October 5, 2021

Ruby Jones Conference on Race, Social Justice & Civic Leadership

Ruby Jone sConference Keynote SpeakerApproximately 100 West Chester University students, faculty, and staff will gather on Saturday, October 9, for the Ruby Jones Conference on Race, Social Justice, & Civic Leadership. The conference takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Sykes Student Union.

The Ruby Jones Conference is designed to create an educational environment where students can engage in learning that will raise awareness and promote action-oriented dialogue about racial, cultural, and social issues that impact how they experience life on campus, in communities, and in society.

Professor Ruby Jones was a West Chester University alumna and was also the first Black faculty member hired at the institution. She was a K-12 educator, and taught in the University’s Demonstration School prior to becoming a faculty member. Actively involved with the NAACP, the YWCA and the American Association of University Women, she has been described as an educator, humanitarian, and civic leader.

Jamila Lyiscott will deliver this year’s keynote speech at approximately 10:40 a.m. Author of Black Appetite, White Food: Issues of Race, Voice, and Justice Within and Beyond the Classroom, she is a nationally renowned and viral TED speaker, social justice education scholar and activist, spoken word artist, and educational consultant. She is co-founder and director of the Center of Racial Justice and Youth Engaged Research at University of Massachusetts Amherst where she is an assistant professor of social justice education. She holds an appointment as Senior Research Fellow with Teachers College, Columbia University’s Institute for Urban and Minority Education.

For more information, contact the Dowdy Multicultural Center at multicultural@wcupa.edu or 610-436-3273.

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