Bukata Hayes to speak at Cultural Thursday

To recognize and honor Black History Month, the Central Lakes College Cultural Thursday Program and the Office of Equity & Inclusion are hosting Bukata Hayes, Executive Director of the Greater Mankato Diversity Council on Thursday, Feb. 28 at noon in the Chalberg Theatre. Hayes’ discussion is titled “We All Have a Place at the Table: Being on the Right Side of the Moral Arc.”

According to Hayes, we must challenge ourselves to continually “sign up for the heavy lifting necessary to create a more open, civil and just world.” Bukata has served as the executive director of the Greater Mankato Diversity Council since September 2006. Prior to this role, he served as the coordinator of the Multi Ethnic Center at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, the first-ever position of its kind at the college. Bukata received his Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Physiology from the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth. He has membership or is on the board of numerous organizations such as the Mankato Chapter of the NAACP (president), Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF), Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Board (president), Latin American Multicultural Association for Networking and Opportunity –LA MANO (board), and Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation Board.

For more questions on this presentation or the Cultural Thursday series, please contact Tracey Kloeckl-Jiménez at 218-855-8183.