Hidden Truths: Anti-Blackness at School

The Co-Lab @ RWU is pleased to present Roger Williams University's third annual Hidden Truths: Stories of Race and Place lecture series. This series features the research and policy work of RWU faculty and staff that resurfaces untold histories and complicates received knowledge and understandings of our collective pasts. The series engages the campus community and the public in deeper understandings and informed dialogues around how past inequities continue to impact societal and cultural realities and disparities today.

Join us Tuesday, April 4 for "Anti-Blackness at School" a lecture presented by Kerri Ullucci, Professor of Diversity + Equity in Education and Joi A. Spencer, Dean of the School of Education at University of California, Riverside. 

While schools are often framed as places of neutrality and fairness, many American schools have either actively harmed Black children or been silent in the face of their struggles, under-education and mistreatment. While there are undoubtedly adults in these spaces who work to support Black children, many others ignore Black families, minimize youths’ concerns and believe that taking a colorblind stance will solve the problem of inequity in education. None of these tactics will help to undo the damage exacted upon Black children in schools. This talk will address the contours of anti-Blackness in schools to Illuminate the ways in which anti-Blackness pervades education, explore the ways in which diversity work is not synonymous with anti-racist work, and provide concrete, doable, meaningful ways in which teachers and administrators can work against anti-Blackness in their schools.

Dr. Kerri Ullucci was born and raised in Rhode Island. She is a first-generation college student. She received her PhD from UCLA in Urban Schooling and her MAT from the University of Pittsburgh in Elementary Education. She is a former elementary teacher and has been licensed to teach in RI, MA and CA.  Dr. Ullucci is currently an Associate Professor of Diversity and Equity in Education at Roger Williams University. Her research interests include race and poverty issues in schooling and the development of culturally relevant teaching practices. Dr. Ullucci has been published in many journals, including Urban Education, Race, Ethnicity and Education and Teacher Education Quarterly. Her forthcoming book, co-authored with Dr. Spencer, Anti-Blackness at School: Creating Affirming Educational Spaces for African American Students, will be published in November 2022.

Dr. Joi Spencer is the dean of the School of Education at the University of California, Riverside. Her work is centered on educational equity in higher and K-12 education, and her research investigates the mathematics learning opportunities of African American and other minoritized youth. 

Prior to her appointment at UCR, Spencer spent 16 years at University of San Diego (USD) where she served in a variety of roles including professor of mathematics education, associate dean, and interim dean of the School of Leadership and Education Sciences (SOLES). Spencer launched a doctoral program in Education for Social Justice, implemented a school-wide professional development on anti-racism, and established SOLES’ first Diversity Post-Doctoral Fellows Program. Her earlier work included five years as a middle school teacher in East Palo Alto.

The daughter of working-class parents, Spencer grew up in South Central Los Angeles and was bused to the Downtown Business Magnet High School in Los Angeles, where she earned her high school diploma. During her senior year, her family moved to Moreno Valley, the fast-growing city just east of Riverside, where they still reside.

Spencer holds B.A. and M.A. degrees from Stanford University and a Ph.D. from UCLA. Notably, Spencer is the first woman and person of Color to serve as permanent dean of UCR School of Education.

Anti-Blackness at School
Tuesday, April 4 at 7:00 p.m.
Link to view on Zoom: https://rwu.zoom.us/j/99811458111

Roger Williams University year-long series, Hidden Truths: Stories of Race and Place, aims to engage the campus community in a deeper understanding and informed dialogue around racial justice and equity issues within local and global histories. The series is sponsored by the Office of the President and the Provost’s Office.
 
All lectures will take place virtually and will be available for later viewing, making the presentations modular and accessible to work into courses. To view past presentations in the series, visit RWU’s YouTube channel.

All members of the campus community and the general public are welcome to attend these virtual conversations.