DUBLIN — The International Colloquium on Black Males in Education kicked off this week with pre-colloquium events, including a Graduate School Academy and a Black Female Forum.
Now in its seventh year, the weeklong international gathering has become the go-to place for scholars interested in examining some of the issues that impact Black men throughout the world.
Colloquium conveners Drs. Jerlando F.L Jackson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and James L. Moore III of the Ohio State University (OSU) have been the driving force behind the annual convening, which included an inaugural Black Female Forum.
“Black females not only serve as thought partners for the International Colloquium on Black Male Education, they are our life partners, mothers, advocates and sisters in the struggle,” said Jackson, the Vilas Distinguished Professor of Higher Education and department chair for educational leadership and policy analysis at University of Wisconsin-Madison. “The working bond and relationship is essential to bridging the worlds of research and policy for a better tomorrow for Black males, Black females, Black children and Black families.”
Dr. Tamara Bertrand Jones, an associate professor of education at Florida State University, facilitated the forum that included robust discussions about topics ranging from mental health, entrepreneurship, research and “what it means to engage in work on Black males” as Black women scholars “and to be in community with Black men.”
During a panel discussion titled “Impacting Black People, Schools, and Communities: The Role of Sisters of the Academy and Beyond,” Dr. Sharon L. Holmes said that scholarship about the Black community has to be accessible to those outside of the academy.
“I don’t want to produce material for the people who need it most but can’t touch it,” said Dr. Sharon L. Holmes, associate professor of student affairs administration at Binghamton University in New York.
