Our Story
A dedicated cadre of students of color at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) created the Alumni of Color Conference (AOCC) during the 2002/2003 school year to bring awareness to the educational issues impacting communities of color. In keeping with this effort, every year, alumni and current HGSE students design and facilitate a space that aims to inspire and transform education by convening educators, scholars, researchers, change makers of all varieties, policymakers, and students of all backgrounds concerned with issues of race, class, and education as they pertain to all people and, in particular, to Communities of Color.
At its founding, the conference was “an opportunity to invite back alumni of color in the field and in the academy to present their work so we could learn from them and connect with them,” says AOCC co-founder Daren Graves, Ed.D.’06, now an associate professor at Simmons University in Boston and a regular attendee of AOCC.
While the conference has taken on many themes over the two decades, each year the AOCC inspires attendees to effect lasting change
Traditional research conferences are often more dispassionate or detached, and sometimes communities of color are ‘studied,’ but not in a way that honors what they have to contribute, AOCC celebrates research, scholarship, and practice that works in partnership with, or is led by, people of color. One of the most impactful aspects of the conference, has been creating a space to honor the contributions of alumni of color. It also creates a space for current students to learn, explore, and collaborate outside of the walls of a classroom.
AOCC has become part of the fabric of HGSE,” says Graves. “It has made HGSE a better place, and a better place in particular for our community of color.”
AOCC Founders
Anjali Adukia | Laura Carmen Arena | Wanda Bailey | Jeremy Brown | Tara Brown | Dorinda Carter | Martha Casas | Anisha Desai | Robert Fowler | Antonio Garcia | Frank Gaytan | Lamont Gordon | Daren Graves | Heather Harding | Elizabeth Holliday Keishana Howse | Carol Hsiao | Julia Hunter Cavanaugh | Keishia Kemp | Sun Kim | Erin Lewis | Roystone Martinez | Victor Milner Katrina Mitchell | Aaron Park | Wendy Perez | Richard Reddick Louie F. Rodriguez | Khadijah Salaam | Steve Song | Carol Strickland | Phitsamay Sychitkokhong | Frank Tuitt | Dyan Watson | Marcia Wells | Hope Williams | Kia Martin
The Harvard Graduate School of Education is committed to open discourse and academic freedom. Since its inception in 2003, The Alumni of Color Conference (AOCC) has become a learning space to connect and think critically about issues of race, class, and education as they pertain to all people—and in particular, to Communities of Color. It is an opportunity to bring people of various perspectives together and celebrate the diversity of thought, even though perspectives and ideas may be difficult or challenging to hear. An invitation to speak at the Harvard Graduate School of Education does not imply an endorsement of the speaker’s views or values by HGSE, Harvard University, or members of its community. Further, please keep in mind that that the ideas and opinions expressed by groups and individuals during AOCC do not reflect the views and values of the Graduate School of Education or Harvard University.