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Diversity Day Conference

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion will host the first TCU Diversity Day Conference on Thursday, Oct. 1.

“We have been working painstakingly to bring a diversity conference to TCU, and we are elated that our work is coming to fruition,” said Leslie Ekpe, graduate assistant in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and a doctoral student in Higher Educational Leadership. “As we work to push for true inclusive excellence, it is our duty to equip ourselves with the knowledge and tools needed to establish the narrative. We hope that the campus community will join us in our push for change at TCU.”

The Diversity Day Conference will provide insight into anti-racism, intersectionality, racial healing and social activism. The conference’s “Reflect, Reimagine, Reconnect” theme emphasizes the need to reflect on our past and recognize the complex ways our lives intersect so that we can build a new movement focused on personal and systemic change.

Hosted via Zoom and open to the entire TCU community, the event will kick off at 11:30 a.m. with a keynote session featuring Freeman Hrabrowski III, Ph.D., president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and a consultant on science and math education to national agencies, universities and school systems. President Obama named Hrabrowski chair of the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans. He also chaired the National Academies’ committee that produced the report “Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America’s Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads.”

Four panel discussions will follow:

12:45 p.m. “Advancing Anti-Racism Approaches Within Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs)”

This panel will provide general knowledge on the historical foundation of racist pedagogy and anti-oppression approaches that intentionally promote diversity and inclusion. Sumi Pendakur, Ed.D. of the USC Race and Equity Center will discuss the ideologies of racism, oppression, white supremacy, anti-blackness and implicit biases.

2 p.m. “Advancing an Intersectionality Framework within Higher Education”

Featuring Rosa Clemente, a leading scholar on the issues of Afro-Latinx identity, this panel will examine the inequalities of an intersectional existence by examining the impact of inclusion at the intersection of race/ethnicity and gender. The goal is to awaken racial consciousness and discuss the intersection of marginalized identities in a way that identifies the complex nature of identity and identity politics.

3:15 p.m. “Racial Healing and Reconciliation: Relationship Building and Truth-Telling”

This panel aims to expand and develop consciousness about the experiences of racism and different forms of being “othered” or oppressed. To sustain a sense of urgency for change, Tia Brown McNair, Ph.D., vice president in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and executive director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Campus Centers at the Association of American Colleges and Universities, will break down racial hierarchies and lay the foundation to dismantle the belief in the hierarchy of human value to help address the need for racial healing in higher education.

4:30 p.m. “Activism in the Age of COVID-19”

Focusing on issues related to social justice, social activism and inclusion, this panel serves as another step forward to generate more reflection, awareness, mobilization and action to inspire meaningful change. Motivational speaker Eddie Moore Jr., Ph.D., founder of the 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge, will discuss strategies to help participants create and develop their own action plan around social issues that require activism for transformation.

The Diversity Day Conference is free, but registration is limited. For more details and to reserve your spot, visit Event Brite.

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