LBCC Hosts Willamette University Professor Emily Drew, Conversation Project Program

Willamette University professor Emily Drew will present the Conversation Project Program discussion “White Out: The Future of Racial Diversity in Oregon” at Linn-Benton Community College on Thursday, Feb. 23 from 3 to 4:30 in the Fireside Room, second floor Calapooia Center, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany.

Drew will lead a discussion that explores the question: What does the racial integration of place require of us, and how might we prepare to create and meet this opportunity?

A Unity Celebration will follow the presentation from 5 to 7 p.m. in the college Diversity Achievement Center, second floor Forum building. This year’s theme is “Making Connections,” including partners in our communities that engage in diversity, multi-cultural and inter-cultural work.

Drawing on 2010 census data that shows Oregon’s population becoming more racially diverse, yet the state remains one of the whitest in the nation, the discussion will focus on how although Oregonian’s value racial diversity, we have yet to fulfill the vision of a racially integrated society.

Drew, an associate professor of ethnic studies at Willamette University, teaches courses on racism, race and ethnicity, urban sociology, mass media, and social change. She earned her doctorate from Loyola University, Chicago and has published articles in Critical Studies in Media Communication, Television and New Media, and in Tourism and Cultural Change.

Through the Conversation Project, Oregon Humanities offers free programs that engage community members in thoughtful, challenging conversations about ideas critical to our daily lives and our state's future.

This program is free and open to the public and is made possible by the generous support of Oregon Humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Oregon Cultural Trust.

For more information, contact the LBCC Diversity Achievement Center at 541‑917‑4461.