The Institute for Black Catholic Studies (IBCS) of Xavier University of Louisiana will host a symposium titled, “Black Lives Matter: Urban Education Matters,” on October 21-22 on the campus of the University in New Orleans. The symposium will be focused on addressing issues of racial conflict and the need for racial reconciliation, the current culture of violence in thecountry and the enduring effects of poverty, especially among those in the African American community.
The symposium seeks to address critical and urgent concerns of the black community and to serve as a catalyst for new solutions and clear actions. It will include, keynote addresses, by Rev. Dr. Frederick D. Haynes, III, senior pastor of Friendship West Baptist Church, Dallas, Tex., and Brittany N. Packnett, executive director for Teach for America in St. Louis and member of the Ferguson Commission. Workshops will delve into issues of urban Catholic education, racism on America’s college campuses, education reform, school to prison pipeline, racial and cultural consciousness, and being young, black and gifted.
General admission for the conference is $65. Online registration and a complete schedule is available at www.xulablacklivesmatter.com/. For additional information call 504-252-0080.
Xavier University of Louisiana founded by Saint Katharine Drexel and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in 1925 is the only historically Black and Catholic university in the Western Hemisphere. Founded in 1980, the Institute for Black Catholic Studies (IBCS) of Xavier University of Louisiana offers programs in pastoral theology, religious education and pastoral ministry. The IBCS provides an intellectual, spiritual and cultural immersion in the Black Catholic experience for all those interested in or committed to Catholic ministry within the black community.