Film Screening - Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land
Join us for a special film screening event following the Opening INCLUSION Marketplace Reception.
From Executive Producer Al Roker, Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land answers the question; why has black ownership of farmland dwindled to alarmingly low numbers and examines the causes, effects, and solutions to the issue of Heirs' Property. In just a few decades after the end of enslavement, Black Americans were able to amass millions of acres of farmland. Today approximately 90% of that land is no longer in Black hands. Various factors have been employed to take Black land including violence, eminent domain and government discrimination. But it is a little-known issue - Heirs’ Property - which has had a devastating effect on Black land ownership. Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land is a timely and stirring documentary from Emmy-nominated Producer/Director Eternal Polk and Al Roker Entertainment that examines the causes, effects, and what is being done to fight the exploitation of these issues and how landowners are reclaiming their agricultural legacy and creating paths to generational wealth.
Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land (Trailer)
Refreshments will be provided.
Space is limited, and seating will be available on a first come, first served basis.
If a speaker has provided session materials, please see below or visit https://presentations.shrm.org
Collis R. Jones
Collis R. Jones holds the position of Vice President, U.S. Policy & Strategy, for John Deere Public Affairs in Washington, DC. He leads the team responsible for managing U.S. federal and state government relations activities on behalf of Deere. These efforts are aimed at supporting legislation and public policies that are favorable to the interests of the company’s customers, employees and business partners.
Collis brings over 20 years of governmental strategic, tactical and policy development experience to this role and is one of Deere’s key contributors in delivering client-focused business initiatives within the organization. His 34-year career began at John Deere Financial and has included various marketing, sales and public policy leadership roles across the enterprise.
Collis serves on the Board of Directors for The Thurgood Marshall College Fund, The Congressional Award, Public Affairs Council, Government Relations Executive Council, North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, and is a member of the Augustana College President’s Advisory Council and The FiscalNote Executive Institute Advisory Board.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Augustana College in Rock Island, IL.
Deere & Company (www.JohnDeere.com) is a world leader in providing advanced products and services and is committed to the success of customers whose work is linked to the land - those who cultivate, harvest, transform, enrich and build upon the land to meet the world's dramatically increasing need for food, fuel, shelter and infrastructure. Since 1837, John Deere has delivered innovative products of superior quality built on a tradition of integrity.
Emily M. Dickens, J.D.
Emily M. Dickens, J.D., serves as SHRM Chief of Staff, Head of Government Affairs & Corporate Secretary. She is the executive responsible for coordinating staff to implement the CEO's vision, serving as corporate secretary for the SHRM Board and subsidiary boards, as well as managing external partnerships and providing oversight for the Government Affairs division.
Dickens is an attorney with significant and progressive experience in government, higher education and the non-profit sector. She has served as a member of the leadership team at the University of North Carolina system, the Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Her prior roles include general counsel, chief relationship officer, senior vice president, vice president for public policy and assistant vice president for federal relations. Dickens has also worked at Duke University and Fayetteville State University in administrative and external affairs roles.
Emily is actively engaged in board service. She formerly served on the Fayetteville/Cumberland (NC) Chamber of Commerce (Secretary of the Board), the Cumberland County Workforce Development Board, the North Carolina Partnership for Defense Innovation Board, and the Educational Advancement Foundation. She is currently a member of the Advisory Council of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), the Advisory Board of the College of Arts and Sciences at North Carolina Central University, and chairs the International HBCU Task Force for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
She is a graduate of North Carolina Central University and North Carolina Central University School of Law.
Emily is a member of the SHRM Speakers Bureau.