Moving Forward: A conversation with Black educators about the future for Black students

Part of the Katie Sample speaker series

Iconic Minnesota educator Katie Sample will talk with exemplary educators, Dr. David Stovall and Lauretta Dawalo-Towns, about how we can move forward with realistic hope to center culturally relevant curriculum in education while engaging students as leaders in educational transformation.

Dr. Stovall, a professor of African American Studies and Criminology, Law and Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said he’d “get into trouble with his homies constantly” until he had a teacher who cared about him finally say, “Let’s just put it out in the street. Adults don’t have your best interests in mind. We’re here to prove them wrong!” Dr. Stovall has created an “eighth hour” for students to learn how to overcome the racial and legal barriers they face. He would like to see education as change and learning, not our current school system of order and compliance. He will join Lauretta Dawalo-Towns, whose letter for her Black students during COVID-19, is a powerful example of how educators can turn struggles students are facing into teachable moments that engage them in learning and inspire their best instincts.

Following this conversation and a brief performance, smaller group discussions will be hosted by insightful visionaries in education for equity:

• Gevonee Ford, director of NdCAD (the Network for the Development of Children of African Descent
• Titilayo Bediako, executive director of the We Win Institute, Inc.
• Mary Kay Boyd, founder of Everybody’s In community educators network
• Dr. Rosilyn Carroll from Ujamaa Place and retiree from Hamline University’s Center for Excellence in Urban Teaching.

Speakers:

• Lauretta Dawalo-Towns, educator, Roseville Area Schools
• Katie Sample, founder and executive director of the African American Academy for Accelerated Learning
• David Stovall, professor, University of Illinois at Chicago

Moderator:

Rose McGee, founder of Sweet Potato Comfort Pie®