A first-of-its-kind summit is establishing EMU as a statewide leader on the topic of the African-American male in schools and society. Titled "The State of the African American Male in Michigan: A Courageous Conversation," the summit was part conference, part teach-in. Newly commissioned academic papers were presented and several major speeches were delivered, including one by Dennis Archer, former mayor of Detroit and member of the Michigan Supreme Court.
But the 275-plus attendees also spent time talking with each other in smaller groups set up around particular themes. Participants represented nearly every aspect of school and society.
"The issues are such that everyone in the state needs to be concerned about producing a productive work force – one that includes everyone in our society, especially African-American men," said Dr. Vernon C. Polite, dean of the College of Education.
Dr. Polite plans to use the success of the summit as a springboard to develop a series of similarly structured summits, such as those on the state of African-American women and special education. "We will become the hub statewide for hosting these educationally focused summits," he said.
Many donors, supporters and sponsors, including the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, made the event possible.
The ideas and discussion generated from "The State of the African American Male in Michigan: A Courageous Conversation" summit will live on in a monograph, being published by MSU Press. It will feature 15 papers presented at the conference, which were commissioned around topics such as special education, unemployment and early-childhood literacy. Scholars from around the nation were invited to submit papers to be compiled into a monograph for broad distribution. "The monograph will be a major contribution to the state," said Dr. Vernon C. Polite, dean of the college and monograph editor. Former EMU President Dr. John W. Porter is expected to contribute a forward. The publication date is winter 2008.
(For more info, visit www.emich.edu/coe/summit/.)