Civil Rights Activist Tafeni L. English to Present “Bridging The Divide” on February 6

Jefferson Community College (JCC) will welcome Tafeni L. English, Civil Rights Activist, on Thursday, February 6, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. in the Fireside Lounge, Collaborative Learning Center (Building 15). English is the Director of the Civil Rights Memorial Center at Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in Montgomery, Alabama. Her presentation titled “Bridging the Divide” will challenge and inspire audience members to take a look at the power in racial equality, diversity and love in an effort to affect personal, social and global change. The presentation is free to attend and the public is welcome.

With over 20 years of experience advocating for social justice issues, English presents nationally to colleges and universities, community groups, civil and human rights organizations, schools and churches. She first joined the SPLC in 1997 as a research analyst for the Intelligence Project and later served as the first Director of Teaching Tolerance’s Mix It Up program, which encourages schoolchildren to identify, question and cross social boundaries by sitting with someone new in the school cafeteria. She later worked for another Montgomery-based civil rights organization before returning to the SPLC in 2019. She is most passionate about mental health issues and helping young girls lead healthy lives in the Black community. She holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in counseling and psychology from Troy University, Troy, Alabama.

The Civil Rights Memorial Center at the SPLC is an interpretive center that provides visitors with a deeper understanding of the civil rights movement and includes the Civil Rights Memorial, which honors 40 men, women and children killed during the movement. The mission of The Southern Poverty Law Center is to dispel hate and bigotry and seek justice for the most vulnerable members of society using litigation, education, and other forms of advocacy.

For more information, contact the JCC Social Science Department at (315) 786-2294. 

This event is held in observation of Black History Month and sponsored by the JCC Diversity Work Group and Social Science Department.