(AllHipHop News) Rapper/intellect/professor Dr. Cornel West will join Che “Rhymefest” Smith and a number of respected educators during the Chicago Urban Education Forum. Dr. West and Rhymefest will be joined by Dr. Timuel Black (Professor Emeritus of City College Chicago), Dr. Joseph A. Strickland (Researcher, UIC, Jane Addams College of Social Work), Dina Everage (Principal at Walter Reed and Wentworth Elementary School), Dennis Lacewell (Principal of Urban Prep Academy Englewood Campus), Dr. David Omotoso Stovall (Assistant Professor University of Illinois at Chicago) and Dr. Wayne Watson (President of Chicago State University). The high powered panel will raise awareness and discuss the complexities of education in the South Side of Chicago. Participants will be able to voice their opinions about education to the panelists, in an attempt to reform and foster greater equity and equality within the educational system. According to organizers, the forum will help community organizations, adult educators, administrators, community educators, teachers and students. “Attendees will leave the forum invigorated, with newfound knowledge and commitment to promote positive change in their institutions and communities,” a rep for the Chicago Urban Education Forum told AllHipHop.com. The Chicago Urban Education Form takes place on Thursday, January 6th at Kennedy King College at Great Hall, U-Building. The free event is open to the public, from 3:30 – 5:30 PM.