Elms College’s Center for Equity in Urban Education to Host Racial Healing Event

CHICOPEE — In conjunction with the 10th annual National Day of Racial Healing, the Center for Equity in Urban Education (CEUE) at Elms College will host a discussion on Saturday, Jan. 10 focusing on learning lessons from the past to promote growth, tolerance, and a more just future. Titled #GOODScholars: Cultivating the Essence of Sankofa for Racial Healing, the discussion is planned for 10 a.m. to noon in the Dining Hall Annex of the Mary Dooley College Center.

The African concept of Sankofa, meaning ‘reaching back while looking forward,’ emphasizes the importance of looking back to the past as a pathway toward growth and resilience. The discussion invites educators and community members to reflect on the ways historical understanding informs healing, identity, and collective progress.

Tyra Good, inaugural executive director of CEUE, and Dominique McDonald, assistant director of CEUE, will be joined by De’Shawn Washington, founder and president of Cultivating Changemakers LLC to lead a heartfelt discussion on rediscovering the humanity within ourselves and those we serve. Together, they will lead a powerful call to empower educators to lead with love, courage, and vulnerability while elevating historical truths and examining how the past continues to shape our lives.

“The National Day of Racial Healing invites us to pause, reflect, and reconnect with our shared humanity through truth and healing,” Good said. “The CEUE is honored to welcome Dr. De’Shawn Washington to this important conversation as we explore how Sankofa calls us to collective action and the vital role educators play in cultivating learning spaces for a more just future.”

Washington is an award-winning educator, scholar, and public education advocate, a two-time TEDx speaker, and founder and president of Cultivating Changemakers LLC. As the 2024 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year, he is developing an innovative K-12 financial literacy curriculum that integrates social justice, literacy, and mathematics. After teaching elementary students for nine years, he continues to empower aspiring teachers and seasoned educators as a professor, policy advocate, and curriculum developer. He holds a doctorate in K-12 educational leadership and policy from Vanderbilt University.

There is no cost to attend, but registration is required. Click here for more information or to register for the event.