Inclusive Innovation Story Series 2021:
Celebration of Black Innovation
presented by Gilliam Center for Entrepreneurship & JMU X-Labs
We invite you to celebrate Black Innovation in the JMU community
Watch the event premiere on the JMU X-Labs YouTube Wednesday, March 24, 2021 at 7pm.
The Inclusive Innovation Story Series is an annual event that seeks to celebrate barrier-breaking, cutting edge, and visionary stories from under-represented groups of JMU students, faculty, staff and alumni through Tedx Style presentations and events.
Each year will highlight a different part of the JMU community that makes our campus a thriving and vibrant place to learn and work, while also allowing a space for honest conversations and common ground. It is the goal that participants and viewers alike will reflect on what “innovation” means to them, considering a broader meaning of the word that need not be mired in the tech-startup stereotype it so often is, while also learning from people whose lives and perspectives may vary from their own.
The I2S2 hopes to highlight unique voices that embody a forward-thinking celebration of the creative spirit that can be found in all disciplines. Stories will be pre-recorded with a premiere showcase event that will take place March 24th, 2021 in conjunction with the University Diversity Conference.
2021 Speakers & Special Guests
- Nahshon Ford – “Surrender Forward”
- Ashla Hill Roseboro, Ph.D – “Visionary Black University Women” A Tale of the Black Press Elevating Unsung Heroes”
- Malique Middleton – “Liques Skin Care”
- Michael Hickman – “A Raw and Honest Look at the Past: Contextualizing 21st Century Systemic Racism through W.E.B. Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk”
- Raiquan Thomas – “Put in the Work”
- Adrena May – “JMU Ole School Alumni Group: Creating Scholarships, Memories, Traditions and Relationships”
This event will feature a contextual introduction from Tulo Odumosu of JMU ISAT and AAAD, and be hosted by former JMU Board of Visitor’s Mike Battle.