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Wednesday, August 3, 2022
PF&R Panel Session
Barrier Breakers: Media Educators Meeting the Diversity Challenge
Moderating/Presiding
George L. Daniels, Alabama
and Carolyn Bronstein, DePaul
Panelists
Jason Begay, Montana; former president, Native American Journalist Association
Otis Sanford, Memphis
Alice Tait, Central Michigan
Stan Tickton, Norfolk State
John Watson, American
Six media educators share their decades of wisdom from working directly in the ongoing battle for diversity, equity
and inclusion. Still teaching classes, some for more than 30 years, these Barrier Breakers have combined more than
100 years of experience teaching journalism and communication. They are featured in an upcoming book Barrier
Breakers: Media Educators Meeting the Diversity Challenge. While John Watson (American University) and Otis
Sanford (University of Memphis) broke racial barriers in the newspaper newsrooms, Jason Begay, a former president
of the Native American Journalists Association, made history in his department at the University of
Montana. Getting their start at Wayne State University here in Detroit, Michigan, Alice Tait (Central Michigan) and
Stan Tickton (Norfolk State) are some of the longest-serving faculty members in the nation. The five faculty share
their stories during a panel moderated by George Daniels (Alabama). This session is sponsored by AEJMC’s Elected
Standing Committee on Professional Freedom and Responsibility.
2:30 to 4 p.m. / W000
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Elected Standing Committee on Research
Research Panel Session
Teaching, Researching and Reporting on “Divisive Concepts”: Is There a Chill
on Academic Freedoms?
Moderating/Presiding
María E. Len-Ríos, Minnesota
Panelists
Keonte Coleman, Syracuse
Tori Ekstrand, North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Earnest L. Perry, Missouri
Amber Roessner, Tennessee, Knoxville
State legislatures across the country have introduced legislation under the auspices of “protecting student rights,”
which are seen by many university communities as limiting freedom of speech and the freedom to discuss important
intellectual topics. Some state legislation prohibits the use of public state funds for diversity training, bans required
diversity training, and some states do not allow the introduction of ideas like critical race theory, implicit bias, or
white privilege, which is deemed “divisive” and dangerous. Other legislation penalizes institutions with the threat of
withdrawing funding. How is this affecting critical thinking and dialogue in our classrooms? How are we teaching
student journalists to cover these stories? What legal protections do faculty have in discussing these concepts and
issues?
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2022 AEJMC Detroit Conference Program Copy