[MINNEAPOLIS, September 6, 2023]—Summoning all innovative Minnesota educators! Registration opens today for, DARK MATTER: A Creative Exploration Into Black Education. Award-winning author, Columbia University professor and transformational scholar, Dr. Bettina Love, has been named the keynote speaker, for this first in a slate of education-themed events, the African American Leadership Forum announced today. Dr. Love has been designated as one of the “Next 50 Leaders” making the world more a “inspired and inclusive” place by the Kennedy Center. A widely regarded highly sought after educational lecturer, she has sold hundreds of thousands of books.
The Forum’s Fall event, DARK MATTER, will be held November 2nd at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis, from 5-9 p.m. Dubbed, “A Creative Exploration Into Black Education” the event will be a gathering of Minnesota’s brightest minds in the field of education, and will focus on strategies of integrating Black culture into education to create an equitable classroom environment. The DARK MATTER event series will showcase promising practices and new approaches that could be implemented into our state’s education system; one that is ranked at the bottom on a national scale, of racial education disparities and achievement gaps.
This November kickoff of the DARK MATTER series is billed as a unique nontraditional symposium exploring the Black education crisis in Minnesota. Hosted by The Forum’s Chief Innovation Officer Gabrielle Grier, this convening will highlight culturally Black educational discourse and different variations that will generate transformative change. DARK MATTER will shine the light on Black educators who are doing the work to bring Black-Centered solutions to education.
“We want to change the educational framework of what’s considered ‘traditional.’ Not just the rankings, but the curriculum, testing, teachers and other components of Minnesota’s education system,” said Gabrielle Grier, Chief Innovation Officer for the African American Leadership Forum. “Dr. Love is the ideal scholar to inspire Minnesota’s movers and shakers in the education sector. Her inclusive teaching practices have taught administrators, teachers and parents alike how to fight injustices in school systems across the country.”
Dr. Love’s latest book, released and widely acclaimed this year: Punished For Dreaming: How School Reform Harms Black Children And How We Heal, looks back forty years in tackling structural racism in U.S. public education. After her presentation, there will be a 30-minute Q & A discussion session.
In addition to Dr. Love, DARK MATTER attendees will hear a powerfully provocative presentation from Kareem Weaver. A nationally recognized scholar, Weaver has redesigned educational districts across the U.S.; improving academic achievement, test scores and graduation rates. He specializes in improving literacy education and assisting students with dyslexia. Weaver’s work has been instrumental in traditional schools and with at-risk students in juvenile detention facilities. He’s passionate about educating administrators on the socioeconomic factors that impact learning for Black students, and what can be done to improve learning.
About the African American Leadership Forum
Founded in 2006, we are a collective of institutions and leaders that serves as a think-and-do tank across Minnesota. Education is one of our six impact areas along with economic opportunity, generational wealth building, environmental justice, public safety and health. We want to create a radical and prosperous future for Black Minnesotans by advancing Black centered policies and solutions that actualize true liberation. We envision a tomorrow that is inclusive, vibrant, fair and where Black excellence excels in all forms.
Media Contact:
Marc Watts
marc@aalftc.org
