Times reporter speaks on race, class

The Second Annual Coverdell Symposium kicked-off last week at GCSU with a mission to promote civic leadership and celebrate diversity.

The conference, held March 21-22, featured a variety of workshops, lectures and arts, all devoted to this year’s theme: “New Leaders for a New Century: The Millennial/Hip-Hop Generation and American Leadership.”

All events were free and open to the public.

“We wanted to promote civic engagement and to use the cultural arts to diversify the educational experience,” said Greg Kaufman, director of the Coverdell Institute and the American Democracy Project.

A performance by SST Communications, an educational theatre troupe from Chicago, Ill., opened the symposium Tuesday at the Arts & Sciences Auditorium with the dramatic piece, “The Hero’s Journey.”

“Last year we used music,” Kaufman said, “but this time we wanted to move on to drama, so we brought in some theatre.”

Other first-day events included a reception, complete with dance, music and refreshments, and a keynote speech by Brandon Neal, deputy political director of the National Democratic Governors Association, who addressed the relationship between diversity and leadership.

Katie Harmon, art major and intern for the Coverdell Institute, called meeting guests with different histories, who shared a common passion for social justice, an “amazing” experience.

“It was reassuring to have role models show me I can realistically use art as activism,” said Harmon. “They proved someone can fulfill their passion of being civically engaged and still be part of the art world.”

One highlight of this year’s conference was a luncheon featuring New York Times Senior Writer Tamar Lewin, held Wednesday in the University Banquet Room.

Lewin, a 24-year veteran of the Times, spoke on race and class in America, a lecture based on an acclaimed series the newspaper ran last summer titled, “Class Matters.” Before the luncheon, Lewin said she had participated in group panels on the topic before, but that she rarely addresses conferences individually.

“I’m nervous,” said Lewin. “But, I wanted to talk about race and class and how little we cross those lines in the United States. We have this really diverse society, but we all tend to live in our own categories.”

During her half-hour speech, Lewin approached issues of race relations in public schools, inter-class relationships and the idea of the United States being a disparate “Inheretocracy,” where wealth is distributed to those born into it; like the series she had co-written in the Times, she admitted it was controversial subject matter.

“When you talk about these things, the world opens up,” said Lewin. “Until you’ve examined and moved around through these different social categories, you’re not conscious of them.”

According to the Coverdell Institute, more than 150 students and faculty attended the luncheon.

“We were just delighted to have (Lewin),” Kaufman said.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 31 2006. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry