Digital Coffee with Crossroads: A conversation with Sherita Love and Dr. Kia Caldwell Dec 13th, at 10:30am-12:00am CT

OVERVIEW

Coffee with Crossroads: A conversation with Sherita Love and Dr. Kia Caldwell, Professor of African & African American Studies at Washington University St. Louis 

Now More Than Ever: Advancing Antiracist Education in Higher Education

Saturday, December 13^th from 10:30am to 12pm

Across the nation, higher education stands at a pivotal crossroads. As debates about teaching and learning intensify—and as political pushback challenges the very principles of antiracist education—the work of building just and inclusive institutions has never been more vital or more urgent.

This 90-minute Coffee with Crossroads invites educators, administrators, and campus leaders to reaffirm their commitment to antiracist education as a cornerstone of higher learning. Together, we will explore how to sustain and advance this work even in the face of resistance. Participants will examine how antiracist practices can transform policies, pedagogy, and campus culture to create environments where all students can learn, belong, and thrive.

Through data-informed discussion and practical frameworks, participants will leave with renewed energy and tangible strategies for advancing antiracist education in their own contexts—moving from awareness to meaningful, lasting action.

**Participants will: **

* Reconnect with the “why” behind antiracist education and its essential role in higher education today

* Acknowledge and navigate the realities of political and institutional pushback

* Explore practical, sustainable strategies for embedding antiracist principles in classrooms, programs, and leadership

* Leave with tools, language, and renewed courage to champion antiracist teaching and institutional transformation

Coffee with Crossroads-STL Edition Guest Speaker: Dr. Kia Caldwell

Dr. **Kia Lilly Caldwell** has conducted groundbreaking research in the United States and Brazil focusing on gender and racial equity and intersectionality. Her scholarship highlights how the relationship between race and gender shapes Black women’s experiences and activism across the Americas. She has also led significant research in public health, including HIV/AIDS studies in both Brazil and the U.S.

Dr. Caldwell is the author of *Negras in Brazil: Re-envisioning Black Women, Citizenship, and the Politics of Identity* (Rutgers University Press, 2007) and *Health Equity in Brazil: Intersections of Gender, Race, and Policy* (University of Illinois Press, 2017). She has co-edited *Gendered Citizenships: Transnational Perspectives on Knowledge Production, Political Activism and Culture* (Palgrave, 2009) and *Engaging the African Diaspora in K–12 Education* (Peter Lang, 2020).

A passionate advocate for racial and gender justice in education, Dr. Caldwell is Co-founder and Director of the African Diaspora Fellows Program, through which she has developed innovative and impactful professional learning opportunities for K–12 educators. Her work has been supported by the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Mellon Foundation, and the National Science Foundation, among others.

Her research has appeared in leading journals including *Social Science & Medicine*, *The Journal of the National Medical Association*, *Meridians*, *Revista Estudos Feministas* (Brazil), and *Saúde em Debate* (Brazil). Her commentary has also been featured in *The Washington Post*, *The Conversation*, and *The Raleigh News & Observer*.

Dr. Caldwell’s current projects include an anthology on transnational Black feminisms and research exploring Black women’s engagement in electoral politics and democratic imagination in the United States and Brazil.

Suggested Donation:

At Crossroads, we believe that meaningful dialogue should be accessible to everyone. That’s why Coffee with Crossroads is free of charge—as a gift to our friends, partners, collaborators, and the broader public.

However, if you find value in the conversations we’re curating and the voices we’re amplifying, we invite you to support this work. The recommended donation amount is $20 but any contribution is appreciated.  

Your donation helps us continue producing thoughtful, inclusive content that sparks change and builds community. Together, we can keep this space open, accessible, and thriving. 

To make a donation, click on the Donation during check out and enter the amount of the donation you would like to make.

COURAGEOUS CONVERSATION AGREEMENT

The Courageous Conversation Agreement is the set of principles that informs the way Crossroads expects people who participate in our programming to engage with each other as well as our staff and vice-versa to create a space everyone can speak freely in, especially when delving into particularly sensitive topics. The agreement is as follows:

Every person in the room has inherent worth and value no matter their background. Because of this, we must all listen to understand and not just listen to respond when an opinion is shared. We must each take responsibility for the way we choose to share our opinions and embrace ambiguity, keeping in mind that not every situation is cut-and-dry. We must also make a conscious effort to make room for as many diverse voices as possible, so we are able to consider the topic at hand from different angles and perspectives. Finally, we must preserve the integrity of the stories that are shared within this conversation by respecting one another, holding space when necessary and making sure that anything shared in confidence remains that way and does not leave the room.

ACCESSING THE EVENT

Registered guests will be provided with a zoom link after receiving a confirmation email. All guests must have a registered Zoom account to ensure security and confidentiality of the space. If you do not have a Zoom account, please create a free Zoom account beforehand: https://zoom.us/freesignup/. In order to access the full functions of Zoom and our shared workspaces, we highly recommend joining the meeting from a laptop or desktop computer. Accessing the event through a tablet or phone will limit your ability to interact with the fullness of the experience.

In order to give our facilitators an idea of what to expect, we ask that you share your question or topic of interest while you sign-up. 

If you have concerns about your ability to participate or any accommodation needs, please contact us at registration@crossroadsantiracism.org.
Kindly mark the dates on your calendar!