Author and social justice scholar Monique Morris to speak at WFU

Author and social justice scholar Monique Morris will deliver the 2017 Anna Julia Cooper lecture at Wake Forest University on Tuesday, February 21 at 6 p.m. at the Porter Byrum Welcome Center. Morris’ research intersects race, gender, education, and justice to explore the ways in which black communities, and other communities of color, are uniquely affected by social policies.

Morris is the author of Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools, a discussion about the experiences of black girls across the country whose intricate lives are misunderstood, highly judged — by teachers, administrators, and the justice system — and degraded by the very institutions charged with helping them flourish.

Morris’ lecture is being hosted by the Anna Julia Cooper Center, an interdisciplinary center at Wake Forest University that supports, generates, and communicates innovative research at the intersections of gender, race, and place in order to ask new questions, reframe critical issues, and pursue equitable outcomes. The Center is led by Maya Angelou Presidential Chair and founding director Melissa Harris-Perry.

Each year the AJC Center hosts a distinguished scholar, activist or artist to address the University and broader community. Morris will deliver the 6th annual Anna Julia Cooper lecture.

Morris has more than 25 years of professional and volunteer experience in the areas of education, civil rights, juvenile and social justice. In addition to Pushout, she is also the author of Black Stats: African Americans by the Numbers in the Twenty-First Century and Too Beautiful for Words. She collaborated with Kemba Smith on her book, Poster Child: The Kemba Smith Story, and has written dozens of articles, book chapters, and other publications on social justice issues and lectured widely on research, policies, and practices associated with improving juvenile justice, educational, and socioeconomic conditions for Black girls, women, and their families. Morris is the founder and president of the National Black Women’s Justice Institute, an adjunct associate professor for Saint Mary’s College of California, and an appointed member of the OJJDP National Girls Initiative Expert Panel, the California Department of Education’s Juvenile Court Student Transition Workgroup, and the California Board of State and Community Corrections’ Committee on Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparity.

“Dr. Monique Morris is an extraordinary researcher and advocate who has become the leading public voice addressing the disproportionate discipline black girls experience in U.S. schools and its subsequent impact on their education and well-being,” said Harris-Perry. “Dr. Morris’ careful, brilliant scholarship puts the humanity of the girls at the center of her inquiry and positions them as the experts on their lives. The Anna Julia Cooper Center is thrilled to welcome Dr. Morris to Wake Forest University to deliver the 2017 Anna Julia Cooper lecture.”

The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Tickets can be reserved here. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. with seating on a first-come, first-served basis.