Contact: Ann Hatch
214-378-1819; ahatch@dcccd.edu
Media Advisory
July 3, 2017
(DALLAS) — El Centro College will hold a Renewal and Resilience Commemorative Ceremony on Friday, July 7, 2017, on the anniversary of the Dallas police shooting. The program will be held at 11 a.m. in El Centro’s Student Center, located at 801 Main St., in downtown Dallas. The ceremony is open to students and employees of El Centro College and the Dallas County Community College District as well as the general public.
“The program will focus on renewal and how we should reflect on the importance of community building, following last year’s tragic event,” said Dr. Jose Adames, president of El Centro College. “As we acknowledge the loss of five police officers and the many who were wounded — including Cpl. Bryan Shaw and Officer John Abbott from El Centro College — plus those who responded, we also want to honor the resilience of those officers, our college and our community.”
Adames added, “One year later, we are #ElCentroStronger.”
Who: El Centro College
What: Renewal and Resilience Commemorative Ceremony
When: Friday, July 7, 2017, at 11 a.m.
Where: El Centro College Student Center, 801 Main St., downtown Dallas
Why: To focus on renewal and rebuilding and also to honor police officers who were lost or wounded, and those who responded, during the July 7 shooting
Adames will lead the ceremony. Other speakers will include:
- Adam McGough, Dallas City Council member for District 10 and coordinator of the conflict management program at El Centro College;
- Stephanie Johnson, El Centro student artist;
- Rachael Royal, El Centro student and employee in the college’s Learning Center;
- Paige Bluejacket, El Centro’s manager of community development and ECC alumna.
A piece of student art will be unveiled at the end of the ceremony — an installation which is the conceptual rendering of a tree, in a neutral shade — with images projected on its branches; those images represent “What El Centro means to me.”
The college also will commission a commemorative sculpture which will be completed during the fall 2017 semester.
El Centro will participate in Tribute 7/7, organized by the Black Police Association and its charitable arm, The Officer Down Foundation. They will hold an evening of remembrance on July 7, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall Plaza. Tribute 7/7 is part of a Weekend of Honor, July 7-9, in Dallas which will feature activities and ceremonies honoring those individuals who have sacrificed their lives for the protection of others. For more information about Tribute 7/7, visit tribute77.org.
For more information about El Centro’s renewal and resilience ceremony on July 7, contact Priscilla Staley at pstaley@dcccd.edu or Amy Loftis at aloftis@dcccd.edu.
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