MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND ARTS EDUCATION IN MARYLAND SCHOOLS HOSTS “NIKKI GIOVANNI SPEAKS”

Educators throughout Maryland Invited to Register for Free, Keynote Delivered by Renowned Poet Nikki Giovanni; Presentation Focuses on Social Justice, Equity and Antiracism

BALTIMORE, MD (June 2, 2021) - The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and Arts Education in Maryland Schools (AEMS) are pleased to announce that Nikki Giovanni will engage with educators across the state on June 6, 2021 from 1 to 2 p.m. as part of a keynote presentation on equity titled Nikki Giovanni Speaks.  The virtual event is free and open to the Maryland education community. Space is limited and registration is required to receive a link for this event. Attendees can register at https://bit.ly/3yywTt6.

MSDE Division of Curriculum, Instructional Improvement, and Professional Learning offers diverse professional learning opportunities to educators every summer. Giovanni’s presentation is the pinnacle of ongoing professional development focused on educational equity and antiracism in the Department’s summer professional development program. 

Giovanni, one of America's foremost poets, will talk about the role of art and education in social justice and share reflections of the Black Arts Movement. Publishing more than 30 books, she is internationally known for her work as a poet, author, essayist, activist, and educator. The Tennessee native has also been named Woman of the Year by Mademoiselle Magazine, Ladies Home Journal, and Ebony Magazine, received more than 25 honorary degrees and Governor’s Awards from both Tennessee and Virginia. Furthermore, Giovanni is a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech and a recipient of Virginia Tech’s highest honor, the Alumni Outreach award.

In support of its mission of equity and excellence, the State Board approved COMAR 13A.01.06, Educational Equity in 2019. This heralded an intense focus on taking deliberate action to ensure that all Maryland students have equitable access to the “educational rigor, resources, and supports that are designed to maximize the student’s academic success and social/emotional wellbeing.”  

This opportunity is made available to all Maryland educators through the collaboration between AEMS and the MSDE Offices of Fine Arts, Professional Learning, Equity, and English/Language Arts.

Who are your Queer and Trancestors? 

To Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera 

To Gloria Anzaldúa and Alexa Negron Luciano 

To Tony McDade and Nina Pop 

To those who lived and loved in time past with the hopes of times to come.

The spirituality of queerness

A force field of 

unconditional love 

The first flower to bloom in 

A post-apocalyptic heart 

Our claim to liberation 

Is in deciphering 

shadows

Queerness is a dance 

A choreography between shame and pleasure

I have grown accustomed to their wandering eyes

The essence of my being tickles 

Their blushed cheeks 

I love unapologetically 

In the name of the ancestors who had to love in secret

Pride Month is approaching us. The Counseling Center would like to celebrate the LGBTQ+ Community through your art submissions! The Counseling Center believes that self-expression supports thriving. Your art will be featured on our counseling center Instagram story and eventually in a highlight reel. Most art will be accepted. We ask that the art doesn't include nudity. We will contact you if there are any concerns about the pieces. If you would like to remain anonymous, that works too! Submissions will be taken from now and through June 18th. Posts will be featured June 1st through June 30th. QTPOC are encouraged to submit. By submitting a creative work for this campaign, you acknowledge and agree to UMBC’s Terms and Permissions.

Thank you again. To apply, please fill out this google form: 

https://forms.gle/Unh33e2w9nwNCfsc6

Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (CLDE) conference is organized by American Democracy Project (ADP) and NASPA to bring together faculty, student affairs professionals, senior campus administrators, students, and community partners. The theme for the 2021 virtual conference is “Defining the Path Forward.” 

On June 4th at 1.30 pm, Fariha Khalid, Samantha Fries, Faith Davis, and Erin Kosloski from UMBC will be presenting in a Civic Cafe Session at CLDE, “Improving Basic Needs Access on College Campus.” They will discuss the findings of a mixed-methods community-based research on food and basic needs insecurity among UMBC students, faculty, and staff. Additionally, they will highlight the role of Retriever Essentials in supporting vulnerable populations of our campus community. By the end of the session, participants are expected to understand the phenomenon of basic needs insecurity, share best practices to address the problem, and exchange knowledge/skills to form an ongoing network of resources.