Shaundel Spivey, executive director of Black Leaders Acquiring Collective Knowledge, presented “Reimagining Equity Work” during a TEDxUWLaCrosse presentation April 19 at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The theme of the event was Renewal. Spivey says you can’t do true authentic equity work without doing work on you first. As we strive to build an equitable and loving community, we have to imagine the work differently. To do this we must truly examine ourselves and the roles we all play in the perpetuation of this inequitable community we live in. Shaundel will provide the audience a visible reminder of how to build an equitable community. Spivey has a strong reputation for promoting diversity and social justice in the Coulee Region of Western Wisconsin.
In 2016, he founded a nonprofit — Black Leaders Acquiring Collective Knowledge — which empowers La Crosse’s Black community by focusing on seven pillars: community engagement, financial literacy, youth engagement, family, spirituality, health and wellness, and directed the difficult transition from high school to college for under-priviledged students. He received La Crosse’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award, was elected to the La Crosse Board of Education in 2020 and invited to join the WI Governor Tony Evers’ newly formed Advisory Council on Equity and Inclusion providing strategic guidance to the governor, lieutenant governor and Department of Administration secretary to develop a sustainable framework to promote and advance diversity, equity and inclusion practices across Wisconsin state government. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.