Workshop Session 1:

Community Restoration: A snapshot on how it is obtained and what are the effects?

Robert A. Bright et al.

Community Restoration: A snapshot on how it is obtained and what are the effects?

The presentation examines some of the factors to a successful community restoration and what are the end results of a restored community especially when we participate in the process.

Biracial students on campus: We Are America (too)

Suzanne Marie Prentiss et al.

This interactive discussion will explore the changing face of minority students from the perspectives of a biracial student and his mother who teaches on campus.

Incorporating 2010 Census data, personal stories, and campus initiatives, we will discuss who defines race, the importance of racial identity, and what we can do as a campus and community to provide a supportive environment for biracial and mixed-race students. As we explore the changing face of America and the increasing racial diversity of our citizens, it is critical that we understand the implications and opportunities inherent in that change.

What does it mean to be biracial in America? What does being American mean to someone who identifies with more than one race and culture? To truly be united and stand together, we need to understand and appreciate the experience of all our members of our community.

"Save the Males!"

Anton Reece

The majority of male students enter the University of Tennessee with similar ACT scores and high school grade point averages. However, they are being retained at significantly lower rates when compared to their female counterparts. The discrepancy is even more pronounced among African-American males. As a result a male student committee was established in spring 2012 identify barriers and make recommendations to the Undergraduate Student Task Force for Student Success. This informative and interactive session looks at the retention and academic performance data we reviewed and we want to solicit feedback from the audience to discuss suggestions to retain our male students of color.

Fast Fat Girls in Pink Hot Pants: One Writer's Journey Across the Mason-Dixon Line

Artress Bethany White

Fast Fat Girls in Pink Hot Pants: One Writer's Journey Across the Mason-Dixon Line

Fast Fat Girls in Pink Hot Pants is the title of a collection of poetry that I began writing several years ago. The book chronicles my journey from growing up in the northeast before moving to the South to work on my Ph.D. at the University of Kentucky. The book deals largely with racial identity and the question of whether or not the New South is really new when it comes to racial politics in the 21st century. In my presentation I would like to discuss my development as an African American scholar and author and read some of the poems from the collection.

Afro-environmentalism: Black stewardship in the new millennium

Shelby Renee Burks Ward

In the 21st century, societies face serious environmental problems. Black leadership in the environmental arena—stewardship—is vital for successful decision-making that respects all life on the planet, human health, and sustainable economy. Afro-environmentalism will explore how the legacy of the civil rights movement inspires environmental activism, current environmental problems, and how people of African descent are needed to effectively address those problems.

As African-Americans, the civil rights leaders of yesterday gave us an incredible legacy. Men and women fought against oppression and gave their lives for equal treatment, justice, and freedom. Today, environmental problems also include matters of injustice, untruth, and oppression. From air pollution in American urban centers to extraction of natural resources on the continent of Africa, people are suffering while the environment is being eroded at the same time. These conditions give us a unique opportunity to build on the legacy of our forefathers and strive to make a cleaner, healthier world for future generations.

The environmental movement, our families, and our communities need black leaders that are informed of environmental challenges and strive to develop solutions to these challenges.