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York College of PA to Host Todd Allen, VP of Diversity Affairs at Messiah, for Juneteenth Talk on Freedom

June 13, 2022
Headshot of Todd Allen

York College of Pennsylvania will mark Juneteenth, a federal holiday commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States, with a talk by Todd Allen, vice president of diversity affairs at Messiah University. “Freedom Is a Constant Struggle” will begin at 3:30 p.m., June 21, in Waldner Performing Arts Center. The event is open to the public free of charge.

Allen’s discussion will provide a deeper discovery of the freedom struggles of the past, as well as an examination of how this quest for freedom serves as a guide for the ongoing quest for citizenship in the present.

In his current senior leadership role at Messiah, he provides focused attention to institution-wide policies and practices that promote inclusive excellence through the pursuit of diversity across the University. He is founder of the Common Ground Project, a nonprofit dedicated to teaching the history of the Civil Rights Movement. For the past 21 years, in partnership with the PNC Foundation, Allen has led the “Returning to the Roots of Civil Rights” bus tour. He is a frequent lecturer on commemorative practices/public memory related to the Civil Rights Movement and also teaches in Messiah’s Communication department.