Last Updated on January 11, 2024 by Ivy Tech Community College Kokomo Service Area
KOKOMO, Ind. – Tickets for Ivy Tech Community College Kokomo’s 2024 “Doing the Dream” community banquet are now on sale. The banquet, featuring award-winning author and social justice scholar Dr. Monique Couvson, is set for Thursday, Jan. 25, in Hingst Hall on the Ivy Tech Kokomo Campus.
On the 20th anniversary of Ivy Tech’s “Doing the Dream,” Dr. Couvson will bring an inspiring and challenging message that pulls from her three decades of experience in the areas of education, civil rights, and juvenile and criminal justice. The banquet is part of the college’s annual events designed to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and to keep alive his commitment to justice, equity, and peace within its students and the community.
Dr. Couvson also will be facilitating a workshop for a select group of community and educational leaders on Friday, Jan. 26. Her book “Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools” will serve as the basis of the two-day community discussion.
Tickets for the Jan. 25 banquet are $60 each and will be available until Jan. 20, unless sold out earlier. To purchase tickets, go to link.ivytech.edu/2024DoingtheDream or contact Miriam Thomas, Ivy Tech resource development director, at mlthomas@ivytech.edu or 765-252-5500. All proceeds from the banquet support the Ivy Tech Kokomo “Doing the Dream” Diversity Scholarship. A virtual opportunity to hear the speaker via YouTube also will be available.
Once again, Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) is speaker sponsor for the banquet, which annually brings leaders from throughout the community together with a distinguished speaker to address issues of local, state and national importance.
Ivy Tech Kokomo’s “Doing the Dream: A Cultural Celebration” has been an annual event for the community and local students designed to embrace and celebrate cultural diversity as expressed by Dr. King. “Over the last 19 years, we estimate nearly 30,000 people – school children, high school and college students, teachers and faculty members, religious and civic leaders, and community members – have participated in ‘Doing the Dream’ activities,” Ivy Tech Kokomo Chancellor Ethan Heicher said.
Couvson’s research has focused on the intersections of race, gender, education and justice to explore the ways in which Black communities, and other communities of color, are uniquely affected by social policies. She is the president and CEO of Grantmakers for Girls of Color, which has developed four signature funds, including the Black Girl Freedom Fund. She is also the Founder and board chair for the National Black Women’s Justice Institute. Couvson’s work has been profiled by MSNBC, CSPAN2, The Washington Post, The New York Times, NPR, USA Today, and PBS, among other national and local print, radio, and television media. Her complete biography is available here: https://drmoniquecouvson.com/bio
SOURCE: News release from Ivy Tech Community College Kokomo Service Area