Join us for HuffPost’s Listen To America bus tour. Step aboard the bus and tell us your story — what matters most to you and what being American means today.
Everyone’s welcome to hang out, chat, enjoy snacks and more. Most stops will also include a special event with community leaders discussing topics of local concern and taking questions from the audience.
The Listen to America bus tour ended on October 30th. To see where we went and what we did, scroll down below.
10:00 a.m.
Launch Event at Kiener Plaza
As we kick off the Listen to America bus tour, St. Louis community leaders will send us off with a few words. Speakers include Lydia Polgreen, editor-in-chief of HuffPost; Donald Suggs, publisher of the St. Louis American; Rev. Starsky Wilson; Tishaura Jones, treasurer for the city of St. Louis; Alderwoman Megan Green
2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Tour stop: Salt and Smoke - 6525 Delmar Blvd.
Stop by, tell us what’s on your mind, and grab some swag. We look forward to seeing you!
Forum: “Three Years After Ferguson: Seeking Solutions in St. Louis,” The Royale, 3132 S Kingshighway Blvd. (in partnership with the St. Louis American)
Come hear community leaders talk about what’s working — and what still needs work. Audience Q&A to follow.
Introduction: Lydia Polgreen, editor-in-chief of HuffPost
Moderator: Chris King, managing editor of the St. Louis American
Panelists: Kayla Reed, organizer and strategist; Rev. Starsky Wilson; Alderwoman Megan Green; Blake Strode, staff attorney with Arch City Defenders; Kevin Ahlbrand, former Ferguson commissioner and Missouri Fraternal Order Of Police president, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department sergeant
Forum: “Victory Over Violence: Overcoming Gangs in Little Rock,” Philander Smith College (in partnership with KARK and Fox16 News)
Little Rock community leaders discuss the path to combating gang violence in the city. Audience Q&A to follow.
Moderator: Fox16 anchor Kevin Kelly
Panelists: Tristan Wilkerson, Black Male Initiative coordinator, Social Justice Institute at Philander Smith College; Kenton Buckner, police chief for the Little Rock Police Department; Leifel Jackson, motivational speaker, gang consultant, youth mentor and founder of ROCAN Inc.; Joyce Elliott, Arkansas state senator
Interview: “What Makes Oxford Work: A Sit-Down With Mayor Robyn Tannehill,” Off Square Books
Journalist and author Curtis Wilkie talks with Mayor Robyn Tannehill about progress, positive change and roadblocks to overcome. Audience Q&A to follow.
Forum: “Show Mem the Money,” Clayborn Temple (in partnership with High Ground)
Moderator: Wendi C. Thomas, journalist with MLK50
Panelists: Floyd Tyler, founder and president of Preserver Partners; Alex Matlock, CEO of Contigo Creative and president of the Mid-South Latino Chamber of Commerce; Carolyn Hardy, chairman of the Greater Memphis Chamber and CEO of Henderson Transloading Services; Jozelle Booker, president of the Memphis Minority Business Council Continuum
Forum: 16th Street Baptist Church, “Overcoming And Surviving Inner-City Violence In Birmingham”
Moderator: Sarah Verser, WBRC anchor
Panelists: Danny Carr, district attorney; Henry Irby, Birmingham Police deputy chief; Jarralynne Agee, Birmingham Violence Reduction Initiative manager; Carolyn Johnson, founder of Parents Against Violence Foundation, Inc.
Forum: Asheville Visitors’ Center, Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Center for Graduate Studies, A conversation about women’s health and rural hospitals
Moderators: Frank Taylor, managing editor of Carolina Public Press and Meredith Melnick, editor of The Scope and executive health and science editor of HuffPost
Panelists: Jacqueline Sitton, family nurse practitioner with Park Ridge Health Pediatrics; Dr. Beth Buys, division director of OB/GYN for Mountain Area Health and Education Center (MAHEC); Lucretia Stargell, Vice President, business and service line development for Harrison Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital; Steve Heatherly, CEO of Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital
Forum: Little Theater at the Charleston Civic Center,“Surviving the Opioid Crisis”
Introduction: Jason Cherkis, reporter for HuffPost
Moderator: Rob Byers, executive editor of the Charleston Gazette-Mail
Panelists: Brandi Gunnoe, survivor in recovery; Lois Vance, recovery care coordinator and recovery care assistant at Cabin Creek Health Systems; Mike Brumage, executive director and health officer of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department; Andrea Darr, Handle with Care; Amanda Dietz, survivor in recovery.
