SIUE Professor Awarded 2025 Educational Leadership Award From East St. Louis NAACP
Tandra Taylor’s dedication to education and racial equity was celebrated during the 71st Freedom Fund Banquet at the Marriott St. Louis Grand.
EDWARDSVILLE - On Sunday, October 12, Tandra Taylor, PhD, assistant professor in Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Department of History and SIUE's Interim Director of the Institute for Community Justice and Racial Equity (ICJRE) at the Southwestern Illinois Justice and Workforce Development Center on SIUE’s Belleville campus was recognized with the 2025 Educational Leadership award from the East St. Louis NAACP Branch 3013. The award ceremony, the Branch’s 71st Freedom Fund Banquet, took place at the Marriot St. Louis Grand in Downtown St. Louis. Emcees Maurice Drummond and Morgan Harris, both anchor/reporters on First Alert 4 television news introduced the evening with the theme “The fierce urgency of NOW.”
Branch President Robin Carey-Boyd spoke of the principles behind the NAACP’s East St. Louis membership, founded 101 years ago. “The mission has always been clear: To ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons--to eliminate race-based discrimination.”
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Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who has held a lifetime NAACP membership for 30 years, made an appearance via video. “In the fight for the future of this country, it is critical to have effective, battle-tested leaders and organizations on our side. The NAACP has proven that it can get big things done and protect the people it represents. We need leaders like all of you here at the East St. Louis NAACP.”
Taylor is the Executive Director of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) Freedom Schools® on SIUE’s campus. Freedom School enrolls middle school and elementary school students from 20 different schools from across the region. For six weeks, facilitators and SIUE student servant leaders cultivate a love of reading and guide the youth through cultural teachings that inspire advocacy, community organizing, direct service, and public policy.
Taylor also co-leads the Journeys to Justice Project, a statewide, community-centered network, platform, and collaborative programming initiative on the history and ongoing legacy of anti-Black violence and racial terror in Illinois' past.
Now honored with the Educational Leadership award in the East St. Louis community that raised her, Taylor spoke of her journey.
“This award isn’t just a reflection of my work — it’s a reflection of the village that poured into me,” said Taylor. “Standing in a room filled with mentors, community leaders, and loved ones who shaped the educator I’ve become reminds me that none of this happens alone. Every student I’ve served, every family I’ve touched, is part of the same circle of care that once held me. This honor belongs to all of us.”
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville provides students with a high-quality education that powerfully transforms the lives of all individuals who seek something greater. A premier metropolitan university, SIUE is creating social and economic mobility for individuals while also powering the workforce of the future. Built on the foundation of a broad-based liberal education, and enhanced by hands-on research and real-world experiences, the academic preparation SIUE students receive equips them to thrive in the global marketplace and make our communities better places to live. Home to a diverse student body, SIUE is situated on 2,660 acres of beautiful woodland atop the bluffs overlooking the natural beauty of the Mississippi River’s rich bottomland
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