Donald Blake Center
For the Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Culture
Purpose
The purpose of the Donald Blake Center at Walla Walla University is to create an intellectual community dedicated to the study of race, ethnicity, and culture. Inherent in this work is a commitment to understanding how inequalities grounded in race, ethnicity, and culture are maintained, developing initiatives that challenge these injustices, and pursuing transformative changes on our campuses and across the region.
History
The center is named in honor of Donald Blake, a member of the faculty in the Walla Walla College Department of Biological Sciences from 1962 to 1969. When Blake accepted the position at WWC, he was one of the first Black tenure track faculty to be hired at a predominately white Seventh-day Adventist college or university. He has also held teaching positions at Oakwood College, University of Rhode Island, Ohio State University, Mississippi Valley State University, Southern Illinois University, University of Kentucky, Kentucky State University, and University of Hartford. He has also held administrative positions in higher education, including vice president for academic affairs at Kentucky State University and dean of instruction at Mississippi Valley State University.
Past Events
6th Annual Academic Conference
April 12-14, 2022Keynote Speakers: Guadalupe Gamboa and Michael Fox, María Isabel Morales, Mario Jimenez Sifuentez
Learn more about the 2022 conference >
5th Annual Academic Conference
April 13-16, 2021Keynote Speakers: Rebecca Parshall, David Williams, Donald Blake
Learn more about the 2021 conference >
4th Annual Academic Conference
May 14-15, 2020 [CANCELED]Keynote Speaker: Claudia Castro Luna
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3rd Annual Academic Conference
April 11-12, 2019Keynote Speaker: Terrence Roberts
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2nd Annual Academic Conference
April 19-20, 2018Keynote Speaker: Benjamin Madley, associate professor of history, University of California at Los Angeles
Learn more about the 2018 conference >
Inaugural Academic Conference
April 20-21, 2017Keynote Speaker: George Yancy, professor of philosophy, Emory University