Registration Now Open for 'An Evening with Heather McGhee'
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 19, 2022) — Registration for “An Evening with Heather McGhee,” a free event hosted by the University of Kentucky and Blue Grass Community Foundation (BGCF), is now open.
The event is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 28, in UK’s Gatton Student Center Ballroom. Free parking will be available in the UK Cornerstone parking garage.
McGhee will discuss her bestselling book, “The Sum of Us," in which she argues that racism has costs for everyone — not just people of color. One of today's most insightful and influential thinkers, McGhee offers a powerful exploration of inequality in the United States. McGhee finds examples from across the country of how racism hurts us all and explains the benefits we gain when people come together across races to accomplish what we simply can’t do on our own.
McGhee's talk will be preceded by a short program, featuring Black artists and exciting announcements of how we will put these ideas into action to advance racial equity in our communities. The talk will be followed by a curated conversation and Q&A led by Kentucky Educational Television moderator Renee Shaw.
Members of the community can submit a question here for McGhee.
Leading up to the event, everyone in the greater Lexington community is invited to read “The Sum of Us” and join in this One Book, One Lexington Community Reads movement and regional conversation about the costs of racism. The UK Office of the Provost has made 600 e-books available for download for UK employees. Additionally, the Lexington Public Library has procured 250 print and digital copies of the book.
One Book, One Lexington Community Reads “The Sum of Us” is just one of a series of events that will be announced over the course of the year designed to engage the community, deepen knowledge and prompt action on issues of racial equity and anti-Black racism.
These efforts are guided by a collaboration that includes the Lexington Black Prosperity Initiative, the UK Office for Institutional Diversity, CivicLex, Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass, the Lexington Herald-Leader, the Lexington Public Library, RADIOLEX, WUKY and Blue Grass Community Foundation, with generous funding support from Walton Family Foundation.
More information about “An Evening with Heather McGhee” can be found here.
Members of the UK community who are unable to attend the event in person can watch the event live here.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.