Panel to discuss how to support Black male students
Event, part of Black History Month, is titled ‘Shifting the Cultures of Disenfranchisement at CU Boulder: Supporting Black Male Identified Students’
A panel of experts will discuss the need and urgency of supporting Black male identifying students, what it means to this population, and how as a community we can begin to enhance our capacity to sustain Black male achievement at the University of Colorado Boulder.
The discussion, titled “Shifting the Cultures of Disenfranchisement at CU Boulder: Supporting Black Male Identified Students,” is scheduled Thursday, Feb. 24, from 12 to 1 p.m. The discussion will be held remotely, and you may register at this Zoom link.
The panelists include:
- Donna Mejia, associate professor of theatre and dance
- John Robinson-Miller IV, associate director of the Center for African and African American Studies
- Mike Jones, assistant director of First-Generation Programs and Enrichment within the Center for Inclusion and Social Change
- Bernadette Stewart, assistant dean of administration, people and culture at the College of Arts and Sciences
Donna Mejia is an associate professor of theatre and dance.
Mejia, the inaugural Chancellor’s Scholar in Residence at the Renee Crown Wellness Institute, is also an affiliated faculty member in the Departments of Women and Gender Studies and Ethnic Studies and the Center for Teaching and Learning.
Mejia is steeped in artistic dance and music traditions of the African and Arab diaspora, and emerging fusion traditions in transcultural fusion dance. As a transcultural fusion dance artist, Donna Mejia distinctive aesthetic dialogs the secular dances of North Africa and the Arab world with American hip hop dance and sub-genres of electronic dance and music cultures.
Mejia also teaches the Brazilian Silvestre Dance Technique, in which she has more than 30 years of practice. She serves as faculty director of the Crown research programs focusing on embodiment and trauma-informed somatic additions to programming, cultural retention and innovation, identity intersectionality, anti-bias and anti-racism education, gender equity, and well-being through mindfulness and the arts.
She received the 2011 Fulbright Award for International Dance Scholarship, was named a 2021 Legend of Dance by the Carson Dance Library, and an Outstanding Graduate Mentor by the CU Boulder Graduate School.
John Robinson-Miller IV is the associate director of the Center for African and African American Studies.
Robinson-Miller IV holds a master’s in higher education administration and a bachelor’s in psychology with a concentration in arts entrepreneurship, both from North Carolina State University.
As an inclusion educator, he seeks to develop a grounded environment for others to build their “understanding of cultural humility while advocating for the liberation of minoritized communities within systems of oppression.” His life motto is “Adinkrahene. AYA. Sankofa.” (Lead. Endure. Remember.)
Mike Jones is the assistant director of First-Generation Programs and Enrichment within the Center for Inclusion and Social Change.
Originally from North Carolina, Jones earned his BA in sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and MA in college student personnel from Bowling Green State University.
At the Center for Inclusion and Social Change, Jones works closely with those in the First-Generation Scholars Program and coordinates the Men of Excellence initiative, a cross-campus collaboration supporting men of color at CU Boulder.
Bernadette Stewart is the assistant dean of administration, people and culture at the College of Arts and Sciences.
Stewart oversees personnel and engagement initiatives and focuses on attracting, developing and retaining a diverse and effective workforce; implementing strategies to engage and connect people in a hybrid environment; developing and implementing equitable policies and procedures; collaborating with college and campus stakeholders; and navigating human resources business process and operational management to achieve creative and compliant solutions.
Her intersectional identities as a multiracial, working class, cisgender hetero woman have caused her to experience life in the margins. Although she recognizes that some of these identities provide privilege, her experiences with marginalization have shaped the lenses through which she sees the world.
She has a master’s degree in education foundations, policy and practice, and a bachelor’s in anthropology, art and art history with a minor in ethnic studies from CU Boulder.
The panel discussion will be moderated by Patricia Gonzalez, assistant dean for inclusive practice, and Jarvis Marlow-McCowin, diversity, equity and inclusion education coordinator with Corning Inc.'s Office of Racial Equality and Social Unity.
The event is hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences, the Center for African & African American Studies (also called the CAAAS) and Men of Excellence.