about whiteness. So if whites had friends and interacted with us, it wouldn’t be a need for me to have ‘Come Meet a Black Person,’” Moses said.

“I think it’s maybe people trying to do something good, but I’m not sure if that’s the correct way to go about it,” another woman said.

Moses said she usually has about 60 to 100 people come to her mixers.