If you’re interested in sponsoring Color of Education 2019, click below to learn about our sponsorship opportunities or please contact Marisa Bryant at mbryant@ncforum.org.
Raleigh-Durham, NC (May 10, 2019) – The Public School Forum of North Carolina, Duke Policy Bridge at the Sanford School of Public Policy and the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University, announced today that award-winning author Ta-Nehisi Coates will headline “Color of Education 2019,” their second annual summit focused on race, equity and education in North Carolina. The inaugural event in October 2018 featured New York Times Magazine reporter and MacArthur “Genius” Fellow Nikole Hannah-Jones. This one day convening will feature a full day of workshops and presentations focused on racial equity and eliminating racial disparities in education.
Coates will be reading from his forthcoming book and first novel The Water Dancer slated for release at the end of September.
Color of Education 2019 will be held on Saturday, October 26, 2019 at the Raleigh Convention Center. Conference and event registration information will be released soon. This year’s conference is sponsored in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Grable Foundation, SAS, Capital Broadcasting Corporation, ChildTrust Foundation, Conway Family Fund, East Carolina University College of Education, North Carolina Association of Educators, University of North Carolina School of Education, Emerald Education, Mary Mac and Tom Bradshaw, Brady Education Foundation, Elinvar, Jen Mangrum, and RTI. For more info follow #ColorOfEducation on Twitter and visit our web site at http://floodcenter.wpengine.com.
Ta-Nehisi Coates is a distinguished writer in residence at NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. He is the author of the bestselling books The Beautiful Struggle, We Were Eight Years in Power, and Between The World And Me, which won the National Book Award in 2015. Ta-Nehisi is a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship. He is also the current author of the Marvel comics The Black Panther and Captain America.
“One of the key goals for Color of Education is to bring educators and practitioners from all across the state who are doing the hard work in the classroom and on the ground to eliminate racial barriers in education together with some of the nation’s best thought leaders and equity leaders for professional development, training, inspiration and motivation,” said Keith Poston, President and Executive Director of the Public School Forum of NC and Co-Chair of the Color of Education Guiding Committee. “One of the first steps in addressing racial inequities both within and outside of our schools is to have honest and critical conversations about the historical and ongoing realities of systemic racism and Ta-Nehisi Coates is one of the country’s most important voices addressing it.”
“The Color of Education was created to transform racial equity dialogue into action-oriented approaches that could be brought back to schools and communities,” said Dr. Keisha Bentley-Edwards, Associate Director of Research for the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University and Co-Chair of the Color of Education Guiding Committee. “Ta-Nehisi Coates offers thought-provoking insight on the influence of race and racism on access to opportunity—which is pertinent to addressing racial equity and inclusion at the local and national level.”
Prior to Coates’ presentation, a full day of workshops and panel discussions will be offered, focused on strategies for addressing persistent racial inequities in our educational system. Specific topics will include: discipline disparities, curriculum and pedagogy, and racial trauma. Sessions will be open to a wide range of participants, including educators, parents, students, nonprofits, policymakers, researchers, and community groups. Continuing education units (CEUs) will be available for North Carolina educators.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Lindsay Wagner
Public School Forum of North Carolina
919-348-5898