Day 1: Thursday, June 19

Juneteenth Book Signing & Reception

Location: Shanklin Hall, 2325 18th Street NW, Washington, DC, 20009
Time: 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Guest Author: Dr. Ivory Toldson, Author, No BS: Black People Need People Who Believe in Black People Enough Not to Believe Every Bad Thing They Hear about Black People
Guest Moderator: Taisha Steele, Director of Human and Civil Rights, Virginia Education Association
Co-Sponsors:

• American University Baker School of Education
• Virginia Education Association (VEA)

Day 2: Friday, June 20

10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

Sign in with Smooth Jazz

10:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Opening Comments

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Opening Plenary Keynote

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Angel Jones, Author, Street Scholar: Using Scholarship to Educate, Advocate, and Liberate
Moderator: Taisha Steele, Director of Human and Civil Rights, Virginia Education Association

12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Break

1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Panel 1: Leveraging Digital Media and Technology for Antiracist Education

Description: Panelists will focus on the use of digital media and technology as tools for promoting antiracism in K-12 education and examine how technology can be used to connect students with diverse perspectives and communities. In an increasingly digital world, educators have the opportunity to leverage technology to create innovative and impactful learning experiences that address issues of race and equity. Participants will explore how digital media, including video, photography, and social media, can be used to engage students in critical conversations about racism and social justice.
Moderator: Candace Johnson, Literacy Coach, Schoolkit
Panelists: Sean A. Bellamy, Doctoral Student, American University; Jaquial Durham, Doctoral Student, Clemson University; Zoe Davis Roff, Teacher, Charleston County Public Schools; Victoria Lemon, Teacher, St. Mary's County Public Schools

2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Break

3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Panel 2: Music for Social Justice: Amplifying Voices of Resistance and Resilience

Description: Presenters will highlight the role of music in fostering antiracism and social justice in PreK-12 education, including expressing resistance and resilience. Explore how educators can use music to engage students in critical discussions about race, identity, and justice. Participants will learn how to incorporate diverse musical genres and traditions into their teaching, creating a classroom environment that celebrates cultural diversity and promotes equity.
Moderator: Dr. Toks Fashola, Senior Professorial Lecturer, American University
Panelists: Dr. James T. Jackson, Associate Professor, Howard University; Ashley Cuthbertson, CEO and Principal Consultant, A. Cuthbertson Consulting, LLC; Brooke Viner, Educator, KIPP DC; Chelsea Nona Green, Teacher, Conroe Independent School District; Veronica Jackson, Orchestra Director, Alexandria City Public Schools; Matthew J. Bowerman, Assistant Principal, Montgomery County Public Schools

Day 3: Saturday, June 21

Location: American University's Spring Valley Building, 4801 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC, 20016

8:45 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Morning Welcome - Room 401

Dr. Rodney Hopson, Interim Dean, American University Baker School of Education

9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Opening Symposium

Room #: 401
Chair(s): Dr. Antonio L. Ellis, American University, and Dr. Alida Anderson, American University

Arts Integration and Inclusive Education through Student Identity

Presenters: Alida Anderson, Professor, American University; Jessica S. Bruce, Teacher and Dance Director, Lab School of Washington; Caolan Eder, Teacher and Curriculum Developer, The Lab School of Washington; Dr. Jenna Gabriel, Independent Consultant, Arts and Special Education

10:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Reframing Literacy Through the Arts for Resistance, Inclusion, and Transformative Teaching: Research Paper Sessions

Room #: 458
Chair: Leslie A. Jones, Retired Theatre Teacher, Alexandria City Public Schools
Discussant: Terence Mayo, Doctoral Student, New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development

The Art of Resistance: How Photography and Storytelling Can Combat the Single Story – Renee O'Connor, Teacher, Miami Norland Senior High School
Multimodal Literacy as Antiracist Praxis: Engaging Diverse Learners through Arts Integration – Dr. Jacqueline Cofield, Adjunct Professor, Hunter College Graduate Baker School of Education
To Teach or Not to Teach: Examining The Literacy Canon to Foster More Inclusive Literature through ELA, Media Literacy, and the Arts – Chon Smith, Equitable Practices and Social Impact Associate, The Browning School; Asha Lindsey, Lower School Music Teacher, The Browning School; Murielle Louis, Library Director, The Browning School

Youth Agency, Arts Activism, and Color Theory in Education: Paper and Artistic Presentations

Room #: 456
Chair: Dr. Jessica M. Jones, Vice President, Virginia Education Association
Discussant: Dr. James J. Fedderman, Immediate Past President, Virginia Education Association

Youth Power and Agency in Program Design & Organization Structure – Nicole Newman, Executive Director, Critical Exposure

Shaping the World into What You Want It to Be: Arts as Antiracist Activism in the Elementary Classroom – Dr. Hank Samuels, Assistant Professor, Mercer University; Dr. Abigail Stebbins, Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University

Using Color Theory to Combat Colorism – Dr. Aimee Bridges, Creative Arts Teacher, C. Elizabeth Regional School

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Lunch Break

Lunch will be provided outside of room 401.

