UTPB hosts racial justice panel
Mar. 2—The University of Texas Permian Basin's Ad Hoc Committee on Systemic Racism will engage in community discussion on promoting transformative justice at 7 p.m. Wednesday in LL001 in the Library Lecture Hall on campus.
The committee was developed within the Department of Literature and Languages, a news release said.
One hallmark of the committee's endeavors is to address racial bias. In this respect, Ad Hoc Committee Chair Marlon Fick announced that the panel will address "How Can I Make a Difference? A Panel Discussion on Racism."
Fellow committee member and Ph.D. in the Literature and Languages Department, Myra Tatum Salcedo, in a press release described transformative justice as "going beyond mere tolerance to acknowledging that there is a problem, and then attempting to listen, understand, encourage empathy, and make a change."
Panelists will include Derek Catsam, James Fuller, and Dr. Skip Batch, the release said.
The discussion will open with remarks from the panelists, followed by a question-and-answer session and an open discussion. Panelists include:
James E. Fuller of Midland. Fuller is an associate member of the Texas Caucus of Black School Board Members and Vice President of the West Texas Region 18 Education Service Center. A longtime advocate of academics, equality, and equity for all, Fuller attended segregated (and desegregated) schools in San Angelo Independent School District. An English Professor at Midland College for 42 years, Fuller was elected to the Midland Independent School District Board of Trustees in 1988 and served through Jan. 4, 2021. He is the longest-serving MISD trustee in the history of the district. An educator by profession, he is a Texas Association of School Boards "certified Master School Board Trustee." He worked with the Texas Education Agency to create the district's Lone Star Governance Plan. Fuller is a former junior and high school instructor with Lubbock. His wife and collaborator, Robbyne Hocker Fuller, is the founder and CEO of the Midland Black Chamber of Entrepreneurs, Inc. (Midland African American Entrepreneurs Chamber of Commerce), and the founder of the Midland African American Roots Historical/Cultural Arts Council Inc.
For 15 years, the Fullers have sponsored the local UT Austin Barbara Jordan Essay Competition which has honored all ethnicities as competition winners.
Derek Charles Catsam is professor of history at UTPB and the Kathlyn Cosper Dunagan Professor in the Humanities. He is senior research associate at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa, where he spent 2016 as the Hugh Le May Fellow in the Humanities. He is the author of Freedom's Main Line: the Journey of Reconciliation and the Freedom Rides, (2009), Beyond the Pitch: The Spirit, Culture, and Politics of Brazil's 2014 World Cup (2014) and Bleeding Red: A Red Sox Fan's Diary of the 2004 Season (2005). His latest book, Flashpoint: How a Little-Known Sporting Event Fueled America's Anti-Apartheid Movement, will be released later this year and tells the story of the South African national rugby team's 1981 US tour and its impact on America's apartheid protests.
Dr. Skip Batch. A nationally known medical professional and anesthesiologist at Odessa Regional Medical Center Hospital.
For more information, contact Fick, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Literature and Languages, at 432-552-2303.
