Leadership Symposium 2009

2nd Annual Student Leadership Conference: featuring damali ayo

Oct 28th,2009

Wednesday, 4-5pm

Kirby Ballroom

no charge / refreshments served

damali ayo is an acclaimed creative thinker with regards to issues of race. Her performances, “rent-a-negro.com” and “Panhandling for Reparations” launched international conversations about the way race is handled between individual members of a society.

Her “I Can Fix Racism” guide and presentation gives ten practical solutions people can do to improve the state of race relations in our culture by enhancing our personal interactions. Presented simply, directly and with her signature sense of humor and intimate stories, ayo’s approach to race relations is simply unforgettable.

Ayo’s best selling book How to Rent a Negro (Lawrence Hill Books, 2005) has been described by its readers as the “funniest and most helpful book I've read on black-white racial interactions in the USA…Must reading for all Americans. Could well be the ‘Little Black Book’ that finally starts the honest dialog black and white Americans must begin in order to make us all whole again.” - Speakout website

http://www.speakoutnow.

Ayo has a Bachelors degree from Brown University in a dual concentration of Public Policy and American Civilization. She also holds a Masters in Fine Art from Portland State University in Studio Art. She is an avid gardener and herbalist and she strives to live a life in harmony with principles of sustainability. She lives in Los Angeles, CA with her blind adopted dog, Stevie.

Students, staff, faculty, and members of the community are invited to attend. Refreshments will be served.

This event is co-sponsored by the UMD Diversity Commission, Kirby Program Board, and the Black Student Association.