RACE PROJECT - KC
  • Home
  • About
    • Newsletter
  • Student Experience
  • Dividing Lines Tours
  • Resources
  • Donate
  • Contact Us
  • Symposium 2022
  • Home
  • About
    • Newsletter
  • Student Experience
  • Dividing Lines Tours
  • Resources
  • Donate
  • Contact Us
  • Symposium 2022
Race Project KC

Student Symposium

April 21,2022 
Picture
​This year in Race Project KC,  we explored the topics of Identity, Representation, Health Equity and Local History with 3 student cohorts made up of 19 schools.  On April 21st we will come together for our culminating event with all schools. This year's theme, Windows, Mirrors, and Lenses was determined by a student advisory group with these questions in mind: ​
Windows are clear, you can see right through to the other side. Is what you see true? Does it help you know another’s story? Is the view from a window enough? ​
Mirrors reflect exactly what is there. To see yourself reflected is reassurance that you exist, you matter. Is what you see in the reflection the entire story? ​
Lenses – wide angle, telephoto, microscopic - these are each tools that enhance or distort the subject. Do the lenses of our own experiences, culture and design, or the lenses we adopt, help us make sense of the world or create confusion?   ​
This theme Windows, Mirrors, and Lenses was chosen to encourage each of you to think about perspective. Are you looking through a window? Are you looking in a mirror? Is the lens you're looking through enhancing or distorting what you see? Featured guests will share narratives & perspectives that amplify this theme. 

Participating Schools

Cohort 1
Blue Valley Northwest,  Crossroads Preparatory Academy, Olathe East HS, Olathe NW HS,  Shawnee Mission Northwest, Shawnee Mission South, & Wyandotte HS. 
Cohort 2 
​Blue Valley West, Ewing Marion Kauffman School, JC Harmon, Olathe North HS, Piper HS, & Shawnee Mission East
Cohort 3 
​Blue Valley North, F.L Schlagel, Olathe West HS, Paseo Academy of Fine & Performing Arts, Shawnee Mission West, & St. Teresa's Academy. 

Keynote Speaker 

Picture
Picture
Picture
​Photo Courtesy of 
​United Talent Agency
 
Baratunde Thurston 
Baratunde Thurston is an Emmy-nominated host who has worked for The Onion, produced for The Daily Show, advised the Obama White House, and wrote the New York Times bestseller How To Be Black. He’s the executive producer and host of How To Citizen with Baratunde which Apple named one of its favorite podcasts of 2020.  He is unique in his ability to integrate and synthesize themes of race, culture, politics, and technology to explain where our nation is and where we can take it. He holds space for hard and complex conversations with his blend of humor, wisdom, and compassion.  With an ancestry that includes a great-grandfather who taught himself to read, a grandmother who was the first black employee at the U.S. Supreme Court building, a computer-programming mother who took over radio stations in the name of the black liberation struggle, and an older sister who teaches yoga at her donation-based studio in Lansing, Michigan , Baratunde has long been taught to question authority and forge his own path.

Special Guest 

Picture
Photo Courtesy of Tanner Colby
 Tanner Colby
Tanner Colby is the author of Some of My Best Friends Are Black: The Strange Story of Integration in America, a narrative history of modern race-relations in the United States, which was nominated for the American Library Association's 2013 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Non-fiction. In 2015, he co-founded and co-hosted the popular podcast Our National Conversation About Conversations About Race with Baratunde Thurston, and worked as a segment producer at The Daily Show With Trevor Noah. Since 2016, Tanner has partnered with  Race Project.  Some of My Best Friends are Black is Race Project's principal text, as a quarter of the book examines real estate practices in Kansas City and how what was developed in Kansas City impacted every major city in the the United States. 


DJ, Dancer, MC 

Picture
Photo Courtesy of Break Free Kansas City
SugEasy 
James SugEasy Singleton is a dancer, teacher, choreographer, artist, advocate for the positivity represented by true Hip Hop Culture, and the owner of Break Free Kansas City. 


Student Breakout Sessions 

We have six exciting student breakout sessions for students to choose from. Each student will have the opportunity to join two of the six options. Students do not need to register in advance. 
Students will opt into their preferred sessions the day of the symposium. We suggest students consider identifying four sessions of interest, as there will be attendance limits per workshop. 


