MEDIA CONTACT:
Chanté Russell, Public School Forum of NC
crussell@ncforum.org
919-781-6833 ext. 103
Tickets and Registration Now Open for the 2026 Color of Education Summit Featuring Marley Dias, Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom, and Bishop William Joseph Barber II
RALEIGH, NC (June 1, 2026) — Registration is now open for the 9th annual Color of Education Summit, North Carolina’s leading statewide hybrid convening focused on access, and opportunity in public education. The two-day summit will take place October 2 – 3, 2026, featuring a virtual evening kickoff and full-day hybrid sessions hosted at the McKimmon Conference & Training Center at NC State University.
This year’s theme, “Justice Rising: Repairing, Restoring, Resisting ,”centers the idea that to achieve Justice we must individually and collectively act. Justice Rising names a defining moment, one that calls for clarity, courage, and collective responsibility. As inequities are reinforced through policy, practice, and disinvestment, this theme centers the urgent work of repairing harm, restoring opportunity, and resisting forces that undermine justice. It affirms that resistance is not reactionary, but principled and necessary – grounded in protecting students, strengthening communities, and advancing systems that serve all learners. Building on years of shared learning, collaboration, and action, this convening calls participants to move with intention: to confront what must be repaired, reclaim what must be restored, and stand firm in resisting inequity in all its forms. Justice Rising is both a call and a commitment to act with purpose, to lead with integrity, and to ensure that progress not only continues, but endures.
With the purchase of a hybrid ticket, attendees will receive a copy of a new children’s book about Dr. Dudley E. Flood titled The Boy Who Helped Change Schools – A Story of Justice & Belief: A NC Hero.
We will also honor our “Forever” Board Member and Justice Champion – Tom Bradshaw. He believed and advocated for educational justice and his presence is truly missed.Our event website details how you can help us honor his legacy to support educators and students.
Featured Speakers
Bishop William J. Barber II will deliver the opening keynote on October 2. President of Repairers of the Breach and Professor at Yale Divinity School, Bishop Barber is a nationally recognized moral leader, public theologian, and bestselling author of White Poverty: How Exposing Myths About Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy.
Marley Dias will headline the morning keynote on October 3. Founder of the viral #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign, bestselling author of Marley Dias Gets It Done: And So Can You! and the forthcoming I Am The Dream Come True, and a Harvard student, Dias is a nationally celebrated youth activist whose work has transformed conversations around representation, literacy, and equity.
Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom will deliver the afternoon keynote on October 3. An award-winning sociologist, cultural critic, 2020 MacArthur Fellow, and bestselling author of Thick and Lower Ed, Dr. McMillan Cottom is widely recognized for her powerful analysis of democracy, education, culture, and social change.
About the Summit
The Color of Education Summit convenes educators, researchers, advocates, and community members from across North Carolina to examine and disrupt systemic racial inequities in education. The event includes expert-led sessions, networking opportunities, and book signings. Information on speakers, vendors, program ads, and the History Counts Award will be available via the official registration site.
Get ready to use the following hashtags and our handles on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook to follow this year’s hybrid event #OurStoriesOurPower #HistoryCounts, #FloodEquity, and #ColorOfEducation on Twitter.
Registration & Sponsorship
Visit the event site to register, purchase tickets and merchandise, and apply for vendor and advertising opportunities:
2026 Summit Registration
Sponsorship opportunities are still available. For details, visit: floodcenter.org/color-of-education-summit or contact Dr. Deanna Townsend-Smith at dtownsend-smith@ncforum.org.
Partners & Supporters
Color of Education is a partnership between the Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity & Opportunity, Public School Forum of North Carolina, Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity, and the Center for Child and Family Policy at the Duke Sanford School of Public Policy.
The summit is made possible with initial support from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Peter and Sandra Conway, FlyLeaf Books, ClassLink, Kenan Fellows Program for Teacher Leadership, Swartz Law LLC, and The NC Justice Center. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. For details, visit:
floodcenter.org/color-of-education-summit
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About the Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity
The Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity & Opportunity (Flood Center) serves as a hub to identify and connect organizations, networks, and leaders to address issues of access and opportunity in education across North Carolina. Leaning on the 70+ years of experience and wisdom of our namesake Dr. Dudley E. Flood, the Flood Center works collaboratively to take action toward addressing issues of systemic injustice by advocating for structural changes in policy and practice to build a public education system that meets the social, emotional, and academic needs of North Carolina’s diverse student population. Specifically, the Dudley Flood Center exists to transform public education by addressing the structural barriers that limit opportunity and access for PK–12 students and educators. Follow the Flood Center on LinkedIn and visit our website at https://floodcenter.org/.
About the Public School Forum of North Carolina
Since 1986, the Public School Forum of North Carolina has been an indispensable and nonpartisan champion of better schools and the most trusted source in the state for research and analysis on vital education issues. We bring together leaders from business, education and government to study education issues, develop ideas, seek consensus, and ultimately inform and shape education policy. We do that through research, policy work, innovative programs, advocacy, and continuing education for educators and policymakers. Follow the Forum on Twitter @theNCForum and visit our website at http://www.ncforum.org/
About the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity
The Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity is a scholarly collaborative that studies the causes and consequences of inequality and develops remedies for these disparities and their adverse effects. Concerned with the economic, political, social and cultural dimensions of uneven access to resources, opportunity and capabilities, Cook Center researchers take a cross-national comparative approach to the study of human difference and disparity. Considering both global and local shortcomings, Cook Center scholars not only address the overarching social problem of general inequality, but they also explore social problems associated with gender, race, ethnicity and religious affiliation. Follow the Cook Center on Twitter @DukeSocialEQ, on Bluesky @dukesocialeq.bsky.social, and visit our website at https://socialequity.duke.edu/
About the Center for Child and Family Policy at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University
The Center for Child and Family Policy pursues science-based solutions to important problems affecting today’s children and families. The Center emphasizes the bridge from research to policy and practice through an integrated system of research, teaching, service and policy engagement. Center research has grown to include an array of projects that touch on critical child and family policy issues. Center faculty fellows include a trio of scholars who focus on the effect of economic distress on child development. Other fellows study early childhood, the development of risky behaviors, childhood mental illness and a wide range of education policy issues including school truancy, charter schools, teacher training and education reform efforts.
Follow the Center for Child and Family Policy on Twitter @DukeChildPol and visit our website at https://childandfamilypolicy.duke.edu/
