Here in the Honors Program, we are incredibly proud of our talented team of educators. The professors in our program come from a wide array of academic disciplines and they are incredibly passionate about the subjects they study and teach. This quarter, the Honors Program is happy to welcome three new professors who will be teaching new Honors courses.
Professor Kennedi Strickland-Dixon will be teaching a section of HON 208/302 (Seminar in Social Justice) titled, “Racism and Educational Inequalities in African-American Youth” this quarter. Her work focuses on the intersection of race and education, critically examining our societal frameworks and systems of marginalization. One of our blog writers, Allison Scott, reached out to her to find out more about her class and hopes for the quarter.
Tell us a little about yourself!
I am a proud alumni of DePaul University. I completed my doctorate in Educational Leadership at DePaul University in 2013. My area of focus for my dissertation was on the experiences of African-American males with past histories of enrollment in special education that successfully transitioned to college. Utilizing critical race theory as my framework and methodology was the beginning of me devoting the last 10 years of research, professional development, and presentations to examining the impact of race in education. I have had the opportunity to present at professional conferences and school districts in the area of addressing the educational needs of students of color.
I have received community awards and recognition for my commitment to the field of education. I have had the distinct honor of being invited by Senator Kimberly A. Lightford to serve on the Governor’s Whole Child Task Force that focused on trauma in schools and supported students’ needs. I have served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Mary E. Smith Foundation for 15 years. I serve as an Executive Board Member with the Triton College Alumni Association. I have been a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority for the past 29 years.
I have been married to Christopher Dixon, Sr for 26 years and I am the proud mother of two college aged sons Christopher, Jr and Kyle. Prior to my time at DePaul, I devoted 28 years of my professional career to public education. For the past 19 years, I served as the Director of Special Education.
Can you tell us about the Honors course you will be teaching in the fall?
I will be teaching a course entitled Racism and Educational Inequalities in African-American Youth. The course will take a deep dive into the impact of race in education.
The lives of African-American children and adolescents—particularly the challenges they face— are a fixture in the media and in educational discourse. But beyond the headlines, what can rigorous scholarship teach us about Black youth? On the other hand, how have research and theory historically failed or fallen short, often by omitting the voices of Black youth themselves? This course will draw on sociological lenses to provide a theoretical, historical, and empirical overview of issues affecting the education of Black youth in America.
Through discussion-based sessions, we will first explore sociological frameworks for understanding structural racism, in tandem with examining links between policies affecting African-American youth and associated life outcomes. Next, we will explore the relationship between policy and public discourse as it relates to Black youth—that is, how does the way we talk about these young people relate to policies, and how can policies in turn shape our language and assumptions? We will then shift our conversation to classroom life, considering the way that racism can impact students’ everyday experiences. Finally, we will look toward potential interventions and counternarratives in research, policy, art, and activism that have the potential to upend such trends. This course is intended to equip students with the background knowledge to think critically about issues of racism and antiblackness that they can carry with them into the field as researchers, policymakers, or practitioners.
In your opinion, how does your course relate to DePaul’s Vincentian mission of social justice?
My course relates to DePaul’s Vincentian mission because it acknowledges that African-Americans have been marginalized in this country as an issue of social justice. The course looks at the impact of this marginalization and seeks to provide solutions to give voice and eradicate the historical injustices that have occurred.
If a student leaves your class having learned just one thing, what do you hope that one thing would be?
They will learn that they have the power to make a difference in the world we live in. Accepting the status quo is an option they don’t have to subscribe to.
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