Office of Diversity and Inclusion book club to continue in spring

The Northwest Missouri State University Office of Diversity and Inclusion invites all students, faculty and staff to join its Bearcat Diversity Book Club next spring for discussions about issues of race in education.  

Beginning the week of Jan. 4, 2021, and continuing every other week via Zoom, students will meet on Tuesday nights, and employees will meet Mondays and Tuesdays from noon to 1 p.m. Dr. Justin Mallett, associate provost of diversity and inclusion, and staff members representing the Office of Diversity and Inclusion will moderate the discussion based on “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race,” a book by Dr. Beverly Tatum.

Tatum’s book argues that direct conversations about racial identities is essential to enable communication across racial and ethnic divides. It follows the fall book series, which focused on “So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo.

“The first book allowed the participants to define and understand why we need to have discussions on issues of race,” Mallett said. “Tatum’s book will specifically look at certain topics such as racism and how racial identity affects underrepresented students.”

The registration deadline is Friday, Dec. 11, and interested participants may purchase the book on Amazon.

Participating Northwest student employees also may receive Career Pathing credits. For more information about Career Pathing, visit www.nwmissouri.edu/hr/student/trainingopps.htm.

For more information about the Bearcat Diversity Book Club, contact Mallett at jmallett@nwmissouri.edu.