Week of Inclusive Excellence Celebrates Diversity

Cal State East Bay will host a series of speakers and events during its annual Week of Inclusive Excellence. The festivities, which begin the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Tuesday, Jan. 16, celebrates the university’s culture of diversity and inclusion.

Visit BaySync to RSVP or for more information about the following events. 

Tuesday, Jan. 16

Staying the Course, Continuing the Dream — Martin Luther King Jr. celebration breakfast (8 a.m., University Union, multipurpose room)

President Leroy M. Morishita and the Office of Diversity, Leadership and Employee Wellness will kick off the Week of Inclusive Excellence with the annual Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast. The event will celebrate Cal State East Bay's commitment to inclusiveness through music, poetry and special presentations. 

All participants are encouraged to bring shelf-stable food items for the Pioneers for H.O.P.E. program. These items will go to students who are food-insecure.

Black Fatherhood: Trials & Tribulations, Testimony & Triumph — Dr. Khalid Akil White (presentations at noon and 6 p.m., University Union, multipurpose room)

Join Dr. Khalid White for a film screening of “Black Fatherhood,” followed by an open discussion. Stories will be shared of men who have stepped up and created a better world for their sons and daughters, as they provide new models of fatherhood while navigating socio-economic class, gender and race.

White is an ethnic studies professor and the Umoja Academic Success Program coordinator at San Jose City College. He is a lecturer in African American Studies at San Jose State University, as well as an entrepreneur, author, filmmaker and mentor.

Wednesday, Jan. 17

Bridges out of Poverty — Sheila Burks (9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Old University Union Room 311)

Join a conversation to better understand barriers of poverty, class and socio-economic status. This full-day workshop will provide a framework for understanding how class and socioeconomic status impact student success, retention and perseverance, and develop approaches to better serve students. "Bridges out of Poverty" is designed to help Cal State East Bay faculty and staff work effectively with first-generation and lower socioeconomic status students. 

Thursday, Jan. 18

 Freedom of Speech, First Amendment Rights and Their Application on Hate Speech (11 a.m., University Union, multipurpose room B)

Campus Counsel Rikesha S. Lane presents on "Freedom of Speech, First Amendment Rights and the Protection of Hate Speech." This presentation will explore what kinds of speech and activities the First Amendment protects, CSU and Cal State East Bay policies, and real life examples of how free speech controversies are playing out on campuses across the U.S.

Community Mobilizing Through Pedagogies of Healing and Liberation (noon, University Union, multipurpose room)

This session will feature an interactive dialogue led by Dr. G.T. Reyes from the Department of Educational Leadership and initiator of the #CrossThisOut movement that has been generating momentum at Cal State East Bay, K-12 schools and other universities across the nation. 

Friday, Jan. 19

Faces of STEM (10 a.m., University Union, multipurpose room)

The College of Science presents this event, which celebrates Cal State East Bay's diversity in the people studying, teaching and practicing STEM. The program includes breakout sessions, a panel and mixer.

Under the Affluence: Shaming the Poor, Praising the Rich and Sacrificing the Future of America — Tim Wise (11 a.m., University Theatre) 

Tim Wise, a prominent anti-racist writer and educator, will examine the ways in which American politics and culture serve to rationalize inequalities on the basis of class and race. Wise will explore the importance of undermining the dominant white racial narrative in order to fight racism, economic and social injustice.