Oct. 2, 6p.m. (doors at 5:30 p.m.), Akron Art Museum
Forum: Building a New Vision for Downtown Akron
Moderator: Andrew Meyer, WKSU News Director
Panelists: City of Akron planning director Jason Segedy; Knight Foundation Akron Program director Kyle Kutuchief; Akron Beacon-Journal Metro editor Cheryl Powell; Deputy Mayor for Intergovernmental Affairs and Senior Advisor to the Mayor Marco Sommerville.
Forum: How the Arab and Muslim Capital is (Still) Coping after 9/11
Moderator: Osama Siblani
Panelists: Nabih Ayad, founder of Arab American Civil Rights League; Dawud Walid, Director of Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR - MI); State Representative Abdullah Hammoud (D- Dearborn); Fadwa Alawie Hammoud, Trustee of Dearborn School Board
Forum: “Vouchers: The Economics and Academics of Choice”
Moderator: Rebecca Klein, HuffPost
Panelists: Mark Berends, Center for Research on Educational Opportunity, Notre Dame; Laurie Johnson, Program Chair for Education at Ivy Tech; Anne Duff, Member of Board of School Trustees at Fort Wayne Community Schools and parent; Karen Francisco, Editorial Page Editor at Journal-Gazette; Beth Bearman, parent
Forum: “Serving One’s Country and Being True to Oneself: A conversation with the transgender community - veterans and leaders - about their military experience and life in the Midwest”
Introductory remarks: Rev. Mark Holland, Mayor of Kansas City, Kansas; Barbara Bichelmeyer, University of Missouri Kansas City Interim Chancellor and Provost.
Moderator: Ash R. Allee, Social Worker, queer activist, professor and consultant in the Kansas City area.
Panelists: Suzanne Wheeler - A retired Army colonel who began her transition while still on active duty; Carmen Xavier - Former member of the 36th Tactical Air Command in Bitburg, Germany. She’s also a former county legislator and school board member; Debi Jackson, whose young transgender daughter was on the cover of National Geographic in January, exposing the family to international fame; Randall Jensen - A nationally known queer, multiracial artist and producer, anti-violence advocate and youth organizer.
Oct. 11, 6:30 p.m.(doors at 6 p.m.), Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center
Forum: “The Future of Food: Innovation in Agriculture and Food Science”
Moderator: Dr. Michael Boehm, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Harlan Vice Chancellor for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources and University of Nebraska Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources
Panelists: Andrew Uden, COO and Cofounder of Quantified Ag; Jill Gifford, National Food Entrepreneur Assistance Program Manager, UNL; Tom Field, Director, Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program; Gary Fehr, Cofounder, Green School Farms; Suji Park, Founder and CEO of Suji’s Korean Grill and Food Dreams Made Real; Andy Benson, Director, Nebraska Food for Health Center
Panelists: Dirk Andrews, President of the Natrona County Education Association, President of Central Region to the Wyoming Education Association, and the coordinator for BEWM (Because Education in Wyoming Matters); Rachel Schuh, parent; Wyoming State Sen. Chris Rothfuss; Wyoming State Sen. Bill Landen; Wyoming Department of Education Chief of Staff Dicky Shanor.
Panelists: Walter Kirn, novelist, literary critic, essayist and author of eight books, including Up In The Air; Seabring Davis, the former editor in chief of Big Sky Journal and the author of several books; Jamie Harrison Potenberg, a Montana-based novelist.
Panelists: Carley Porter, a news media and Russian major at Brigham Young University and current web editor for the BYU Daily Universe; Eric Baker, a senior in the News Media program at BYU and web editor at the BYU Daily Universe who plans on working in news full-time after graduating; Ashley Lee, a junior studying news media with a minor in editing who plans on working as a reporter for a national newspaper after graduation.
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