Celebrating 100 Days of Black Excellence

I am proud to announce that we will be celebrating 100 Days of Black Excellence this year. This cultural heritage series will begin in what is traditionally known as Black History month and will continue until May.

Programming will feature a variety of engagements that will promote scholarly discussions in addition to physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness. One of our feature events will be virtual learning communities with guests Drs. Sabina Vaught, Damien Sojoyner, and Lael Hughes Watkins culminating in-person events May 9th-May 15th. We will also be hosting other social events during this weekend, including a Gala and a family barbecue. We hope to offer something for everyone. These events provide a space to deepen our collective understanding of the Power of Blackness at ED&IS and beyond. 

Events from February to May

• Virtual Learning Communities
  Dr. Damien Sojoyner - February 17, 2022
  Dr. Sabina Vaught - February 24, 2022
  Dr. Lae'l Watkins - April 4, 2022
• Writing Your Diversity Statement 
• Mindfulness 101 
• Getting to Know the Work in our Communities feat. “100 Black Men of Los Angeles”
• The State of Black Affairs at ED&IS 
• Book Club: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson
• Academic Symposia
• Reception
• Family BBQ

I look forward to the participation and collaboration of all the members of our community to make this cultural series a success. In planning, I have often thought back to a quote from the late Haitian celebrated academic Michel-Rolph Trouillot: “History is the fruit of power, but power itself is never so transparent that its analysis becomes superfluous. The ultimate mark of power may be its invisibility; the ultimate challenge, the exposition of its roots”. In these next 100 days, I hope that we get to grapple with questions of power. In particular, how power structures, including universities, have historically and systematically disenfranchised Black people in the US and abroad. At the same time, I would like us to actively think and reflect on the power in each of us to change these realities and uplift Black excellence. 

Please be on the lookout for these events!