Dear White Friend: The Realities of Race, the Power of Relationships and Our Path to Equity (2021, Greenleaf Book Group Press)
By Melvin Gravely, II
The selection for our annual book discussion is Cincinnati businessman and author Melvin Gravely II’s book Dear White Friend: The Realities of Race, the Power of Relationships and Our Path to Equity. The August discussion location and date have yet to be determined.
Melvin Gravely, II is the majority owner and CEO of TriVersity, one of the largest construction companies in the Cincinnati region. An active business and civic leader who has chaired the board of the Cincinnati Regional Chamber of Commerce, Gravely served on the board of the United Way, was a founding board member of the Cincinnati Regional Economic Development Initative (REDI Cincinnati), and vice chairperson of Artswave, the largest community arts fund in the nation. He has authored 8 business books business in addition to this book, which invits the reader to better understand how to answer the question, “What is mine to do?” to “close the gap between the races in America.”
The website https://www.dearwhitefriend.com/ describes Gravely’s book this way:
The book presents an invitation to understand three questions at the heart of the issue: What is really going on with race in our country? Why must we care? And what can we do about it together? In the end, Gravely calls on us to ask ourselves, “What is my role in all of this?” After reading Dear White Friend, readers will understand why their answer to his question can change everything.”