Two leading human rights and social activists are headlining this year’s Diversity & Inclusion Conference at Wester University.
The annual conference, now in its sixth year, features nationally renowned speakers, lectures and panel discussions designed to share experiences, research and emerging trends. This year’s event, to be held virtually, runs Feb. 23 to 25 and will feature transgender activist Charlotte Clymer and Black Lives Matter movement co-founder Patrise Cullors as keynote speakers.
“We look forward to hearing Charlotte Clymer and Patrise Cullors speak at this year’s virtual conference,” said Webster University chancellor Beth Stroble. “It is now more critical than ever to have these important conversations to expand our thinking and to become open-minded to those who are different from us. Charlotte and Patrise are great catalysts to get these very difficult, but very real conversations started.”
Clymer is scheduled to speak on Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m. A military veteran, Clymer served as press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest civil rights organization dedicated to advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) equality. She currently serves on the D.C. Commission for Persons with Disabilities, the Board for the Center for Law and Military Policy, the Military and Veterans Advisory Council for Outserve-SLDN (Servicemember’s Legal Defense Network), and the Advisory Councils for Running Start and the Lone Star Parity Project. Her work has been published in The Washington Post, GQ and other publications.
Cullors is the best-selling author of “When They Call You A Terrorist.” She co-founded the global Black Lives Matter movement in 2013 after sparking the viral Twitter hashtag, #BlackLivesMatter. Her work for Black Lives recently received recognition in TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020 list, while she was included in the magazine’s 2020 “100 Women of the Year.” Cullors also serves as faculty director of a new Social and Environmental Arts Practice MFA program at Arizona’s Prescott College. The program, which Cullors developed, is the first of its kind in the nation to focus a curriculum on the intersection of art, social justice and community organizing. Cullors is slated to speak on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m.
There is no cost to attend the conference; registration is encouraged. For a full list of speakers, panels and other events related to Webster University’s 2021 Diversity & Inclusion conference, as well as a link to register, click here.
From Conversation to Action: Inclusion Goes Global at Webster University
