By Shavonne Walker

shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — A group of women who met last month to discuss recent violence against police and in minority communities will hold a second meeting later this month, said organizer Alvena “Al” Heggins.

Heggins, founder of Human Praxis Institute, which sponsored the event, will change locations, but the focus will be the same — a gathering for women to address the deaths in this country.

The Human Praxis Institute is a Salisbury-based human relations firm that specializes in strategic planning, racial and equity training and mediation services.

The meeting was originally sparked by the string of events that included the shootings of two black men by police in Louisiana and Minnesota and then the shootings of police in Dallas and Baton Rouge, La.

This second meeting will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday Aug. 25, at 10Thread, 1024 S. Fulton St., between Better Loafing Bakery and Mean Mug Coffee shop.

Nearly two dozen women attended the two-hour meeting, which was made up of retired law enforcement, teachers, doctors, military veterans, students, grandmothers, social workers, and artists from different racial backgrounds. Some of the women were natives of Salisbury and others were from the surrounding area, including High Point.

Heggins said the women at this month’s meeting can expect to continue discussing some issues from the first meeting, as well as discuss the possibility of reading Essence of Innocence, a study about the consequences of dehumanizing of black children.

She mentioned the study in the July meeting and many of the women seemed interested in its content.

The women will also discuss partnering with city leaders and other groups that will collaborate on real solutions to bring an end to violence.

Contact organizer Al Heggins at 704-305-2246 or email alheggins@humanpraxisinstitute.com for more details.