ISU Human Rights Day set for March 2

Indiana State University’s Human Rights Day Committee has scheduled the 2021 Human Rights Day for 9-11 a.m., on Tuesday, March 2.

Unlike previous years, this year’s event will take place virtually and involve many students from a handful of communities.

Each year, a keynote speaker is featured and the day includes several other speakers, workshops and much more. But, because of COVID-19 pandemic concerns, this year’s event will feature two speakers.

Nationally recognized business and community leader Derek Rhodes is this year’s featured speaker. Following a virtual welcome, which will feature Indiana State University President Dr. Deborah Curtis, Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett and Vigo County School Corporation Superintendent Dr. Rob Haworth, Rhodes will begin speaking at 9:25 a.m.

During his keynote address, “How to Change the World,” Rhodes will explain how he used his personal experience to help him on his life journey of community engagement. He will also detail what he learned during this process, while sharing with students how they can make a lasting contribution in the world.

After graduating from Duke University in 2015, Rhodes served as an intern during the Obama Administration, an experience which he said helped him to inspire others to create change. Currently, Rhodes serves as the Director of Business Strategy for the National Basketball Association’s Miami HEAT.

His book, “Jimmy for the City,” was published in 2016 and teaches young children the importance of local engagement. In 2019, he also founded the Durham Success Summit, a one-day leadership conference for college-aged men of color.

Rhodes’ speaking engagement is sponsored by CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center.

The day’s second speaker will be Creighton University Sustainability Director Nick McCreary, who previously served as Indiana State University’s Sustainability Coordinator and Environmental Science Instructor.

McCreary is a graduate of DePauw University, where he studied geology, political science and philosophy. He attended graduate school at Saint Louis University and worked at Indiana State University from 2017-2020 before taking his current position at Creighton.

Scheduled to begin at approximately 10:25 a.m., McCreary will discuss how historic, systemic and structural racism has condemned communities near oil refineries to a life of poverty, health issues and land insecurity. He will also attempt to offer a solution he refers to as “A Just Transition,” which he describes as a “vision-led, unifying and place-based set of principles, processes and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.”

A question and answer session will follow’s McCreary’s presentation.

Those interested in attending the event may do so by logging onto https://indstate-edu.zoom.us/j/92610588587 the day of the event.