1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Cultivating Community, Cultural Responsiveness, and Transformation in Education: Research Paper Sessions

Room #: 458
Chair: Dr. Sarah Irvine Belson, Professor, American University
Discussant: Charles E. Miller, Jr., Director of Choral Studies, The Key School

Using the Arts to Demystify Culturally Responsive Teaching Across Non-Arts Content Areas – Ashlee Cuthbertson, CEO and Principal Consultant, A. Cuthbertson Consulting, LLC.

Building Community After School: An Arts-Based YPAR Study with SVHS Black Student Union – Celina German, Arizona State University; Linda Nguyen, High School Student; Anisa Johnson, High School Student; Jameir Joyner, High School Student; Aseelah Salahuddin, High School Student; Camarion Samuel, High School Student; Harmony Jackson, High School Student.

Elevating Student Voice, Psychological Safety, and Equity through Creative Expression: Paper and Artistic Presentations

Room #: 456
Discussant: Dr. Toks Fashola, Senior Professor Lecturer, American University

Empower Student Voice Using Facilitative Leadership and the Arts – Tammy Hobson

Poetry as a Reciprocal Feedback System: Leveraging Creative Writing to Promote Psychological Safety for Black Girls in Math Classrooms – Dr. Rachel Cason, Founder, The Playground Multisensory Learning Center, Inc.

Our History, Our Words: Writing and Illustrating Children's Books to Challenge Stereotypes – Renee O'Connor, Teacher, Miami Norland Senior High School

Cultural Appropriation vs. Appreciation in Visual Art Advancing Equity and Challenging Racism in PreK-12 Classrooms – Elizabeth Stuart, Visual Art Supervisor, Prince George's County Public Schools; Jemil Miller, Visual Arts Teacher, Prince George's County Public Schools

3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Break & Informal Networking Activity

Feel free to explore Spring Valley Building or enjoy the weather outside.

5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Dr. Edmund W. Gordon Distinguished Lecture - Room 101

Distinguished Keynote Speaker: Dr. A.D. Carson, Associate Professor of Hip-Hop and a Shannon Center Fellow for Advanced Studies, University of Virginia
Moderator: Jaquial Durham, Doctoral Candidate, Clemson University
Location: American University's Spring Valley Building at 4801 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016, Room 101

7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Networking Reception and Closing Party - First Floor Lobby

(must be 21+ as alcohol will be served)

Dr. Alida Anderson, Professor, American University Baker School of Education

Anderson earned her doctorate in special education from the University of Maryland, College Park, focusing on early childhood language development. Her research and teaching interests focus on contextual factors of language development and literacy acquisition in preschool and school age students with and without exceptionalities. Research projects have focused on developing language skills in preschool and school age children with language impairments and learning disabilities. Anderson’s dyslexia research includes study of cross-linguistic features that predict reading ability in school age monolingual and bilingual English-Chinese speakers with reading disabilities, and response-to-intervention mathematics practices for primary grade students in under-resourced urban school settings.

Dr. A.D. Carson, Associate Professor of Hip-Hop and a Shannon Center Fellow for Advanced Studies, University of Virginia

A.D. Carson's work as a performance artist, educator, writer, and commentator deals with issues of race, place, history, literature, hip-hop, rhetorics & performance. He has written essays and music for Rolling Stone, Washington Post, SPIN, Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, NPR’s Code Switch, Bleacher Report, Scalawag, and a number of other outlets. Carson is suspicious of academia and academics, but he earned a PhD in Rhetorics, Communication, and Information Design at Clemson University in 2017 by submitting the rap album, Owning My Masters: The Rhetorics of Rhymes & Revolutions as his doctoral dissertation. He received the 2021 Research Award for Excellence in the Arts & Humanities from the University of Virginia after the release of his 2020 album, i used to love to dream, with University of Michigan Press. The historic release was the first-ever rap album peer-reviewed for publication with an academic press.

Ashley Cuthbertson, author, speaker, and arts consultant

Ashley Cuthbertson MEd, NBCT (she/her), is a nationally recognized speaker, arts consultant, and the author of Music As a Vehicle: A Practical Guide to Implementing Culturally Responsive Teaching in Today’s Music Classrooms. Her work explores how the arts are a vehicle for building the skills needed for success in school, career, and life—skills like collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, leadership, and perseverance. As the founder and principal consultant of A. Cuthbertson Consulting, Ashley partners with K-12 schools, districts, and organizations to reimagine the arts through a culturally relevant lens to build critical skills for success. 

