The theme for this year’s Conversations on Race was Some of My Best Friends Are…which included a series of improvisations performed by Dreamcatcher Repertory Theater, followed by small group discussions on the successes and challenges of social integration. This event is part of the Coalition’s Integration Through the Arts Program which utilizes the transcending power of the arts to create and strengthen bonds among people of different races and backgrounds.

It was held on Wednesday, May 5th in the Columbia High School cafeteria at 7:30 pm. and attended by nearly 100 people who watched the improvisation skits and then broke into facilitated small groups for discussion.

Our Integration through the Arts program, thanks to the vision and grant-writing skills of Program Director Audrey Rowe, received increased funding for 2010 from the NJ State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner of the National Endowment for the Arts and administered by the Essex County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs.  The program will continue in the fall with the return of Two Towns Sing-ins and a new dance-in event.