Don't Rodney King Me 

Student Breakout Option 1 
Picture
Na’im Al-Amin is the formerly incarcerated Founder & CEO of SWAGG INC.  SWAGG INC.--Serve Witness And Give Guidance Inspiration Never Ceases–is a non-profit that promotes ownership for those impacted by mass incarceration and provides a direct connection to the movement so changemakers can get involved.

Na’im first felt handcuffs on his wrist when he was 8 years old. He navigated foster care, gang life, and incarceration, eventually writing the initial business plan for SWAGG INC. in his cell in Lansing, KS. ​Through it all, Na’im held onto his business plan for dear life. Now SWAGG INC. is alive, working hard to make sure that once someone gets out of prison
they stay out. 
​

Join Na'im Al-Amin on a journey through his life trajectory of foster care, gang life, mass incarceration and now social entrepreneurship. 

Photo Courtesy of Na'im Al-Amin

This Monk Wears Heels -
How to Be Your Authentic-Self Confidently
  

Student Breakout Option 2 
Kodo Nishimura is a Buddhist monk, Makeup Artist, LGBTQ Activist, and Model.  Kodo graduated from the Parsons School of Design in New York. After graduating, he started to thrive as a makeup artist, working behind the scenes of Miss Universe and NY Fashion Week. In 2015, Kodo trained to be a monk and was certified by the Pure Land school. His mission is to empower all people sharing Buddhist wisdom with a touch of makeup. His book This Monk Wears Heels was released in February of 2022.

Join Kodo to explore these questions: 

​Do you feel that you are different from other people?
Do you feel that you are pressured by society?
Do you feel that it is hard to express your uniqueness and follow a path that you believe in?

The world needs some order for people to live harmoniously, but sometimes societal rules and expectations can suppress our potential too. You are not alone, I am here to be your cheerleader. I struggled with my sexuality and the traditional image of Buddhist monks. Kodo will share his personal experiences and also cool takeaways from Buddhist teachings about finding confidence in yourself.

Picture
Photo Courtesy of Kodo Nishimuru

​


(RE)Memory: History, Remembrance, & Who We Are

Student Breakout Option 3 
Picture
Glenn North is the Director of Inclusive Learning and Creative Impact at the Kansas City Museum. He received an MFA in Creative Writing from UMKC and is the author of City of Song, a collection of poems inspired by Kansas City’s rich jazz tradition and the triumphs and tragedies of the African American experience. He is a Cave Canem fellow, a Callaloo creative writing fellow and a recipient of the Charlotte Street Generative Performing Artist Award. His ekphrastic and visual poems have appeared in art exhibitions at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the American Jazz Museum, and the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art. Glenn is also an adjunct English professor at Rockhurst University and is currently filling his appointment as the Poet Laureate of the 18th & Vine Historic Jazz District. 

​Join Glenn and explore the importance of understanding (inter)national, local, family, and personal history and how it shapes our collective consciousness and our self-identity. Poems by Lucille Clifton and Roya Marsh will serve as catalysts for conversation about our shared history and as inspiration for creating our own poems about the past and how it informs how we see ourselves.  

Photo Courtesy of Glenn North

From Concept to Completion:
​Materializing Music

Student Breakout Option 4
The Black Creatures  expand on the expectations of pop music. The densely complex themes yet familiar undertones cultivated by members Xavier and Jade Green undermine the word “redefining.” Their deliberately designed instrumentals rival their carefully crafted lyrics – coalescing into an experience welcoming many and challenging most. Deep in these grooves there’s something for everyone and The Black Creatures aim to deliver from the Midwest to both coasts. 
​

Join Xavier and Jade on a guided look at defining starting, finishing, and all the steps in between in music composition.  Students who select this breakout will be able to engage whether this is their first foray into music or a moment between performances.
Picture
Photo Courtesy of The Black Creatures 

Game Hour 

Student Breakout Option 5 
Picture
"We do not stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw 

Join your peers and Library staff to lean back, have fun, and get to know other students as you team up to solve puzzles in Breakout Rooms, contact secret agents in Codenames Duet, or create masterpieces – and laughter – in Pictionary. You'll get to choose what you want to play after joining the breakout session. 


