Wednesday, July 28 at 10:45 AM-12:00 PM

The majority of liberal arts education, from primary school to higher education, is focused on American or European history. Particularly within the public school system, the majority of historical studies concerning people of color are told from an exclusive viewpoint that often omits the diverse experiences and cultural backgrounds of students of color. In this presentation, we plan to debrief the effects of a systemically eurocentric education system on racial bias through both researched statistics and lived experiences. Through the lens of two women of color who grew up in predominantly white areas and attend a PWI (predominantly white institution), we plan to share our personal narratives and expand on how growing up with a non-diverse education system impacts the perception and understanding of personal racial identities among people of color. Through this program, we hope to bring awareness to the importance of diversity within a classroom setting from a young age. Given that adolescents spend the majority of their time within the classroom, the impact of education on an individual’s developing sense of identity holds great magnitude. In order to enhance cultural competency, we need to emphasize the significance of a diverse education. Additionally, we hope to provide an increased understanding of racial development within adolescents, encourage educators to incorporate works from authors of color, and teach history from an intersectional perspective.

Presenters

Kim Le

Kim Le Class of 2024, Nordenberg Leadership Scholar, Microbiology Major. First-generation Vietnamese immigrant. Advocacy work for accessible mental health resources, particularly within marginalized communities. Youth Speaker at Anthropology for Children and Youth Interest Group 2019, published in Child’s World News (2019), Philadelphia Young Playwrights Resident Playwright (2018-2020), Social Media Chair for Pitt Active Minds (2020), Intern for YA Author I.W. Gregorio (2020), Speaker at Panther Leadership Summit (2021) and TEDx@PITT 2021 Conference: “2020: A Year in Review” (2021).

Gloria Kehinde

Conference: “2020: A Year in Review” (2021). Gloria Kehinde: University of Pittsburgh class of 2024, Stamps Leadership Scholar, Neuroscience Major, Chemistry minor, ASL Cert. First-generation Nigerian immigrant. Impassioned researcher, with experiments in Triple-Negative breast cancer (2017 and 2018) at the University of Pennsylvania as well as Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (2019) at the University of Washington- Seattle.

Workshop Materials

Le_Kehinde_Slides.pdf

Design & Technology Conference Brochure-2.pdf

Discussion Questions.pdf