Rutgers University–Camden’s free public Symposia on Urban Poverty and Inequality series will continue with the third installment, “Youth, Civil Unrest, and the Fate of Urban America: Addressing Urban Violence,” from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday, April 2.

Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund and the leading voice for children’s rights in the United States, will lead a panel focusing on urban violence and youth, giving particular attention to the cities of Camden and Philadelphia.

The panel will discuss the “cradle to prison pipeline,” an emerging term used to describe the overwhelming odds facing children born in economically depressed areas,  and examine how this paradigm can be shifted to one that leads to college, career, and prosperity. Joining Edelman will be Heather Thompson, an associate professor in the departments of African American Studies and History at Temple University; Scott Charles, director and trauma outreach coordinator for Cradle to Grave, a hospital-based violence prevention program, at Temple University Hospital; and Amy Goldberg, section chief of trauma and surgical critical care at Temple University Hospital.

A prolific speaker and writer, Edelman authored the books Families in Peril: An Agenda for Social Change; The Measure of Our Success: A Letter to My Children and Yours; Lanterns: A Memoir of Mentors, I’m Your Child, God: Prayers for Our Children; I Can Make a Difference: A Treasury to Inspire Our Children; and The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small: Charting a Course for the Next Generation.

The symposia series addresses the growing social, economic, and political inequality gaps in the United States’ most impoverished urban communities. The series, which is free of charge and open to the general public, is held in the Multi-Purpose Room on the main level of the Campus Center, located on Third Street, between Cooper Street and the Benjamin Franklin Bridge on the Rutgers–Camden campus.

The discussions bring together scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to address the problem of growing inequality and its serious ramifications in the United States.

The remaining symposia are as follows:

“Immigration Policy and Reform: The Imperative for Creating Pathways to Citizenship and Prosperity” will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday, April 22. This final symposium will address immigration reform and the policy imperatives to providing pathways for citizenships for thousands of undocumented residents.

Speakers will be Clarissa Martinez, director of civic engagement and immigration for the National Council of La Raza; Linda Bosniak, a distinguished professor at Rutgers School of Law–Camden; and Marisol Conde-Hernandez, co-founder of the New Jersey DREAM Act Coalition at Rutgers–Newark.

The symposia series is co-sponsored by the Community Leadership Center and the Department Of Public Policy and Administration, both at Rutgers–Camden. Registration is required. For further information or to register, contact Ana Rivera at 856-225-6348.

For directions to Rutgers–Camden, visit camden.rutgers.edu/resources/getting-to-campus.