PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (Feb. 8, 2024) – Prairie View A&M University will host its fourth TEDxPVAMU talk on Feb. 28. Six scheduled speakers will discuss topics related to the theme for the TED talk, Living in Color. The idea behind the theme is to embrace curiosity, boldness and creativity and face challenges with a solution-oriented mindset, all while unapologetically pursuing individualism.
Why Living in Color?
Moore and Jeffries
“[Living in Color] kind of stems from one of my fears as I get older of losing my spark and not enjoying life or being able to interact with my passions and things that bring me joy,” said PVAMU junior Jasmine Jeffries, a communication major and organizer for the TEDx event. “Living in Color came about because that’s what I want to do. I want to live in color. I want to be passionate. I want to be joyful. I want to be inspired in my daily pursuits… [color] enhances you; it enhances life.”
PVAMU Biology Professor, director of the PVAMU Honors Program, and co-organizer of the TEDx event, Dr. Quincy Moore, III, expands on the impact color has on life, reflecting on his childhood experiences with color television. “When I think of Living in Color, I have to do a flashback to my upbringing when I had a black-and-white TV,” said Dr. Moore. “The moment we received a color TV and were able to see different perspectives and vivid imaginations come to life, it allowed you to pursue, dream and inspire more.”
“Color television gave viewers a reduced sense of psychological distance while also increasing levels of emotional involvement, empathy, creativity, comprehension, sociality and immediacy,” stated Smithsonian Magazine. This year’s TEDxPVAMU event captures all these benefits in one shot and delivers a robust production that promises to present talks from individuals who incorporate their passions into their work in several categories, people who ultimately live in color.
“Living in Color allows you to be uniquely yourself and be proud of who you are,” said Moore.
How Will the Audience Benefit?
“The audience will see what they can become, how they can make an impact on society, by following their passions,” said Moore.
Encouraging this spark for life goes beyond inspiration and digs into the critical aspirations and goals that drive human behavior. Jeffries hopes the talk gives audience members a roadmap to a personal life goal that steers them toward something more significant than the popular pursuit of the almighty dollar.
“When the audience hears these talks, there will be a counter to a lot of the tendencies, which have become the priority, of only thinking about the money,” she said, “forgetting yourself in pursuit of other things that are popular on a mass scale but may not be important on a personal level. Hopefully, it will inspire people to reframe their thinking and allow a shift in focus for the way someone approaches their life story.”
While the audience capacity for the event is capped at 100, Jeffries and Moore said the talk will be available to a much wider audience at a viewing party that will be announced at a later date. A video of the event will also be available through social media in the future.
The TEDx Speakers
Each speaker in the event is a PVAMU alum, which carries an additional benefit for the students attending the TEDx talk by employing the familiar adage, “If you see it, you can be it.”
Speakers for the event include:
- Kristen Collins ‘15, ‘18, entrepreneur and chemist
- Bryan Robertson ‘08, ‘09, mental health advocate and author
- Cory Dixon ‘04, photographer
- Cynthia Lester ’94, computer scientist and educator
- Daric Cottingham ‘19, journalist and equity advocate
- Jarren Small ‘12, educator and philanthropist
Jeffries and Moore said these speakers embody the spirit of PVAMU as a “legacy of productivity.” The goal was to capture the many amazing facets of life and experience at PVAMU and apply them to the available TEDx speaker categories: The Arts, STEM, Perception, and Education.
“And then we had another category for anybody else who lived in color throughout their life and had something to say but didn’t fit into the previous four categories,” said Jeffries. “We were focused on inviting people who are connected to Prairie View. We think it’s important for the audience to see other people who are a product of this environment and doing great things.”
“As a current student, I feel like we don’t see as many alum success stories as we should, especially compared to other HBCUs,” said Jeffries. “At other institutions, if there’s an alum who’s successful, you’re going to hear about them, you’re going to brag about them. We don’t see that as much here.” She said choosing PVAMU alumni as speakers not only inspires but also reflects the University’s new tagline, “Excellence lives here.”
TEDxPVAMU’s Impact on the Campus Community
“TEDxPVAMU is a household brand,” said Moore. “From the first TEDxPVAMU to now, it has always worked with the departments on campus to promote a more university-wide approach to programming. We are using alumni speakers, and our committees working on it are student-based. We have thought about Prairie View throughout the entire process.”
Jeffries echoed Dr. Moore’s statement and went a step further, binding PVAMU to the TEDx mission to “spread ideas, foster community, create impact.”
“Basically, TEDxPVAMU is from PVAMU and for PVAMU,” said Jeffries. “TEDxPVAMU —and TEDx events in general—are community events,” said Jeffries. “It’s important to have a point of community, and we have it at Prairie View. Community means to step back and see what’s here, what has come from here, and amplify that. We create networks and create positive spaces for Prairie View. That’s something significant that TEDxPVAMU offers and will hopefully continue to offer in the future.”
Getting a license to host a TEDx talk requires copious amounts of research and detail discussing the significance of the proposed event and the depth of impact within the community. For the PVAMU campus community, experience and talent run deep. For Moore, the process of applying for and developing a TEDx event helped him delve deep into the quality of leadership and scholarship that exists at PVAMU.
“Having a TEDx event at PVAMU four years in a row is pretty impressive,” said Jeffries. “It speaks to how many ideas exist in our community…I’m excited to be a part of it.”
“By having TEDx talks at Prairie View, it allows for the element of excellence to continue to elevate on our campus,” said Moore. “It shows you leaders that exist here. Truly, the student organizers who assist with this are current change makers. They will forever impact society as leaders.”
For more information about TEDxPVAMU 2024, visit this link or pvamu.edu/tedxpvamu.
By Kerry Laird
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