The TeachDETROIT program in the Wayne State University College of Education's Division of Teacher Education, along with the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at the Wayne State University School of Law, are partnering this fall for a series of panel discussions on issues of race and class in Detroit schools. The six-lecture series is entitled, "Education, Race, and Society: The Dignity of People, The Destiny of Detroit."  

The first lecture will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, at Wayne Law's Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium, and will cover Governor Rick Snyder's plan for Detroit schools. 

Wayne State President M. Roy Wilson will deliver opening remarks, and the lecture will feature a panel that includes local community, school and government representatives. 

Panelists include Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit NAACP;  Jeffery Robinson, principal of the Paul Robeson/Malcolm X Academy, Detroit Public Schools; Abbie Groff-Blaszak, director of educator talent and policy coordination, Michigan Department of Education; and Charlie Beckham, group executive for Department of Neighborhoods for Mayor Duggan's office in the City of Detroit.  

The series is open to the public. In addition to the Sept. 24 panel, the series will be held on Oct. 8, 22 and 29; Nov. 12; and Dec. 3. Each lecture will bring together three or four diverse thinkers to speak about race and class, with a respondent who is a teacher or administrator in a Detroit school. Local journalists and members of the Wayne State University community will moderate each panel, and student leaders will facilitate small-group discussions with the audience following the presentations.    

The lectures are being offered for course credit at Wayne State University and also for continuing education credits through the Michigan Department of Education.   

The event is free and open to the public. The Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium is located at 471 W. Palmer in Detroit. Parking is available in Structure 1 at the corner of Cass and Palmer for $7. For more information, contact Jennifer Lewis at 313-577-1765 or jmlewis@wayne.edu.