Virtual Town Hall

Sponsored by Black Brown Dialogues on Policy

CONVENERS

Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D., Co-Convener, Black Brown Dialogues on Policy
Gary Bledsoe, Esq., Texas NAACP President
Colette Phillips, CEO, Get Konnected!

PROGRAM

10:00 AM – 10:15 AM—Welcome to BBDP and this Virtual Town Hall

• Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D., Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy, University of Texas at Austin
• Gary Bledsoe, President, Texas NAACP
• Rudy Rosales, Chair, Texas LULAC

10:15 AM – 11:15 AM—Panel I: Let’s talk about Proposed Anti-DEI Policy in the State of Texas

Moderator: Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

• The Honorable Senator Royce West
• Julia Brookins, Special Projects Administrator, American Historical Association
• Danielle Clealand, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Mexican American and Latino Studies and African American and African Diaspora Studies, University of Texas at Austin
• Roque Aguon, Ph.D. Candidate, Sociocultural Foundations of Education, University of Texas El Paso
• Dr. Stella Flores, Associate Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy, University of Texas at Austin

11:15 AM – 11:45 AM—Gen Z Student Panel I: Let’s talk about what DEI means to me.

Moderator: Pablo Díaz, Sophomore, Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin

• Mohamed Ade Mohamed, Fort Worth, Texas
• Janeva Wilson, Graduate Student, University of Texas at Austin
• Julianna “Jules” Collado, Graduate Student, University of Texas at Austin
• Jesse José Garcia, Lubbock, Texas
• Mateo Rosiles, Lubbock, Texas

11:45 AM – 12:00 PM—Panel I: Reflection on Gen Z Student Panel I

Moderator: Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

• Julia Brookins, Special Projects Administrator, American Historical Association
• Danielle Clealand, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Mexican American and Latino Studies and African American and African Diaspora Studies, University of Texas at Austin
• Roque Aguon, Ph.D. Candidate, Sociocultural Foundations of Education, University of Texas El Paso
• Stella Flores, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy, University of Texas at Austin

12:00 PM – 12:30 PM—Teach-In on Ethnic Studies and Critical Race Theory

Moderator: Kevin Kumashiro, Ph.D., University of San Francisco

• Francesca Lopez, Ph.D. and Christine Sleeter, Ph.D., co-authors Critical Race Theory and Its Critics. NY: Teachers College Press, 2022.

12:30 PM – 12:45 PM

Remarks from Honorable Chair of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus Texas State Representative Victoria Neave Criado and the Honorable Chair of the Black Legislative Caucus Texas State Representative Ron Reynolds

12:45 PM – 2:00 PM—Panel II: Let’s talk about Ethnic Studies Policy in the State of Texas

Moderator: Tony Diaz, Director, El Librotraficante and Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say

• The Honorable Texas State Representative Christina Morales
• The Honorable Aicha Davis, Texas State Board of Education Member
• Valerie Martinez, Ph.D., Chair, K-12 Committee of the National Association for Chicana/o Studies Tejas Foco
• Dwight Watson, Ph.D., Associate Professor Emeritus, Texas State University

2:00 PM – 2:30 PM—Gen Z Student Panel II: Let’s talk about what Ethnic Studies means to me

Moderator: Julianna “Jules” Collado, Education Policy and Planning, Master’s Student

• Xue Tang, Liberal Arts and Science Academy
• Jeremiah Baldwin, University of Texas
• Aldo Frausto, University of Texas
• Abasifreke “A.B.” Udosen, Liberal Arts and Science Academy

2:30 PM – 3:00 PM—Panel II: Reflection on Gen Z Student Panel II

• The Honorable Texas State Representative Christina Morales
• The Honorable Aicha Davis, Texas State Board of Education Member
• Valerie Martinez, Ph.D., Chair, K-12 Committee of the National Association for Chicana/o Studies Tejas Foco
• Dwight Watson, Ph.D., Associate Professor Emeritus, Texas State President

3:00 PM – 4:30 PM—Closing Reflection by BBDP Board

Moderator: Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

• Alberta Phillips, former Journalist at Austin American-Statesman
• Emilio Zamora, Ph.D., Clyde Rabb Littlefield Chair in Texas History, University of Texas at Austin
• Gary Bledsoe, Esq., President, Texas NAACP
• Junichi Lockett, Ph.D., Post-Doctoral Fellow, Institute for Urban Policy Research & Analysis (IUPRA), University of Texas at Austin