SIUE to host second Black Lives Matter Conference April 25

EDWARDSVILLE - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville will host “Black Lives Matter Reloaded – A Community Dialogue on Microagressions” Monday, April 25, in the Morris University Center Conference Center. The SIUE Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion will present the event.

“Microaggressions are common verbal, behavioral and environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile or negative slights to marginalized groups,” said Venessa Brown, PhD and SIUE associate chancellor in the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion. “Research has shown that perpetrators of microaggressions are often unaware that they engage in such interactions when they interact with people of color.”

Faculty members Bryan Jack, PhD, and Jessica Harris, PhD, both of whom are assistant professors of historical studies in SIUE’s College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), will lead the event. Both were involved with the inaugural SIUE Black Lives Matter conference in January 2016. 

Saba Fatima, PhD and assistant professor of philosophy in CAS, will serve as the keynote speaker. Seven students will tell their personal stories of microaggressions impacting their lives. Groups of faculty, staff, students and community members will discuss strategies to identify and eradicate microaggressions. 

Brown will welcome attendees at 8:30 a.m., followed by remarks from SIUE Interim Chancellor Stephen Hansen.

Free registration begins at 8 a.m. with a continental breakfast included. Register at siue.co1.qualtrics.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville provides students with a high quality, affordable education that prepares them for successful careers and lives of purpose. 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. Situated on 2,660 acres of beautiful woodland atop the bluffs overlooking the natural beauty of the Mississippi River’s rich bottomland and only a short drive from downtown St. Louis, the SIUE campus is home to a diverse student body of more than 14,000

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