Students, faculty and staff are invited to participate in “A Week of Dialogue to Launch Black History Month”, hosted by the Racial Literacy Roundtables initiative in the College of Education and Human Sciences. The online events will be held daily from Jan. 31 to Feb. 4.
“The Racial Literacy Roundtables Leadership Team will host a series of important conversations to launch Black History Month. We have an incredible line-up of speakers — all important leaders in our community doing impactful racial justice work,” said Kara Viesca, associate professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education, and a member of the Racial Literacy Roundtables leadership team. “It is truly an honor to get to learn from these powerful leaders and a perfect way to come together as a CEHS and UNL community to grow our racial literacies.”
Daily webinars will be held via Zoom from 4 to 5 p.m. Jan. 31 to Feb. 3. Speakers and topics are:
Jan. 31: John Raible, associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion, College of Education and Human Sciences
Feb. 1: Vann Price, director of equity, diversity and inclusion, Lincoln Public Schools
Feb. 2: NAACP Lincoln Youth Council
Feb. 3: Megan E. Cardwell, doctoral candidate, co-founder, UNL Racial Justice Alliance
The series will conclude on Feb. 4 with the first Racial Literacy Roundtable of the semester. The roundtables are designed to help students and pre-service teachers develop their racial literacy skills. The discussions will focus on relevant topics regarding race and racism in education. Additional Roundtables are scheduled for March 9 and April 13.
Registration, available here, is required to participate.
Organizers will be tracking Racial Literacy Roundtable participation during the spring semester and will offer incentives for ongoing participation. The Feb. 4 event will feature a raffle for all of those who have participated in the Black History Month webinars. The winner will receive a $100 gift card to the University Bookstore and other prizes like Racial Literacy Roundtable swag. At the end of the semester, all of those who participated in all three Roundtables (Feb. 4, March 9, and April 13) will get Racial Literacy Roundtable swag.