An upstate group is trying to start a new conversation about race relations, specifically focusing on young people.

The group is recruiting college presidents to join the cause.

A luncheon in the Hilton’s Palmetto Ballroom on Wednesday served as the starting point for a new dialogue on race relations.

The group called Beyond Differences has asked local college presidents to lead the discussion.

Beyond Differences Executive Director Paul Guy said, “Most of the time our presidents usually stay on campus. We want to bring them to the community because they cultivate young minds.”

A different college president will speak each quarter of the year. The first on up was Dr.Stephen Jones of Bob Jones University.

“It’s nice to go first and not be compared with any of them,” Jones said.

At first glance, the selection may seem surprising. The Christian University did not admit black students until 1971. It maintained a can on inter-racial dating until just nine years ago. But the university is clearly trying to heal old wounds.

“Our burden is to be neighborly and to love our neighbors as ourselves,” Jones said. “That’s our burden, that’s our desire and that’s what we’re asking for wisdom and help to do even better in the days ahead than we have in the past.”

Jones said they’re trying to get students to look onward and meet the needs of others around them. He said many are already doing that by volunteering in the children’s centers and nursing homes. And last November, university administration took a bold sep by posting a statement on its web site apologizing for its history of race relations.

Jones said, “The issues as they come up we look at them and say are they things that are negotiable that we can change or are they things that are scriptural and unchangeable.”

Beyond Differences said the invitation to Jones was made before the apology. Indicating both sides were ready to move forward.

He said, “we accept and understand and respect the people’s past but yet we’ll not dwell on the past. We look for commonalities to bring this community forward.”

Other college president’s invited to speak this year include Clemson, Furman and Greenville Tech.