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Registration Full For Virtual Racial Equity Summit III Opening Saturday
Registration for Fort Worth ISD’s virtual “Racial Equity Summit III—Changing the Narrative” opening and breakout sessions are full, according to the Division of Equity and Excellence officials.
Racial Equity Summit III, sponsored by Equity and Excellence, opens at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, November 7 with virtual breakout sessions offered daily through November 13. The free weeklong event offers District students, staff, parents and community members thought-provoking discussions on race and equity.
The opening sessions will be simulcast live at 8:30 a.m. on the FWISD Division of Equity and Excellence Facebook page.
Originally scheduled in spring 2020 before a sold-out audience, the summit was postponed because of building closures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The summit -- now virtual – begins Saturday morning with a student panel discussing personal experiences on race. The opening session also features the Como Elementary Dance Team, the District Executive Leadership Team (DELT) participating in an Equity Walk highlighting why it engages in this practice. Videos recently submitted for the Dance Challenge promoting the equity summit, will be featured at the virtual event’s kickoff.
Live one-hour breakout sessions will take place twice each day, November 9-13 at noon and 6 p.m. for registered attendees. Topics slated for the breakout sessions include:
- The History of Race
- Activating the Community
- The Role of Power Structures in Systemic Racism
- Intersectionality of Social and Racial Identity
Pre-recordings of the breakout presentations will be posted on the Facebook page daily at the scheduled time of the live sessions.
The following breakout presentations are scheduled November 9-13:
Monday, November 9, 2020
- Noon History of Race - Origins, Impact and Circumstantial Side Effects
- 6 p.m. Mirrors or Windows: Self-Reflection and Dialogue
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
- Noon From Kindergarten to 12th Grade Could Equal 13 Years a Slave
- 6 p.m. Call to Action: The need for Powerful Partnerships to Identify, Address, and Transform "Power" for True Justice and Equity
Wednesday, November 11, 2020
- Noon Becoming an Agent of Change for the Latinx Comunidad: Mobilizing Cultural, Educational, and Political Groups
- 6 p.m. Racism and the Native American Experience
Thursday, November 12, 2020
- Noon Reading Together: Using Book Studies to Foster Student Voice and Equity in Campus Discipline Practices
- 6 p.m. Make SHIFT Happen – Saving Our Students from The Abyss of Colonized Education
Friday, November 13, 2020
- Noon Black English: The Intersection of Race, Language, and Class
- 6 p.m. The History of Structural Racism and Liberation Struggles in Texas
Sherry Breed, FWISD Equity and Excellence chief, said this much-anticipated event that is now going virtual gives participants “a space to continue to deepen your knowledge about race and engage in conversation with thought partners about race and hear perspectives from many different Racial Equity Leaders.”
“In this time of much social unrest and inequities, we want to embrace the conversation about race and bring multiple perspectives together. It is our hope that the FWISD Community will become more informed and be moved to continue the conversation in their personal sphere of influence,” Mrs. Breed said. “Each of us must begin our racial equity journey by exploring our own biases. These biases may enter our work as it relates to expectations of all students and their academic success. Awareness of racial inequities is the first step in 'Changing the Narrative.'”
FLEX hour credits will be granted to educators participating in the summit after sessions are completed and participation reports are tabulated.