College hosting state Multicultural Education Conference March 30, 31

The 9th Annual Conference of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Association for Multicultural Education comes to Penn State Harrisburg Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 31.

With the theme, "The Journey of Multicultural America: Exploring Multiple Migrations, Identities, and Linguistic Diversity," the conference will feature a wide array of presentations focusing on contemporary and historical migration and immigration, language and literacy, the numerous issues resulting from the enslavement of Africans and the genocide committed against the indigenous population, and an array of topics related to educating a diverse population.

Dr. Carmen Tafolla, Friday evening’s keynote speaker, is a Chicana writer and speaker from San Antonio, Texas, who has published five books of poetry, seven television screenplays for children’s television, more than twenty children’s stories, and numerous other short stories and articles.

In 1999, she was awarded the Art of Peace Award "for work which contributes to peace, justice, and human understanding," and in 2003, her children’s book, Baby Coyote and the Old Woman, was nominated for a Texas Bluebonnet Award.

Saturday’s keynote speaker, Lee Mun Wah, is a nationally acclaimed lecturer and trainer, Chinese American community therapist, documentary filmmaker, educator, performing poet, Asian folkteller, and author. In 1993, his first film on Asian Americans, Stolen Ground, won the San Francisco International Film Festival’s Certificate of Merit Award for Best Bay Area Documentary.

His second film, The Color of Fear, won the National Education Media Network’s Best Social Documentary Award for 1995. That same year, Oprah Winfrey televised a one-hour special on his work and life.

The Color of Fear and two other Wah films — Last Chance for Eden I and Color of Fear II — will be shown as part of Saturday’s programming.

In addition to Wah’s keynote to begin the day, Saturday includes presentations on a variety of topics including: Understanding Latino Culture; Language, Culture, and Learning; Race and Identity; Multiculturalism and Children’s Literature; The Enduring Effects of American Indian Stereotypes; Understanding Islam and the Middle East; Multicultural Education in the Urban Environment; Linguistic Diversity; Multiculturalism and the Immigrant Experience; and Oppression and American Identity.

Complete program and registration information can be found athttp://www.nameorg.org/Chapters/Pennsylvania.htm. For additional information, phone the Penn State Harrisburg Office of Continuing Education at 717-948-6505 or e-mail ksk1@psu.edu.