Partners for Liberation (CREATE Center)
Remote
Partners for Liberation: Researching and Organizing for Educational and Racial Justice
About the Discussion
Although partnerships between university researchers and community members have historically been mired in power imbalances and acts of exploitation, there are also inspiring accounts of collaboration and liberation. As we acknowledge and confront these contexts, our community engagement series invites conversation between researchers, community organizers, and activists who are united in a shared goal of educational justice and coalition building. Further, our series seeks to acknowledge and affirm the labor and activism of Black women in various education fields, from K-12 schools, to postsecondary education, to community-based teaching and learning.
The event will include a public lecture, a moderated panel, and an audience question and answer session. We will feature scholars and activists who are engaged in racial and educational justice and who serve as leaders across educational spaces.
About Dr. Adrienne Dixson
Adrienne Dixson is a prominent critical race theory (CRT) scholar and education professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Dixson examines the intersectionality of race, class, and gender in urban educational contexts, particularly how they impact educational equity for students and people of color in the urban south. Professor Dixson, an alumna of the University of Michigan School of Education, will share her experiences as an educational researcher collaborating with community partners. Specifically, her talk will focus on her journey toward researching and organizing for justice; how she approaches and negotiates equitable partnerships with community members; and the impact and importance of being a CRT scholar.
About Karen Marshall
Karen Marshall is an educator, organizer, and coach (of the basketball variety) who currently serves as the Executive Director of Kids Rethink New Orleans Schools (Rethink) in Louisiana. Rethink supports Black youths’ critical analysis, leadership development, community engagement, and transformational change. The Rethinkers seek to elevate youth voices in their collective advocacy for equitable education.
About Arlyssa Heard
Arlyssa Heard is an Organizer and Policy Lead at 482Forward, a Detroit-based educational justice community organizing group. Members of 482Forward have been engaged in various efforts, such as preventing pre-pandemic public school closures and dismantling punitive schooling policies and practices that contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline. Ms. Heard is also a current board member on the Focus:Hope Village Steering Committee, an active “Mamavist” and board member for the grassroots organization Mothering Justice, and she serves on the parent advisory council of The Children’s Center in Detroit.
Co-sponsored by the CEW+ Frances and Sydney Lewis Visiting Leaders Fund.