What does history teaching, history telling, and academic mentorship need to do right now, in our current moment? Join us on March 17 as we welcome Dr. Stacey Patton in discussion of these topics and more amid growing debates around Critical Race Theory, the whitewashing of US history, and archival research. With a specific focus on how a white female immigration scholar nurtured a young Black female journalist coming into academia amid growing debates over identity politics and storytelling, this reflective conversation will also offer insight into how to encourage people to get into libraries and archival spaces.

For Your Reference is dedicated to media and information literacy — teaching our viewers not only how to access information but also how to be savvy consumers of that information. In addition to a critical analysis of political discourse from our guest scholars, librarians will offer tips on locating reliable information on the topic and will explore the UT Libraries’ archives in search of pertinent historical collections.

Join our livestream event at 7 p.m. (EST), Thursday, March 17 via YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter. Expect a lively discussion with opportunities to ask questions of our guest scholars!

Dr. Stacey Patton is an award-winning journalist, author, college professor, and nationally-recognized child advocate. Her writings on race, child welfare issues, higher education, and culture have appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, BBC News, Al Jazeera and a host of other outlets. She has appeared on ABC News, CBS, CNN, MSNBC and Democracy Now. Dr. Patton’s academic research focuses on the intersections of race and parenting, the racialization of child development, Progressive-era child welfare reform, and the lynching of children. As a child advocate, she travels the country providing consultations, workshops, and keynotes to social work professionals, clinicians, law enforcement, educators, and communities on issues of race and policy, cultural competency, culturally responsive education, as wells as child abuse prevention. Dr. Patton is the author of That Mean Old Yesterday, Spare the Kids: Why Whupping Children Won’t Save Black America, and the forthcoming books, Strung Up: The Lynching of Black Children in Jim Crow America, and Not My Cat — A Children’s Story.