Have you seen the Climbing PoeTree posters on campus?  As the poster states, this free public event on Thursday, April 10 at 7 PM in the Memorial Union “interweaves spoken word, hip hop, pan flute beat boxing and award-wining multimedia theater to expose injustice, heal from violence, and make a better future visible, immediate, and irresistible.”  It’s part of four Art for Justice events.  The other three require RSVPs at http://bit.ly/1iB8rcS.

It’s official: American Promise director Michèle Stephenson is coming to OSU next month.  Our College of Education CLD group is organizing and hosting her visit with the generous support of several campus partners.  Flyers are coming soon.  In the meantime, please write two dates in your calendar:

  • On Monday, April 14, we will show the short 45 minute version of the film and host a panel discussion about the Black male experience in predominately White schools. This will take place in the Corvallis High School Theater, starting at 4 PM.
  • On Tuesday, April 15, we will show the longer 80 minute version of the film, followed by a talk with director Michèle Stephenson.  This will start at 7 PM in Milam Auditorium.

If you have not yet seen the trailer, go to http://www.americanpromise.org.  The film follows two boys, one of which is Michèle’s son Idris, from kindergarten through high school graduation.  It centers on their experiences as two of just a few African-Americans at the prestigious Dalton School.  It speaks to the unique experience of African-American boys in schools, to visibly standing out as an ‘only’ at school, to parenting styles/concerns, to issues of social class, etc.

We are so looking forward to the discussions!

As reported in the Barometer, racist graffiti appeared on campus last week.  Since then, students have started an I, Too, Am OSU campaign.  This Wednesday, March 12 at 1 PM, Oregon Students United (OSU) will lead a Solidarity March to honor our campus diversity and support each other. The purpose of this event is to promote student voice responding to the two reported incidents of racism on our campus. The route will start at the Pride Center, then flow to Snell Hall, the Women’s Center, Asian Pacific Cultural Center, and finally end the event at the Native American Longhouse at 2 p.m. for the Student Led Round Table Discussion. Pizza and drinks will be provided.

As part of Spiritual Wellness Week at OSU, Joaquin Zihuatanejo and Natasha Carrizosa will be performing in the MU Lounge on Friday, February 14 at 1:30-3:30 PM.  I don’t know Carrizosa’s work, but I’ve used Zihuatanejo’s work in TCE 572 Foundations of ESOL/Bilingual Education.  They are both nationally award-winning slam poets, and I am a Zihuatanejo fan.  His website is http://artspeakstalent.com/home.html.  I also recommend http://youtu.be/iOIVT01I3QU, where you get a flavor of how and why he teaches high school English language arts.

The College of Education and the Difference, Power, and Discrimination (DPD) Program invite you to attend a free talk by Nolan L. Cabrera of the University of Arizona—”Race is not a Four-Letter Word:” Exploring Whiteness, Racism, and Privilege in Education—on Thursday, February 20, 2014.  It will talk place in Furman Hall 303 at 2-3:30 PM.  In this presentation, Dr. Cabrera will explore the changing meaning of Whiteness historically, its relation to educational practice, and how we can critically as well as constructively engage race.  A flyer is attached here.