Racism topic of Penn State Greater Allegheny summit

By JEFF STITT
jstitt@yourmvi.com
Over the past year, Penn State Greater Allegheny has been using its Crossing Bridges Summit to challenge its students, faculty and staff to engage with residents from the Mon Valley to talk about a hot button issue: racism.
The university announced that Vanessa German, a visual and performance artist from Homewood will lead the next Crossing Bridges Summit Speaker Series slated for April 5 and April 6.
German is the founder of Love Front Porch and the ARThouse, a community arts initiative for the children of Homewood.
The Summit’s infrastructure consists of four pillars: Speaker Series, Summit Talks, Unity Talks and Visiting Scholar Series.
The Speaker Series brings prominent figures to campus to offer different perspectives on questions of race and racism in the United States and the Mon Valley.
Past Summit speakers have featured scholar Michael Eric Dyson, McKeesport-native Brandon Short and most recently activist Angela Davis.
After the speaker event, the Summit Talks begin. The public invited to join panelists and discussion leaders in conversations about major points the speaker shared during his or her presentation.
Following the Summit Talks, student-led, campus-based discussions called “Unity Talks” commence focusing on topics that emerge from student dialogue about race and racism.
The final pillar, the Visiting Scholar Series, brings intellectuals, artists, activists and others to campus for a year-long engagement.
Thomas G. Poole, the first visiting scholar, is a civil-rights expert who has worked extensively in educational equity. Poole will help lead the summit programs.

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