The 25th Black History and Scholarship Banquet will be held Feb. 17 and 18 in Kansas City, Kan.
The host of the event is the Unified Government’s Black History Committee. The committee is a partner with the Kansas City, Kan., Public Library and Kansas City Kansas Community College to bring Jane Elliott, a lecturer and diversity trainer, to Kansas City, Kan., for the two-day event.
“This is our 25th year and the Black History Committee is appreciative of the collaboration with KCKCC and the KCK Public Library to bring in such a dynamic speaker like Jane Elliott to our community for Black History Month,” said Deasiray Norris, Black History Committee Chair, in a news release.
This year’s theme is “Power, Perception and Prejudice; What’s Goin’ On Jane Elliott’s powerful and thought provoking lectures will provide an added insight to the problems of racism, sexism, and the many -isms of life that people experience one time or another.
“I believe that the issue that divides us is the ignorance that causes us to believe in the myth of race, and it is my intention to make as many people as possible aware of that myth, the problems that we experience because of it, and the solutions for those problems and that ignorance,” Elliott said.
Elliott will deliver two presentations during her two day stay in Kansas City, Kan.
On Friday, Feb. 17, Elliott will deliver a two hour lecture from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the “Anatomy of Prejudice” at Memorial Hall located at 600 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kan. This event is free and open to the public.
On Saturday, Feb. 18, Elliott will deliver the keynote message “Power, Perception, and Prejudice” during the Black History and Scholarship Banquet at the Jack Reardon Convention Center, at 500 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, Kan. The two hour banquet starts at 6 p.m. Scholarships will be presented to local college students and there will be an award presentation to acknowledge a local black entrepreneur. Tickets for this event are $50. Contact Deasiray Norris at 913-573-5110 or [email protected] to purchase tickets.
– Information from Edwin Birch, Unified Government