Reconciliation Dinner of Shreveport Will Honor 44 Local Residents

Being recognized at the Reconciliation Dinner is quite an honor. This year, 44 people have been invited to attend.

The first Reconciliation Dinner of Shreveport is set for August 27^th at the Petroleum Club.

It's an invitation-only gathering of 80–100 residents, (each honoree may bring a spouse or someone significant to them). Each individual selected represents someone whose life has been interwoven into the cultural and racial fabric of our city’s growth and history and who represents the spirit of reconciliation.

Here's a little history from the selection committee:

The first Reconciliation Dinner was held immediately after the Civil War by Chef Nat Fuller, an enslaved person who became free and established a famous restaurant in Charleston, S.C. Chef Fuller invited blacks and whites to sit down over a dinner, in the spirit of reconciliation, and start to talk to each other to move Charleston forward after the war. In 2014 the City of Charleston recreated the unique culinary experience to address modern-day reconciliation issues.

More than 180 people were nominated. Here's the list of invitees:

Jerome Adkins Alvin Moore

Deborah Allen Barbara Pendleton

Arthur Anderson Grace Peterson

John Beaird Steve Prator

Harry Blake Henry Price

Willie Bradford Shirley Roberson

Willie Burton Maxine Sarpy

Lynn Cawthorne Annette Simmons

Rosie Chaffold C.O. Simpkins

Carl Stewart

Adrienne Critcher Gregory Tarver