Professor Cornel West is scheduled to keynote a leadership conference in Detroit on Thursday.
The National Black Men in Leadership Summit is set to take place at the Fort Pontchartrain Hotel, organized by the Michigan Diversity Council and the National Diversity Council. The leadership development event seeks to “bring together Black male professionals across industries, job functions and interests while providing high-level cross-industry networking, professional development and restorative experiences to navigate them toward personal and community growth,” organizers said.
Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II and National Diversity Council Chair Dennis Kennedy will open the summit, themed Resilient Leadership, Connection, Community and Contribution.
West is an author, activist and philosopher known to many as Brother West. He is Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair at Union Theological Seminary and a former professor of the practice of public philosophy at Harvard University and professor emeritus at Princeton University.
The event will include panel discussions from a list of Black men holding executive positions at major institutions, breakout sessions and awards.
“Despite progress over the years, Black men continue to be underrepresented in the C-Suite, boards and executive leadership teams,” said Dennis Kennedy, founder and chairman of the National Diversity Council. “It is time to commit to increasing advancement opportunities for Black men in workplaces and communities.”
According to the National Diversity Council’s website, the goal of the summit is to “educate, inspire, and encourage attendees to reflect on their own goals and status as they strive to advance within their respective organizations. And more than ever, we hope to help companies embrace and champion policies that dismantle an unjust system and move towards racial equity and inclusion in the workplace.”
The summit takes place 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday at the Fort Pontchartrain a Wyndham Hotel, 2 Washington in Detroit.
Registration for this year’s event is closed.
Brendel Hightower is an assistant editor at the Detroit Free Press. Contact her at [email protected]. To subscribe, please go to freep.com/specialoffer.
