Fourth session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent

Proposed Side Event: Sankofa: Reflections on Ten Years of Black Doctorates Matter and Work Towards Human Rights Monday, March 31, 2025, 7-8:30 pm, Eastern

Dr. Pamela Felder-Small, Ph.D., President and Founder, Black Doctorates Matter Co-Lead, Programs, The United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent International Civil Society Working Group

Time/Date: March 31, 2025, 7-8:30 pm Eastern Program Contact: Via Zoom Registration Link Zoom Link BLACK DOCTORATES MATTER AND ICSWG PFPAD4 is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Sponsoring Organization: ICSWG, Black Doctorates Matter

Location: Zoom Link: Topic: Sankofa: Reflections on Ten Years of Black Doctorates Matter and Work Towards Human Rights Time: Mar 31, 2025 7:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81151602620 Meeting ID: 811 5160 2620 --- One tap mobile +16468769923,,81151602620# US (New York) +16469313860,,81151602620# US --- Dial by your location • +1 646 876 9923 US (New York) • +1 646 931 3860 US • +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) • +1 305 224 1968 US • +1 309 205 3325 US • +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) • +1 386 347 5053 US • +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose) • +1 507 473 4847 US • +1 564 217 2000 US • +1 669 444 9171 US • +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) • +1 689 278 1000 US • +1 719 359 4580 US • +1 253 205 0468 US • +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) • +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) • +1 360 209 5623 US Meeting ID: 811 5160 2620 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kduIAU8Jr8

Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/aP6JqB9PQ5KqAyazfwVtog

Program Contact: Dr. Pamela Felder-Small, Professor, School of Education, Acacia University President and Founder of Black Doctorates Matter

Email: BlackDoctoratesMatter@Gmail.Com

Program Title: Sankofa: Reflections on Ten Years of Black Doctorates Matter and Work Towards Human Rights

Program Overview: This session aims to present Best Practices and a Call to Action focused on research about Black Scholars and Doctoral Students and the ways the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Principles are relevant to our Research and Practice. Scholars have called for the “‘establishment of a joint value system rooted in the universal principles of the United Nations Human Rights Charter, which should be based on respect for the individual and aim for an equilibrium of knowledges from South, North, East and West including indigenous knowledge systems in an ‘ecology of knowledge.’”
This presentation will discuss this knowledge using doctoral student socialization as a framework. There will be an overview of Black Doctorates Matter activities with an emphasis on Human Rights. Panelists will respond to a series of prompts about their doctoral experiences and reflections on Human Rights and there will be a Q&A.

Panelist Information Moderator:

Dr. Pamela Felder-Small, President and Founder of Black Doctorates Matter, Co-Lead for Programs, The United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, is author of Sankofa: African American Perspectives on Race and Culture in US Doctoral Education and The Philosophical Approach of Sankofa: Perspectives on Historically Marginalized Doctoral Students in the United States and South Africa. Her research and practice focuses on the racial and cultural experiences associated with doctoral degree attainment. She is committed to enhancing models of doctoral student socialization with an emphasis on race and culture. The foremost concern in her research is the discussion of inequity in access in postsecondary education. Thus, her work not only examines the statistical trends of the doctoral degree attainment; it also explores Proposed Side Event: Sankofa: Reflections on Ten Years of Black Doctorates Matter and Work Towards Human Rights Monday, March 31, 2025, 7-8:30 pm, Eastern Dr. Pamela Felder-Small, Ph.D., President and Founder, Black Doctorates Matter Co-Lead, Programs, The United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent International Civil Society Working Group pre-doctoral and post-doctoral degree experiences to shed light on the socialization aspects of students who enter doctoral study and the disciplinary identities of doctoral degree completers as they engage their professions.

Doctoral Degree Completer:

Dr. Sydney Freeman, Jr., University of Idaho Dr. Sydney Freeman, Jr. is a full professor at the University of Idaho in the USA where he teaches Leadership Studies. He is also Founder and Executive Director of the Liberation Movement, Inc., a non-profit that seeks to liberate and empower Black people through educational initiatives. He is nationally and internationally recognized for his scholarship in multiple areas including Education, History, Black studies, and Religion and has received many national and international honors including receiving letters of commendation from the US Senate and the Governor of the State of Idaho. He also was a 2024 United Nations Human Rights Fellow and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHISTS) in the United Kingdom. Proposed Side Event: Sankofa: Reflections on Ten Years of Black Doctorates Matter and Work Towards Human Rights Monday, March 31, 2025, 7-8:30 pm, Eastern Dr. Pamela Felder-Small, Ph.D., President and Founder, Black Doctorates Matter Co-Lead, Programs, The United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent International Civil Society Working Group

Doctoral Degree Completer:
Dr. Walter Parrish, UMBC, **Photo Forthcoming Walter is currently the Assistant Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. He brings more than 17 years of experience in higher education as a scholar-practitioner. He previously served as the director of diversity and inclusion at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine, where he focused on advancing the recruitment, retention, and career development of underrepresented students, resident physicians, and faculty, as well as promoting health equity education. He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Millersville University of Pennsylvania, a master’s degree in higher education from Old Dominion University, and a Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a Founding Member of Black Doctorates Matter.

Doctoral Student:

Mr. Nathaniel Smith, University of Colorado Denver Nathaniel Smith is an ordained minister and serves as Director of NYC Men Teach at CUNY Queens College. He is a first-generation doctoral student at the University of Colorado Denver where his dissertation focuses on the lived experiences of Black males in doctoral education. He is a 2024 Asa G. Hilliard III and Barbara A. Sizemore Research Course on African Americans in Education Fellow. Nathaniel is the Creator of “Dissertating While Black,” a nationwide initiative and supportive community for Black male doctoral students. Nathaniel is a New York City native, and he is married with four children.

Doctoral Student
 
Ms. Shlinda Smith, Walden University, Shlinda is an educator from the South Side of Chicago, she currently teaches English and Math to Junior High School students at Fernwood Academy. She has over 15 years of experience teaching, mentoring, entrepreneurship, and coaching volleyball and basketball. Her classroom Motto is “ Do what you have to do Now so that you can do what you want to do Later.” Her classroom is considered a home away from home environment. She believes in creating a space in the classroom that is welcoming and inclusive for all voices to be heard. She currently sits on the following