Social Justice Speaker Series

SOCIAL JUSTICE SPEAKER SERIES

SOCIAL JUSTICE SPEAKER SERIES

Unique Speakers Series Opens Dialogue about Social Justice

Dayton Metro Library and our series sponsor, Friends of the Dayton Metro Library, are pleased to continue the Social Justice Speaker Series, which aims to understand and demonstrate the effects of social justice in society.

This series is comprised of unique, award-winning and professional speakers. Patrons will have the opportunity to listen to them discuss some of the most critical social justice issues of today, as they provide insights from their professional fields and personal journeys.

Registration is not required, but each program is designed for a specific age groups.

Unique Speakers Series Opens Dialogue about Social Justice

Dayton Metro Library and our series sponsor, Friends of the Dayton Metro Library, are pleased to continue the Social Justice Speaker Series, which aims to understand and demonstrate the effects of social justice in society.

This series is comprised of unique, award-winning and professional speakers. Patrons will have the opportunity to listen to them discuss some of the most critical social justice issues of today, as they provide insights from their professional fields and personal journeys.

Registration is not required, but each program is designed for a specific age groups.

Unique Speakers Series Opens Dialogue about Social Justice

Dayton Metro Library and our series sponsor, Friends of the Dayton Metro Library, are pleased to continue the Social Justice Speaker Series, which aims to understand and demonstrate the effects of social justice in society.

This series is comprised of unique, award-winning and professional speakers. Patrons will have the opportunity to listen to them discuss some of the most critical social justice issues of today, as they provide insights from their professional fields and personal journeys.

Registration is not required, but each program is designed for a specific age groups.

ABOUT OUR 2024 SPEAKERS

ABOUT OUR 2024 SPEAKERS

Join Cheryl Brown Henderson for an evening of reflection and memories as she takes patrons back to this significant time in American history and discusses how it still impacts us today.

Cheryl Brown Henderson is the daughter of the late Rev. Oliver L. Brown. Rev. Brown, along with a team of attorneys for the NAACP and 12 other parents in Topeka, Kansas, filed suit on behalf of their children against the local Board of Education for segregating public schools.

Their case joined cases from Delaware, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C. on appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, and on May 17, 1954, it became known as the landmark decision Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. This case was legally named for Oliver Brown, i.e., Oliver L. Brown et. al. vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, KS. et. al. Rev. Brown died in 1961, before knowing the impact this case would have on the nation.

This event is co-sponsored by Friends of the Dayton Metro Library and the Charles F. Kettering Foundation.

John Carlos will captivate the audience as he shares a pivotal story of how standing up for equal rights, then and now, has shaped his journey as an athlete and an activist.

At the 1968 Olympics Trials, John Carlos stunned the track world when he beat Tommie Smith in the 200-meter final, surpassing Smith's world record by 0.3 seconds. Though the record was never ratified because the spike formation on Carlos' shoes wasn't accepted at the time, the race reinforced his status as a world-class sprinter.

During the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, Carlos earned a bronze medal in the 200-meter. During the award ceremony, alongside Smith, he courageously stood - with his Black-gloved fist raised in the air and his shoes removed — for racial equality on the world’s largest stage during the Civil Rights Movement. This act established a legacy of championing for equal rights that continues to inspire activists today.

The Social Justice Speaker Series is sponsored by Friends of the Dayton Metro Library and this event coincides with the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. 

Michael D. Tubbs has made history as a political trailblazer. This evening, he will discuss that history by expressing the importance of Universal Based Income (UBI): what it is, how it can benefit the U.S., and what needs to be done to implement it.

In 2016, he was elected Mayor of Stockton, California, at the age of 26. He was the city’s first African-American mayor and the youngest of any major city in American history. As mayor, Tubbs was lauded for his leadership and innovation. He raised over $20 million to create the Stockton Scholars, a universal scholarship and mentorship program for Stockton students. Additionally, he piloted the first mayor-led guaranteed income program in the country.

Under his leadership, Stockton was named an “All-America City” in 2017 and 2018 by the National Civic League. The city saw a 40% drop in homicides in 2018 and 2019, led the state of California in the decline of officer-involved shootings in 2019, and was named the second most fiscally healthy city in California. It has also been recognized as one of the most fiscally healthy cities in the nation and. Tubbs was featured in an HBO documentary film titled Stockton on My Mind.

In 2021, Tubbs released his book, The Deeper The Roots: A Memoir of Hope and HomeCurrently, he is the Special Advisor to California Governor Gavin Newsom for Economic Mobility and Opportunity, the Founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI), and the Founder of End Poverty in California (EPIC).

The Social Justice Speaker Series is sponsored by Friends of the Dayton Metro Library.

Nearly 15-20% of the population is neurodivergent. This includes ADHD, autism, synesthesia, high sensitivity, sensory processing disorder, and many more. Jenara Nerenberg, author of the acclaimed book Divergent Mind, will discuss these topics and a path forward to better support neurodivergent individuals.

Divergent Mind is hailed by Library Journal as “extraordinary and jaw-dropping.” Endorsed by New York Times bestselling authors Susan Cain, Elaine Aron, Steve Silberman, Robert Whitaker, and many others, Nerenberg’s book has been translated into multiple foreign languages worldwide. She is an award-winning writer and producer, named as a “Brave New Idea” speaker by The Aspen Institute, and. She graduated from the Harvard School of Public Health and UC Berkeley with advanced degrees in public health and race relations.

The Social Justice Speaker Series is sponsored by Friends of the Dayton Metro Library.

PAST SPEAKERS

PAST SPEAKERS

Anthony Ocampo - To Be Brown and Gay in the USA
November 13, 2023
Event Photos, opens a new window  |  Event Video, opens a new window

Chris Smalls: Workers Fight Back - The Worker-Led Movement to Organize Amazon
October 19, 2023 | Event Photos

Dr. ShaDawn "Boobie" Battle and Company: The Chicago Footwork Experience
July 22 , 2023 | Event Photos

Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women
May 18, 2023 | Event Photos

AAPI Feminist Leadership
May 6, 2023 | Event Photos

Local Children's Authors
Kiara Berry, Henry Benton, & Kwaunisha Moore
July 09, 2022 | Event Photos, opens a new window

Candice Brackeen
General Partner at Lightship Capital
August 6 , 2022
Event Photos, opens a new window  |  Event Video, opens a new window

Dr. Kurt Russell
2022 National Teacher of the Year
April 25, 2023 | Event Photos, opens a new window

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