Sixth Annual Martin Luther King Jr.

Human Rights Conference

 

"Reflecting on the Dream:

A Half Century Later"

Keynote Speaker: Dr. James Banks

Director of the Center for Multicultural Education at the University of Washington, Seattle

 

Saturday, January 17, 2004, Sehome High School

Conference Events: 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.

2700 Bill MacDonald Parkway, Bellingham, WA

 

Presented by the

Whatcom County Human Rights Task Force

 

Co-sponsored by: Woodring College of Education

Bellingham Public Schools, Northwest Indian College

Community Food Co-op, Copy Source

The Bagelry, Moka Joe's, B.E.A.

This year is especially meaningful as it is the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education, the United States Supreme Court decision which called for the immediate desegregation of our school system. 

Following his keynote address, Professor Banks will facilitate a workshop titled: "Diversity within unity: essential principles for teaching and learning in a multicultural society."

Additional workshops offer participants a variety of engaging breakout sessions related to this year's theme. Highlights include: The Discourse of Equality: Is the No Child Left Behind Act the latest Civil Rights Legislation? The Patriot Act: Exercise your rights while you still have them! Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement; The Growing Economic Divide; The Power of Identity: Moving Toward a Multicultural Consciousness; and Youth Activism: Debunking the Myth of Apathy.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

8:30 - 9:00 Registration (students may attend any session(s) with no pre-registration required)

9:00 - 9:05 Welcome, Barbara Rofkar, Co-Chair of the WHRTF

9:05 - 9:50 Keynote Speaker Dr. James A. Banks of the University of

Washington - "Diversity Within Unity: Essential Principles for Teaching and Learning in a Multicultural Society."

WORKSHOPS

10:00 - 11:15 Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement

The Growing Economic Divide

10:30 - 12:30 Workshop for Educators: Dr. James Banks'            "Diversity Within Unity"

11:30 - 12:45 Youth Activism: Debunking the Myth of Apathy     

Patriot Act: Exercise Your Rights While You Still Have Them

12:45 - 2:00 Lunch: Discounts available at selected Sehome Village and Samish Way area restaurants.

2:00 - 3:15 The Discourse of Equality: Is the No Child Left Behind Act the latest Civil Rights Legislation?

Power of Identity: Moving Toward A Multicultural Consciousness

3:30 - 4:00 Closing

Contact:

Whatcom Human Rights Task Force, 733-2233, whrtf@whrtf.org

Vernon Johnson, MLK Conference Committee Chair, 650-4874

Free and open to all.

Teachers will be eligible to receive clock hours for their participation.  Students may attend any session(s) with no registration required.

 

Accommodations:

Free childcare and parking.

Sign language interpreters provided for keynote address and workshops upon request.

Discount lunches will be available from area businesses during the mid-day break. 

 

For more information: 733-2233 or whrtf@whrtf.org.

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Professor James Banks Biography:

Website: Dr. James Banks at University of Washington

 

James Banks is Russell F. Stark University Professor and Director of the Center for Multicultural Education at the University of Washington, Seattle. He serves as a Board member of Children, Youth, and Families of the National Research Council of the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences. He is also a member of the National Academy of Education.

Professor Banks' award winning scholarship and research examines multiculturalism and education. He is the author and editor of 15 books on multicultural and social studies education. In addition, he has written more than 100 articles, contributions to books, and book reviews for professional publications. His teaching "considers the ways in which knowledge related to race and gender has been and is constructed and the implications of the ways in which knowledge is constructed for curriculum reform and teaching."

 

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Whatcom Human Rights Task Force:

Website: Whatcom Human Rights Task Force

 

The Whatcom Human Rights Task Force (WHRTF) began in the fall of 1994 following incidents of racial intimidation against migrant farm workers in Whatcom County. A group of community organizations, religious people, and other Whatcom County citizens began organizing to help monitor, respond to and prevent further acts of malicious harassment against targeted groups or individuals.

 

It is the belief of the WHRTF that such intolerance, whether or not it is coupled with acts of aggression, is unacceptable in our communities and in our nation. The WHRTF focuses on community education toward the goal of creating more tolerance for cultural diversity.  Targeting racism, anti-Semitism and homophobia, the WHRTF seeks to foster communities that

value the rights of all human beings.

 

For more information, please contact the WHRTF office at 733-2233, or e-mail at whrtf@whrtf.org.  Office: 301 W. Holly St.