Dr. Angel Jones, Author

Dr. Angel Jones is an educator, activist, and critical race scholar who uses creative methods such as hip-hop and poetry to center the voices and experiences of the Black community. Her research explores the impact of racism on mental health with a focus on microaggressions and Racial Battle Fatigue. Jones is also a public scholar who uses social media as an educational tool to increase access to academic scholarship. She is the author of Street Scholar: Using Public Scholarship to Educate, Advocate, and Liberate which is an unapologetic call-to-action that challenges academia to thoughtfully and intentionally engage in public scholarship. Jones has been interviewed by media outlets including Forbes, USA Today, and Insider for her expertise on racism in the US.

Dr. Ivory Toldson, Professor of Counseling Psychology at Howard University

Toldson is the chief of research for concentric educational solutions, and the editor-in-chief of The Journal of Negro Education. He also serves as the executive editor of the Journal of Policy Analysis and Research, published by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. He has authored over 100 scholarly works, including 4 books. Toldson's media appearances on MSNBC, CNN, and NPR highlight his commitment to public discourse. He wrote the Brill bestseller, "No BS (Bad Stats): Black People Need People Who Believe in Black People Enough Not to Believe Every Bad Thing They Hear about Black People." Toldson was named one of the nation's top 200 most influential education scholars by Education Week’s Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings. Previously, he served as the director of education for the NAACP and has been the principal investigator for more than 20 NSF grants totaling over $11 million. The Washington Post described him as a leader "who could conceivably navigate the path to the White House," Newsweek Magazine listed him among "30 leaders in the fight for Black men," and Diverse: Issues In Higher Education called him the "Problem Solver." His research and commentary have also been featured in CNN.com, The New York Times, The National Journal, Essence Magazine, US News and World Report, The Grio, and Ebony Magazine. Toldson also served as the president of the QEM Network and was appointed by President Barack Obama as the executive director of the White House Initiative on HBCUs.

The 2025 SIEEJ Planning Committees works to coordinate the success of the Institute.

• Dr. Alida Anderson - Inaugural Visiting Committee Member & Scholar
• Moet Archer – American University EdD Program Liaison & General Support
• Bonnie Berry – Conference Partnerships & Logistics
• Jaquial Durham – General Support & Partnerships
• Dr. Antonio Ellis – Conference Director & Senior Professorial Lecturer
• Mark Forsberg – Conference Registration and Logistics
• Dr. Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy - Ex officio Member and Founder 
• Dr. Rodney Hopson – Conference Chair
• Leslie A. Jones – Conference Speakers
• Dr. Morgan Lee – Sponsorship Coordinator & General Support
• Terence Mayo - Executive Assistant to the Director & General Support
• Maya Mercado-Garcia – Administrative & Technical Assistance
• Emma Rose Neal – Administrative, Marketing, & Technical Assistance
• Jason Pier – Marketing & Communication
• Brittany Rockwell – Graphic Design

Resources to teaching antiracism through the arts:

• Craft Chaps - Rap & Storytellingly Invention: A Craft Chap (a free PDF download), a book by A.D. Carson. Craft Chaps offers substantive essays by contemporary writers on creative writing practice. Each chap focuses on one aspect of craft and also contains a writing exercise and bibliography for further reading. As creative writing teachers, we've been frustrated by the lack of affordable texts available for our students. Introductory textbooks from major publishers often include anthologies of creative work which significantly increase cost, while book-length works of aesthetic theory privilege one aesthetic perspective.
• Music As a Vehicle, a book by Ashley Cuthbertson. Are you ready to move from theory to action in creating an equitable, inclusive music program? Music as a Vehicle: A Practical Guide to Implementing Culturally Responsive Teaching in Today's Music Classrooms is your guide to making culturally responsive teaching a reality in your music program.
• No BS (Bad Stats): Black People Need People Who Believe in Black People Enough Not to Believe Every Bad Thing They Hear about Black People, a book by Dr. Ivory A. Toldson. What if everything you thought you knew about Black people generally, and educating Black children specifically, was based on BS (bad stats)? In No BS, Toldson uses data analysis, anecdotes, and powerful commentary to dispel common myths and challenge conventional beliefs about educating Black children.
• Street Scholar: Using Public Scholarship to Educate, Advocate, and Liberate, a book by Dr. Angel Jones. An unapologetic call-to-action that challenges the Academy to thoughtfully and intentionally engage in public scholarship. Jones introduces us to a "street scholar" - someone whose mission, movements, and motivation are rooted in activism and community uplift.
• The antiracist art education resources from the National Society for Education in Art and Design.