What: "Social Justice: A Movement Not a Moment" – The 17th annual Equity and Diversity Conference at the University of North Texas, featuring keynote speaker Melissa Harris-Perry, Maya Angelou Presidential Chair at Wake Forest University and editor-at-large at ELLE.COM.

When: 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 23 (Thursday)

Where: UNT’s University Union, located at 1155 Union Circle in Denton.

Cost: Free for all UNT faculty, staff and students (registration is required), $75 for general registration, $50 for UNT alumni and $25 for students at other colleges and universities. Registration is available online and must be completed by Feb. 13 (Monday) in order to guarantee conference meal accommodations (breakfast and lunch). On-site registration is available.

More information: Parking is $2 per hour in the Union Circle Parking Garage at 350 Welch Street in Denton. A Parkmobile lot is also available at the corners of Avenue C and Chestnut Street and Avenue C and Highland Street. View the UNT parking map here.

DENTON (UNT), Texas - Author, professor and journalist Melissa Harris-Perry will give the keynote address at the 2017 Equity and Diversity Conference at the University of North Texas.

Aimed at students, educators and professionals who are committed to equity, access and inclusion, the conference will take place from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.  Feb. 23 (Thursday) in UNT’s University Union. The union is located at 1155 Union Circle.

Sponsored by the Division of Institutional Equity and Diversity, the theme for this year’s conference is "Social Justice: A Movement Not a Moment." Selected students, faculty and staff from disciplines such as political science, women’s studies, journalism and media arts will have a more intimate conversation with Harris-Perry around the conference theme before she gives her keynote address at 12:30 p.m.

"As students indicate an interest in becoming more actively engaged with social justice topics both on campus and in the broader community, we want to give them and the faculty and staff that support them an opportunity to directly engage with others doing this work,"said Shani Barrax Moore, UNT’s Director of Diversity and Inclusion.

The conference has been restructured this year to feature speakers and presenters related to equity and inclusion in the areas of bias awareness, discrimination policies and practices, gender and gender identity, race and ethnicity and social justice education.

This year’s conference will also include a presentation of the Division of Institutional Equity and Diversity’s inaugural Inclusive Excellence Award presented to the Educational Leadership Program in the College of Education for its commitment to culturally proficient instruction.

Workshops will be offered throughout the day for registered attendees on topics such as ableism, intersectionality, social justice, white privilege and microaggressions. The conference will provide a more interactive experience through social media this year, with an available mobile app, Snapchat filter and a conference hashtag #UNTEDC17.

After receiving her bachelor of arts degree in English and her doctorate in political science, Harris-Perry studied theology at Union Theological Seminary in New York. She previously served on the faculties of the University of Chicago, Princeton University and Tulane University and hosted the television show "Melissa Harris-Perry" from 2012-2016 on MSNBC.

She currently serves as the editor-at-large at ELLE.COM and is the Maya Angelou Presidential Chair and executive director of the Pro Humanitate Institute at Wake Forest University. Harris-Perry has written two books, "Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought" and "Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America."

The conference will conclude with a networking reception and performance by UNT alumnus Quentin Moore at 5 p.m., followed by a 6 p.m. performance by UNT alumnus and spoken word artist Joaquín Zihuatanejo and members of the UNT community performing pieces around the conference theme.

To register for the conference, visit https://edo.unt.edu/equity-and-diversity-conference. Registration will remain open (free to all UNT Denton faculty, staff and students) until Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 5 p.m. Onsite registration will be available the day of the event. For more information, call the Division of Institutional Equity and Diversity at 940-565-2711 or