Cal Poly will host a panel discussion webinar titled ‘Addressing Racism and Diversity in Music Institutions’ at 11:10 a.m. on Thursday, April 28. This webinar is the third in a series sponsored by Cal Poly’s Music Department, the College of Liberal Arts and the Instructionally Related Activities program according to a press release from Cal Poly News.
The event will examine race in music institutions through the lense of prominent African American and African scholars.
Similar to the first two webinars, associate dean of the College of Arts and Science and professor of music at the University of Missouri Stephanie Shonekan joins the dean of the College of Creative Arts at West Virginia University Keith Jackson as guest panelists at the event. Cal Poly’s director of Jazz Arthur White will serve as a moderator for the discussion.
The talk will be built upon conversations previously held at the first two webinars in the series in Nov. 2020 and April 2021.
“The webinars are repetitive in nature because the information needs to be repeated. The issue of race isn’t solved in one panel discussion,” White said.
“This panel will discuss the realities of racism and experiences in personal careers,” White said in an interview for the Paso Robles Daily News in 2021. “It will address why certain literature and pedagogical methods are more pervasive than others and the potential for affecting change through increasing diversity and inclusion.
According to White, the main goal of the webinars is to raise the standard of expectation for a student population that demands equity diversity and justice.
The webinar is free and open to the public. You can register for the discussion on the Music Department calendar website. For more information, email music@calpoly.edu or call (805) 756-2406.
