Northeastern Illinois University’s Daniel L. Goodwin College of Education will host Mirelsie Velázquez, Ph.D. for the 11th Annual Jean Burke Carlson and Diane Berger Ehrlich Memorial Lecture.
The lecture, titled “Our Stories Matter: Community Cultural Wealth, the Archives, and Puerto Rican Education History in Chicago,” will begin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12 in the Auditorium on Northeastern’s Main Campus, 5500 N. St. Louis Ave., in Chicago. A brief reception with Velázquez will be held in Alumni Hall before and after the lecture. This event is free and open to the public.
RSVP is suggested, but not required. Complimentary parking for the event will be available on Levels 4 and 5 of the Parking Facility.
Velázquez is an associate professor of Latina/o Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on the history of education, women's history, Puerto Rican studies and gender. She is the author of “Puerto Rican Chicago: Schooling the City, 1940-1977” (University of Illinois Press, 2022), which explores the Puerto Rican community’s response to urban decay and the challenges that this phenomenon creates for education. In her talk, Velázquez will explore the significance of community stories and archives, focusing on how Puerto Rican and other ethnic communities can lead essential conversations about our shared future. She will demonstrate that community-based stories and archives are powerful pedagogical tools in justice-oriented education.
The Jean Burke Carlson and Diane Berger Ehrlich Memorial Lectureship was established in 2010 in honor of Carlson (1922-2010), and was renamed in April 2019 to also celebrate Berger Ehrlich (1943-2019). Both were former Northeastern professors and department chairs in the College of Education, which became the Daniel L. Goodwin College of Education in 2015.
Past Jean Burke Carlson and Diane Berger Ehrlich Memorial Lectureship speakers include:
- Award-winning Educator Gholnecsar (Gholdy) E. Muhammad, Ph.D. (2023)
- Planetary Protection Specialist Moogega Cooper (2022)
- Original “Freedom Writer” Manny Scott (2020)
- Professor of Educational Policy and Planning at the University of Texas at Austin Angela Valenzuela (2014)
- Filmmaker Oliver Stone (2013)
Top photo: Mirelsie Velázquez, Ph.D.
