EMU Today

YPSILANTI – Participants will learn a variety of skills, including training on activism, political involvement, networking and servant leadership, along with hearing from keynote speaker Marc Lamont Hill, at a Black Leadership Summit, to be held at Eastern Michigan University Feb. 1 at the Student Center.

The Second Annual Black Leadership Summit, will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will offer a full day of training on various aspects of leadership. The workshops will be led by student leaders on the Eastern Michigan campus as well as community leaders.

“I believe this is worthwhile for students to attend, because it will help provide the necessary tools to become the leader they want to be,” said Kyra Mitchell, vice president of the EMU Black Student Union, which is hosting the event. “As students, we understand the different skills that students need or want to develop more, and we have been able to create an entire summit around that and cater it to underrepresented students. It takes a student to know what students need, and I believe we've done that with this year’s Black Leadership Summit.”

Hill is a host of BET News and a former political contributor for CNN, as well as a professor at Temple University. He has been a social justice activist and organizer since his youth, and is a founding board member of My5th, a non-profit organization devoted to educating youth about their legal rights and responsibilities. Recently, Hill has worked on campaigns to end the death penalty and to release numerous political prisoners. Ebony Magazine also named him one of America's 100 most influential men.

Following Hill’s keynote, the summit will feature a "Buy Black Expo,” featuring various Black owned businesses from the community. Any interested black business owners can email organizers at emublackstudentunion@gmail.com for a vendor application.

The summit is free and open to the public. People who are interested in attending can register at the summit registration web link.

About Eastern Michigan University

Founded in 1849, Eastern is the second oldest public university in Michigan. It currently serves more than 17,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University's Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Engineering and Technology; Health and Human Services; and, its graduate school. EMU is regularly recognized by national publications for its excellence, diversity, and commitment to applied education. For more information about Eastern Michigan University, visit the University's website.