Why We Built BEAST: Education

BEAST: Education (Black Excellence, Access, Strength & Truth) is a live, community-centered roundtable conversation created in honor of Black History Month.

The event brings together Black educators across roles, including general education, special education, paraprofessionals, adaptive programs, athletics, and former educators, for an evening of honest dialogue, professional reflection, and community engagement.

The purpose of BEAST is simple and urgent:to strengthen the education pipeline by creating space for authentic conversation about representation, retention, and the lived experiences of Black professionals in education.

This is a real conversation.

https://events.humanitix.com/beast

Understanding Community Collaboration

Participants and audience members are invited into dialogue around the realities of the profession, the importance of Black presence in education, and the long-term impact this work has on students, families, and communities. The format is intentionally conversational, allowing the room to breathe, respond, and reflect together.

BEAST is open to:

• educators

• students considering careers in education

• mental health professionals

• families

• and community members

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The event is livestreamed and recorded for educational and archival use, expanding its reach beyond the room and creating long-term resources for future conversations and classrooms.

By hosting BEAST, partner institutions support a meaningful Black History Month initiative that directly aligns with community partnership, student engagement, diversity, equity, and workforce development, especially in building and sustaining pathways into the teaching profession.

This is what it looks like when we invest in the people who shape the future.