TEDx Collier Heights returns in 2021 with a celebration of ‘Blackness’
By 404 Communications
TEDx Collier Heights presents its second annual TEDx event Saturday, September 18, 12:00pm – 6:00 pm, at Best End Brewery, 1036 White St SW, Atlanta, GA 30310.
Scheduled to take place on the 126th anniversary of Booker T. Washington’s 1895 Keynote Cotton Expansion Speech, this annual event will feature several speakers who will discuss various topics surrounding the shared theme of “BLACK,” including leadership, culture, colorism, community and more.
“This year, we wanted to be very intentional about the messages that we distributed through this platform,” said Ann Hill-Bond, licensee and curator for TEDx Collier Heights. “Let’s be honest, Atlanta is a Black city with a lot of Black excellence that is dispersed throughout the world.”
“All we’ve done is gathered just an extremely small fraction of those people in place to speak about some real topics that affect not only Black Atlantans, but in some ways, the entire diaspora. And we’re doing it with the Collier Heights community, a place that has a very rich history for Black people in Atlanta.”
For this occasion, TEDx Collier Heights has brought together a mixed group of Atlantans (both native and transplants) who will reflect on the shared idea of “Black as a noun, verb, adjective, and biographical name” and how it has impacted their lived experience in City of Atlanta through their respective professions and interests; speakers include:
– Melissa Mitchell, Artist + Designer and Founder of A Better Life
– James “Jay” Bailey, President/CEO of The Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurship
– Terence Lester, Author + Activist Founder of Love Beyond Walls/Dignity Museum
– Kiyomi Rollins, Co-Founder of The Ke’enkt Cooperative
– Chief Judge Asha Jackson, DeKalb County Superior Court
– Brandon Butler, Executive Director of Butter ATL
– Aiyisha T. Obafemi, Media Strategist, Mentor, and Author
– Osei Kweku, International Content Creator and V-103 Radio Personality
– Dr. Stacii Jae Johnson, Lifestyle Coach and Author
– Ray Daniels, CEO/Founder R.A.Y.D.A.R Management LLC.; SVP /A&R Warner Music
– DJToomp, 3x Grammy Award Winner and multi-platinum music producer
– Hulio Smith, General Manager of Atlanta Celtics
An independently organized TEDx event in Atlanta, Georgia, TEDx CollierHeights’ will explore the southern city with a population that has proven capacity to affect the character, development, and behavior on a local, national, and global scale.
“When we started this back in 2019, we knew that it was needed and it would have an impact, but what we didn’t know was how welcomed we would be. It’s not every day that you have a platform such as TEDx, allow you to curate something specifically for Black people without trying to control it or put restrictions on how we express ourselves,” Hill-Bond said.
“And the beauty of it is that Tedx Collier Heights was made in Atlanta and curated for Atlantans, but it doesn’t just stay here in the city, but it’s held on an international platform and distributed to the world.”
For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit https://tedxcollierheights.eventbrite.com or visit https://www.ted.com/tedx/events/43678.
