Dr. Monique Couvson: Honoring MLK at Ivy Tech’s 20th Annual Doing the Dream Banquet
For the last 20 years, various authors, leaders and thinkers have shared their stories in front of the Kokomo community to embrace the legacy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. left behind.
At 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 25 at Hingst Hall at Ivy Tech Kokomo campus, you’re invited to this year’s community banquet with keynote speaker, author and social justice scholar Dr. Monique Couvson.
“For many people, it’s something they look forward to each year,” said Linda Ferries, media relations coordinator at Ivy Tech Community College. “They know we bring in people with great credentials and will bring a challenging and thoughtful message.”
“This is one of our premiere events. It’s a benchmark for Ivy Tech for the whole state,” said Ferries. “Community is part of our name and our goal is to first elevate the community by the education we offer and to engage the community in other ways that will advance and improve the area we serve.”
The event includes a banquet, an hour-long address from Couvson and a 30-min Q&A session to finish the evening. For the first time in the event’s history, a live stream of the event will be made available to the public for no cost.
“We realize that not everybody can afford the $60 ticket or come to evening events due to scheduling conflicts, but we still want this valuable information to be shared with the community,” said Ferries.
Photo Provided | Ivy Tech of Kokomo
2015 - LaVar Burton from “Roots,” “Reading Rainbow,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (Pictured with Former Chancellor Steve Daily)
This event was constructed to honor Dr. King’s commitment to justice, equity and peace within and throughout the years has featured speakers such as Holocaust survivor Eva Kor, historian Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.; actor and education champion Lavar Burton and more.
“We have a commitee and work with a speakers burugh. We’ve become good friends and they understand our format, so they bring 6 or 8 potential speakers to us each year and we choose the one we want to bring.”
According to her website, Dr. Couvan has three decades of experience in the areas of education, civil rights, juvenile and criminal justice. Her research intersects race, gender, education and justice to explore the ways in which black communities and other communities of color are uniquely affected by social policies.
On Jan. 26, Dr. Couvan will meet with several individuals in a workshop with educational and community leaders to talk about the challenges students face and how we can work to build a better future for our students.
“The K-12 students become our students so we have a real stake in helping any conversation to improve at all levels,” said Ferries.
Tickets can be purchased at this link, and more information on Dr. Couvan can be found here.