Student Panel 

Student Breakout Option 6 
All about action?  Want to see what steps other students have taken and apply what you've learned in Race Project KC?   Join fellow Race Project student alumni as they speak about the actions they've taken to promote local change as well as the impact it's had on their communities, their friends and family, and themselves.  
Picture
​Michaela Ross is a junior at the University of Missouri studying Mechanical Engineering. She has a passion to advocate for diversity in under-represented spaces by creating outlets of creative expression and education within communities. Michaela aspires to be a future writer and speaker to encourage others to share their own personal testimonies.
Picture
 Lonnie Frazier -Model / Creative. Current Student at Howard University. Lonnie is a Race Project KC alum and has remained actively engaged with Race Project KC workshops. 
Photo Courtesy Michaela Ross
Photo Courtesy of Lonnie Frazier

Student - Open Share Time with Poet Edwin Bodney 

Special Guest

Edwin Bodney 
Edwin Bodney is a Los Angeles native and nationally recognized poet. He has performed for colleges throughout California including UCLA and USC alongside featuring on TvOne's Verses and Flow. He has taught for the organization Say Word LA, serving the community as a youth mentor in various high schools and poetry programs. He is the author of Good Morning: A Story of Flight in the Making, and a current host and curator of one of the largest and longest-running poetry venues in the nation, Da Poetry Lounge. 

 Opportunities for Students

Picture
During the symposium, a Shared Mic Hour will be reserved for students with nationally recognized spoken word poet Edwin Bodney. Students can opt into sharing their thoughts, reflections, experiences, and ideas after being involved with Race Project KC. 
Picture
Did you create or write something in response to  a Race Project KC workshop or topic? Consider Submitting Art or Writing to be published in Race Project KC's end of year student publication. Submit here. 
Picture
Food is an essential cultural element that binds people together, enforces a shared sense of identity, and strengthens the sense of community and belonging. Consider Sharing a Recipe that you love, to be published in Race Project KC's end of year student publication. This recipe template will be included in the symposium students boxes. 


Special Guests for Educators 

Break Out Session 1
Picture
​Christopher M. Span received his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2001 He is a Professor in the Department of Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership (EPOL), and Chief of Staff and Associate Chancellor for Administration and PreK-12 Initiatives at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  He is an historian of education who specializes in the educational history of African Americans in the 19th century.  He is the author of From Cotton Field to Schoolhouse: African American Education in Mississippi, 1862-1875, co-editor of Using Past as Prologue: Contemporary Perspectives on African American Educational History, and has published numerous articles and book chapters on the educational history of African Americans.
Educators will engage in conversation with Dr. Span and consider how the past informs us of the society we have inherited and how we can use this combined understanding to develop policies, actions, and outcomes to produce the future we deserve. It will introduce teachers to three vignettes in our American past which will help them understand the transformative power teachers have in preparing students to be the change agents our society needs and how the outcomes produced by these teachers and students provide important perspectives for us to use our historical past to continue redirecting or dismantling the harms impacting our fellow citizens. ​
Breakout Session 2
Picture
​Brittany R. Collins is an author, educator, and curriculum designer dedicated to supporting teachers’ and students’ social and emotional well-being, especially in times of adversity. Her work explores the impacts of grief, loss, and trauma in the school system, as well as how innovative pedagogies– from inquiry-based, idea-centered learning to identity development curricula– can create conditions supportive of all learners.  She is the author of Learning from Loss: A Trauma-Informed Approach to Supporting Grieving Students (Heinemann 2021). Her articles have appeared in such outlets as The Washington Post, Education Week, Edutopia, We Need Diverse Books, English Journal, and Literacy & NCTE of the National Council of Teachers of English, Inside Higher Ed, Brevity blog, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and Thrive Global, among other outlets. 
Educators will engage in conversation with Ms. Collins about how over 1.5 million children around the world have lost a parent or caregiver guardian to COVID-19 (Levin 2021), yet fewer than 1% of educators receive training related to grief support during their preservice training (Densen, 2012). Through authentic discussion, interactive activities, and a review of research and actionable strategies for classroom practice, this workshop provides space for connection and reflection regarding the presence of loss (in its various forms) in the learning environment, as well as how teachers, counselors, instructional coaches, and administrators can preserve their own wellbeing in times of loss. ​

Primary Sponsors 

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture