[Libs-Or] PCC hosts Ethnic Studies Youth Conference for middle and high school students [FYI]

[Max Macias]

[FYI]

On Friday, May 26, Portland Community College is hosting the Ethnic Studies
Youth Conference in partnership with Pacific University College of
Education. It is free and open to the public.

This annual conference, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in
Buildings 3, 5, and 7, offers complimentary parking at the Rock Creek
Campus (17705 NW Springville Road)
<https://www.pcc.edu/locations/rock-creek/>, and features middle and high
school student art, testimonies, and research on the pressing issues of the
day. Gabriel Higuera, who is a PCC Ethnic Studies Program instructor and
director of the Critical Educators of Color Pathway (CECP) Program
<https://www.pcc.edu/news/2022/12/critical-educators-of-color-pathway/> is
anticipating 300 middle and high school students from throughout Oregon.

The students and their teachers will share research as local education
officials and administrators learn more about what teachers, schools, and
districts are doing in terms of ethnic studies teaching and practice. In
addition, community leaders and scholars will lend expertise and help in
connecting youth to organizations and movements, including environmental
justice; health and healthcare; women’s rights; LGBTQ+ rights; immigrant,
migrant and refugee rights; education; art; youth rights; state violence;
economic equity; white supremacy; and threats to democracy.

The students and their teachers will share research as local education
officials and administrators learn more about what teachers, schools, and
districts are doing in terms of ethnic studies teaching and practice. In
addition, community leaders and scholars will lend expertise and help in
connecting youth to organizations and movements, including environmental
justice; health and healthcare; women’s rights; LGBTQ+ rights; immigrant,
migrant and refugee rights; education; art; youth rights; state violence;
economic equity; white supremacy; and threats to democracy.

“Ethnic Studies exists at Portland Community College, as well as statewide,
as a result of tireless advocacy on behalf of students and community
leaders demanding an inclusive and honest education that does not center
the the experience of one particular group as reflective of the whole,”
said Higuera.

PCC’s conference seeks to bridge communication between and among people,
connecting age groups, institutions, and geographies. This event is timely,
said Higuera, as Oregon is nearing the 2026 Ethnic Studies Standards
mandate articulated in House Bill 2845. The law directs the Department of
Education to convene an advisory group to develop statewide ethnic studies
standards for adoption into existing statewide social studies standards for
public kindergarten through grade 12. The bi-annual conference is designed
as a platform for youth voices in a supportive environment and is supported
by a grant from the Oregon Community Foundation.

For more information, visit the Ethnic Studies Program webpage
<https://www.pcc.edu/programs/ethnic-studies/>.

For more information on Race, Indigenous Nations, and Gender (RING) courses
that are interdisciplinary and cover issues that cross borders of all kinds
visit pcc.edu/programs/ring/ <http://pcc.edu/programs/ring/>.

-- 
*Gabriel Antonio **Higuera, PhD*
Instructor, Ethnic Studies
Portland Community College
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