SRU’s Frederick Douglass Institute hosting virtual conference Oct. 27

Slippery Rock University’s Frederick Douglass Institute is hosting a virtual mini-conference, Oct. 27, titled “Cultural and Social Disparities Among Marginalized Communities in America.”

Oct. 21, 2020

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. — Slippery Rock University's Frederick Douglass Institute is hosting a virtual mini-conference, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Oct. 27, to kick off a series of programming. The mini-conference, titled "Cultural and Social Disparities Among Marginalized Communities in America," will feature three presenters addressing the topic of marginalized communities from the perspective of community service, American culture and cultural competencies in the Black Lives Matter era.

The FDI is an initiative adopted by universities in Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education to create inclusive university communities and transformative connections among historically underrepresented students and faculty, as well as other communities across the commonwealth and beyond.

The presenters for the Oct. 27 event include:

   MASON

• Clitha Mason, SRU instructor of nonprofit management, empowerment and diversity studies and 2020 FDI Fellow, who will provide introductory remarks and present on the topic of creating culturally competent communities in the Black Lives Matter era.
• Shauna Hopkins, an independent nonprofit organization consultant, grant writer and entrepreneur from Fayetteville, North Carolina, who will discuss marginalized and minority communities and their social disparities from a community service perspective.
• Trinidad Linares, a library associate at Bowling Green State University and area chair for the Subculture and 9/11 in Popular Culture and the Midwest Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Conference, will present on rewriting the erasures of communities of color in American culture.

The mini-conference, conducted via Zoom (passcode: 990922), is open to the public.

SRU's FDI is hosting other programming this year, including a Jeopardy!-style trivia game, 9 p.m., Nov. 17. More information will be available on the FDI Facebook page.

For more information about FDI, visit SRU's FDI webpage or contact Mason at clitha.mason@sru.edu.

MEDIA CONTACT: Justin Zackal | 724.738.4854 justin.zackal@sru.edu