Andrews University Chaplain Michael A. Polite returns to Southwestern Michigan College Feb. 18 to speak on “Crayola Crayons and the Birth of American Racism” for Black History Month.

Speaking at 2:30 p.m. in the theatre of the Dale A. Lyons Building on SMC’s Dowagiac campus, Polite’s academic speaker series talk is open to the public at no charge.

His work in youth advocacy has had international impact chronicled by The Associated Press, USA Today, The Huffington Post, Yahoo News, The Sydney Morning Herald and the China Times.

He has also partnered with community activists such as Tavis Smiley and Nikki Giovanni to inspire social change within urban communities.

At Andrews, as associate chaplain of faith development, Polite leads the Berrien Springs campus in measuring how spirituality impacts student success in higher education.

Polite graduated from Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska, and from La Universidad de Sagunto in Valencia, Spain with a double major in language and linguistics.

He completed his master’s degree in church development at Oakwood University in Huntsville, Ala., and is enrolled at Andrews, pursuing his doctorate in religious education.

Polite spoke at SMC Nov. 19, 2015, for the Power of the Storyteller, sharing how he became a pigeon advocate stranded without his passport in Venice, Italy, on Christmas Eve 2004.