The Cornell Political Forum is sponsoring "Governing Divided Communities," Thursday, Oct. 4, a discussion featuring James Perkins Jr., mayor of Selma, Ala., and Alan Cohen, mayor of Ithaca.

The forum, which is free and open to public, will begin at 5 p.m. in the auditorium of Anabel Taylor Hall on the Cornell University campus. Joining the discussion, which will address the challenges and possibilities of governing diverse and contentious cities, will be Cornell faculty members James Turner, professor of Africana studies and former director of the Africana Studies and Research Center, and Michael Jones-Correa, associate professor of government. There also will be opportunities for give-and-take between the panelists and audience members.

Perkins, 47, the first African-American mayor of Selma, last year defeated the incumbent, a former segregationist who had held the seat for 36 years. The racially divided city of Selma, which is 65 percent African American, is the site of the famous "Bloody Sunday" civil rights march to Montgomery on March 7, 1965, a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement. And, as Perkins has said, little has changed. Soon after Perkins' election in October of 2000, white residents of Selma erected a cast-iron statue, on city-owned property, of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general and the founder of the Ku Klux Klan.

During his term, Perkins has tried to unify the city, stem "white flight" and improve conditions for African Americans, whose neighborhoods have suffered from neglect.

Among the co-sponsors of the forum are several Cornell student organizations, colleges and departments, the Theater of Ideas, and the office of the Vice Provost for Diversity and Faculty Development.

In addition to publishing a nonpartisan political magazine with contributions from college students across the country twice each semester, the student-based Cornell Political Forum sponsors yearly debates on important issues such as affirmative action and civil rights.