Tuesday, September 29 2:40 PM - 4:25 PM
Education Building — 117 - Presentation Theater
Join us for the 16th Annual Critical Diversity Studies Forum, "Educate to Liberate: How Learning Sets Us Free," on Tuesday, September 29th, 2:40–4:25 PM in Presentation Theater.
"Educate to Liberate: How Learning Sets Us Free” asks us what it means to pursue knowledge, creativity, and collective learning in a time marked by censorship, attacks on DEI and the humanities, anti-immigrant policies, technological disruption, and growing social inequities. Together, we will explore how education, storytelling, art, and community can help us confront injustice, sustain one another, and imagine more liberatory futures.
This year’s Forum will feature Ruby Ibarra, an emcee, spoken word artist, and director from the Bay Area, CA who has toured across the United States, Canada, and the Philippines. She is the co-founder of the Pinays Rising Scholarship program and the Bay Area creative company, Bolo Music Group. She has been featured in notable publications such as Rolling Stone, NPR, Huffington Post, Paper Mag, Vogue Philippines, Billboard Philippines, the Today show, NY Times, and the LA Times.
Her release, "Bakunawa," is the first single from her forthcoming sophomore album and is also the winning song of NPR’s 2025 Tiny Desk Contest. In Summer 2025, Ruby and The Balikbayans went on a nationwide sold-out 10-city tour. She has since headlined this year’s NYELA, KQED Fest, Joshua Tree Music Festival, and served as a keynote speaker for SF Music Week and the Creative Youth Awards. Ruby is a soundtrack artist for the forthcoming DreamWorks animated film, Forgotten Island. Her music is available on all digital platforms and can be heard in several museum exhibits, films, and television features.