March 22, 2016

Two women. Perhaps different leadership styles. Certainly different fields. One session focusing on longtime leadership.

The Forum today heard from Dorothy Counts-Scoggins, left above, and Bonita Caldwell.

Caldwell is president of the family business, Beatties Ford Memorial Gardens. Her presentation is here.

Counts-Scoggins, who in 1957, at age 15, was thrust into international news when she faced taunts and physical violence as the first African-American to attend Charlotte’s Harding High School. She has devoted her life to helping children so they would not face the issues she did. She  told the Forum about her recent efforts to draw attention to inequities that remain at Charlotte-Mecklenburg  schools that have largely resegregated by race and socioeconomic class.

The first video below is queued up to Counts-Scoggins’ presentation. The second video carries the entire Q&A that followed Caldwell’s presentation. All but one of the questions were asked of Counts-Scoggins.