When Eastern Michigan's Office of Urban Education and
Educational Equality sponsored the first of its "Courageous
Conversations" series two years ago, some 350 people came
together to problem-solve around the issues facing African-American
men in Michigan.
So, when organizers put together the next installment, "Nurturing
Our Future as African American Females: A Courageous Conversation," they
knew students, faculty and community leaders would respond.
 |
COURAGEOUS CONVERSATION: Eastern
Michigan
University's Office of Urban Education
and Educational
Equality will host "Nurturing
Our Future as African-American
Females: A
Courageous Conversation," Friday, Sept.
26,
8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Student Center. |
But when, as sort of an afterthought, they extended the
invitation to area high schools, conference director Deborah
Harmon and her committee got much more than they bargained
for.
"We had a huge response from the schools," said Harmon,
an EMU professor and director of the Office of Urban Education
and Educational Equality. "We're going to have about 250
high school students, and they'll attend four special sessions
centering on self image and achievement. And it's not only
for girls. We had people ask, 'can we bring males?' We
said, 'Yes! They need to hear this, too.'"
The conference, scheduled Friday, Sept. 26, from 8 a.m.
to 4 p.m., in the EMU Student Center, welcomes people from
across the spectrum of age, gender and race to join the
conversation on topics, including education, health, spirituality,
relationships, parenting and leadership, as they relate
to the experiences of African-American girls and women.
Sonia Sanchez, an author, activist and educator who created
some of the nation's first African-American studies courses,
will deliver the keynote address. Sanchez, one of the most
influential poets of the Black Arts Movement, lectures
around the world about black culture and literature.
The conference — which is sponsored by the McGregor
Fund, the College of Education and the Office of Urban
Education & Educational Equity — wraps up
with a reception from 4-6 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom.
Presenters from EMU and other Michigan universities will
speak to specific issues, before joining a moderated conversation
designed to send attendees home with a clear picture of
how those ideas can become action in their own lives.
 |
Sanchez |
Harmon said that, in organizing the conference, she was
really struck by how little research has been done around
African-American females. And what has been done, she said,
typically deals with issues like pregnancy, HIV and diabetes.
Positives, such as leadership, family structure,
and the role of African-American women in preserving black
culture are largely ignored.
"I was really taken aback, really hurt to see the lack
of attention given to females," she said. "And then noticing
some of the assumptions that are made, that it's only for
African-American females, or that only women will come
— it really opened my eyes even more to the gender issues
that are at play."
She's particularly excited about exposing high school
students to African-American women in leadership roles,
to women in higher education, and to the idea that this
could be their future, too.
"You see it in their eyes when they first arrive, and
you see their eyes again when they leave. And you know,
some of those students, you're going to see (them) again
— maybe not on this campus, but on some campus — even
though they may have never thought it was a possibility," Harmon
said.
Registration is still open. The conference costs $15 for
the general public and $10 for attendees from schools that
are part of the College of Education developmental partnership.
Eastern Michigan students get in for free, as do the high
school students and their teacher chaperones. For more
information, call 487-1060, e-mail aafc2008@emich.edu or
go to www.emich.edu/coe/oue
