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Person

Christian Paige

Occupation:

Equity Specialist, Keynote Speaker
Location:

Tacoma, Washington

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Christian Paige is an equity specialist for the Bellevue School District in King County, Washington, who promotes left-of-center and critical race theory-aligned racial ideologies. He is also a spoken word poet and keynote speaker on leadership, diversity, equity, and access at educational and community organizations. 1

Paige co-founded the nonprofit HOPE Initiative, which was formed to support low-income underrepresented high school students to get into college. 2

Background and Education

Paige was born in Tacoma, Washington. He graduated from Life Christian Academy in Tacoma. 3

Paige received a full scholarship to Trinity Lutheran College. 4 The full scholarship was awarded by Act Six, a leadership and scholarship program that focuses on low-income women and people of color. 5 He graduated from Trinity Lutheran College in 2015. 6

Career

In January 2014, while attending Trinity Lutheran College, Paige co-founded the HOPE Initiative, a student-led mentoring initiative for first generation low-income students to get into and succeed in college. 7 HOPE, which stands for Helping Our People Excel, is a program at the Trinity Lutheran College. 8

From 2014 to 2016, Paige held several positions at Trinity Lutheran College, including admissions office coordinator, assistant director of admissions and director of education equity. 9 In 2016 and 2017, Paige was a trustee for the YMCA of Snohomish County. 10

Since September 2016, Paige has been an equity specialist in the Bellevue School District, located in King County, Washington. He works with students and educators to address racial and ethnic equity in the education system. 11

Paige is also a keynote speaker. Through his spoken word poetry, he presents his ideas of leadership, diversity, equity, and access. 12

Paige also offers workshops to educational organizations on racial equity and inclusion. 13

Presentations

At Strive Together’s 2018 Cradle to Career Network Convening, Paige presented an original spoken word piece entitled “The Eyes of Your Enemy.” Paige’s key themes included homelessness, poverty, and white supremacy. A quote from his poetry is “dethrone white supremacy, to hang it upside down from its bootstraps and shake the change out of its pockets until there’s change in the pockets of the communities that it’s robbed of its resources.” 14

Paige performed a spoken word poem for Strive Together at the 2020 Cradle to Career Network Convening that highlighted racial inequity, referencing the police-involved deaths of George Floyd, Tamir Rice, Breonna Taylor, and others. 15 Strive Together is a nonprofit organization that works with communities to address race and ethnicity inequities for children. 16 The Cradle to Career Network Convening is an annual event that brings together members for networking and learning opportunities. 17

Paige has spoken to K-12 students and staff, universities, community impact organizations, and national networks across the United States. 18 Some of these events include SUNY College in 2019, several ActSix conventions, and the Tacoma College Success Foundation in May of 2021. 19 He was a keynote speaker at the North Puget Sound Conference on Race in 2018. 20 Paige also spoke at the 2020 State of the City address in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington. 21 In November 2021, Paige spoke at Tacoma Reads 2021 at the Tacoma Public Library. 22 The program is targeted to young adults and focuses on the themes of race and social justice. 23

Controversies

Bainbridge Island School District #303 paid Christian Paige $2,500 to be a speaker at its Martin Luther King Day Assembly in 2020. This led to some concerns from students’ parents, many of whom questioned the use of taxpayer money to pay for guest speakers in the schools. 24

References

  1. LinkedIn – Christian Paige. Accessed November 17, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-paige-036262b7/
  2. LinkedIn – Christian Paige. Accessed November 20, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-paige-036262b7/
  3. LinkedIn – Christian Paige. Accessed November 17, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-paige-036262b7/
  4. Act Six – Christian Paige. September 3, 2020. Accessed November 20, 2021. https://www.actsix.org/christian-paige/
  5. “How ActSix Works.” Accessed November 17, 2021. https://www.actsix.org/about/#pattern10_3
  6. LinkedIn – Christian Paige. Accessed November 17, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-paige-036262b7/
  7. LinkedIn – Christian Paige. Accessed November 17, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-paige-036262b7/
  8. “HOPE: Spoken Word AD, with Co-Founder Christian Paige.” YouTube. January 17, 2017. Accessed November 18, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPB5zb8_wl0
  9. LinkedIn – Christian Paige. Accessed November 17, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-paige-036262b7/
  10. ProPublica NonProfit Explorer – Christian Paige. Accessed November 18, 2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/name_search/index?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=christian+paige
  11. LinkedIn – Christian Paige. Accessed November 17, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-paige-036262b7/
  12. LinkedIn – Christian Paige. Accessed November 17, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-paige-036262b7/
  13. “Speaking.” Christian Paige website. Accessed November 18, 2021. http://christianpaige.com/speaking/
  14. “Christian Page: The Eyes of Your Enemy.” YouTube. October 22, 2018. Accessed November 18, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjOHpFd3xRY&t=4s
  15. “Untitled – Christian Paige.” YouTube. September 25, 2020. Accessed November 17, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tETP80E60Es
  16. “Who We Are.” Strive Together. Accessed November 20, 2021. https://www.strivetogether.org/who-we-are/
  17. “What We Do. Our Approach.” Strive Together. Accessed November 20, 2021. https://www.strivetogether.org/what-we-do/our-approach/#sub-menu
  18. “Speaking.” Christian Paige website. Accessed November 18, 2021. http://christianpaige.com/speaking/
  19. “Christian Paige.” Youtube. Accessed November 20, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=christian+paige
  20. “Locals reflect on the 50 years since MLK’s assassination.” HeraldNet. April 4, 2018. Accessed November 20, 2021. https://www.heraldnet.com/news/holding-tight-to-hope/
  21. “Commissioned Work. State of the City 2020.” Christian Paige website. Accessed November 18, 2021. http://christianpaige.com/695-2/
  22. “Tacoma Reads – An Evening with Poet, Speaker, Educator, Christian Paige.” Tacoma Public Library. Accessed November 20, 2021. https://tacoma.bibliocommons.com/events/610329b34372f23d004dcd39
  23. “Tacoma Reads.” Tacoma Public Library. Accessed November 20, 2021. https://www.tacomalibrary.org/tacomareads/?_ga=2.42395301.1408161149.1637445816-466216912.1637445816
  24. “Consultant Report Card – Christian Paige.” Parents Defending Education. Accessed November 17, 2021. https://defendinged.org/report/christian-paige/
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