"I Hope This Helps!" is a humorous, genre-bending hybrid documentary that invites viewers to ponder the evolving relationship between humanity and technology.
Join us for an event that’s more than just a celebration—it’s a call to action. In alignment with the University of Michigan’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium's 2025 theme of "Restless Dissatisfaction: An Urgent Call for the Pursuit of Justice and Equality," we invite students, staff, faculty and the greater community to a powerful and inspiring gathering.
Please join us for an engaging conversation with New York Times technology reporter Kashmir Hill and Shobita Parthasarathy, Faculty Director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP) Program. Our speakers will explore the intersection of technology and privacy, addressing some of today's most salient issues.Following the talk, Kashmir Hill will be available for a book signing of "Your Face Belongs to Us: A Secretive Startup's Quest to End Privacy as We Know It".
Joan and Sanford Weill Hall Annenberg Auditorium (1120)
A wide-ranging discussion with technologist Alondra Nelson, reflecting on her time in the White House, her role as a social scientist involved in shaping science and technology (and particularly AI), her insights into the policy process, and specifically her work on the open access and AI Bill of Rights initiatives.
The Center for Racial Justice and Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP) are excited to host Alejandro Mayoral Baños for his talk Beyond the Digital Divide: Unpacking the Complexities of Development and Data Colonialism. Alejandro will be exploring the intricate and multifaceted realm of Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D), and assessing its promising advantages and its significant downfalls.
Join the Center for Racial Justice in welcoming Dr. Enobong (Anna) Branch, senior vice president for equity at Rutgers University, to discuss her latest publication, Work in Black & White: Striving for the American Dream.
Join the Center for Racial Justice in welcoming Airea D. Matthews, acclaimed poet, educator, and Ford School alumna, to discuss her latest work Bread and Circus, a memoir-in-verse that combines poetry, prose, and imagery to explore the realities of economic necessity, marginal poverty, and commodification, through a personal lens.
Join your fellow Ford Students for CommuniTea! A student-led series of informal, bi-weekly gatherings held in Weill Hall, focusing on key topics of interest to our community
Policy Talks @ the Ford School,
STPP Lecture Series
Join for a conversation with former New York City mayor, Bill de Blasio. In conversation with STPP Director Professor Shobita Parthasarathy, the discussion will explore how urban tech is shaping social policy in “smart cities” like New York and beyond. How can we ensure that emerging technology serves the public interest, and what role can local, state, national, and even international policy play?
Join us for CommuniTea! A student-led series of informal, bi-weekly gatherings held in Weill Hall, focusing on key topics of interest to our community.
Join the Center for Racial Justice in welcoming Dr. Kris Marsh, author and Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland, to discuss her latest book The Love Jones Cohort: Single and Living Alone in the Black Middle Class.
Join the Center for Racial Justice on Tuesday, September 26 for our Open House! Get acquainted with the upcoming initiatives CRJ has prepared for the academic year, and join us in extending a warm welcome to our AY 23-24 Visiting and Postdoctoral Fellows!
We're excited to introduce CommuniTea, a student-led series of informal, bi-weekly gatherings held in Weill Hall, focusing on key topics of interest to our community.
Ford School professor Catie Hausman will speak on teaching inclusive and policy-relevant statistical methods as part of the ISR Inclusive Research Matters Seminar Series.
On Thursday, March 30 at 4pm, the Center for Racial Justice invites you to attend our CRJ Visiting Fellows Spring Showcase featuring the work of our inaugural cohort of visiting fellows: sociologist and legal scholar, Dr. Atinuke (Tinu) Adediran; freelance journalist, Makeda Easter; and writer and filmmaker, Julian Brave NoiseCat. Fellows will present their racial justice catalyst projects to the U-M community, followed by remarks from U-M community members: Vikramaditya S. Khanna (U-M Law), Srimoyee Mitra (U-M Stamps), and Forrest Cox (BA '13 and U-M Ross). A post-event reception will be held in the Rebecca M. Blank Great Hall. Please register here!
Join us as we welcome Dr. Ruha Benjamin to campus to discuss her newest book, Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want. In this talk, Dr. Benjamin draws on the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic and introduces a micro-vision of change—a way of looking at the everyday ways people are working to combat unjust systems and build alternatives to the oppressive status quo.
Join the Center for Racial Justice for a workshop on creative practices for authentic community building with Holly Bass, part of our Racial Justice in Practice workshop series. Open to U-M students, faculty, staff, and community partners. In this workshop, we will explore the differences between activism, organizing, and culture shift work. We will explore how to build authentic relationships with those most affected by potential policy changes and those in the best position to bring about legal and social change. We will also explore how creativity and joy can guide our social justice work as individuals and collectives.
Join Dr. Abdul El-Sayed - physician, epidemiologist, and newly appointed Director of the Wayne County Health, Human & Veterans Services Department, and a Ford School Towsley Policymaker in Residence - for a conversation with policymakers at the intersection of social justice and environmental concerns. Dr. El-Sayed will be joined by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and Michigan Senator Stephanie Chang (MPP/MSW '14) to reflect on their work to address environmental injustice in Michigan and beyond, and the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Join the Center for Racial Justice for a workshop on changemaking from the inside with Gabrielle Wyatt, part of our Racial Justice in Practice workshop series. Open to U-M students, faculty, staff, and community partners. In this virtual workshop, we will collectively visit frameworks and strategies for affecting change as institutional insiders. Specifically, we will discuss strategies for building and sustaining multi-generational change by exploring power, structural change, and leadership.
Join STPP for a conversation with alum Scott Henry (Masters of Science in Information, Data Science '20, STPP Certificate '20), Senior Data Scientist at Cisco.
Join the Center for Racial Justice for a workshop on decolonizing development with Farah Mahesri, part of our Racial Justice in Practice workshop series. Open to U-M students, faculty, staff, and community partners. In this interactive 3-hour session, we will collectively explore what a decolonized space or a decolonized approach for global development actually look like. How can we structure our organizations and our programs to draw to center more liberatory practices and help us radically re-imagine global development?
Do you want to learn how science and technology policy is made? Are you interested in the social and ethical implications of developments like facial recognition, gene editing, or autonomous vehicles? Are you concerned about the increased politicization of science and research funding?
Dr. Krystal Tsosie will describe community-engaged research and describe paths forward that center Indigenous people as the agents of access for their own genomic and health data. The future of Indigenous genomics is not mere inclusion but through recognition of Indigenous genomic and data sovereignty.
Join the Center for Racial Justice for a workshop on racial equity impact assessment with Niketa Brar (MPP '15), part of our Racial Justice in Practice workshop series. Open to U-M students, faculty, staff, and community partners.
Join the Center for Racial Justice for a workshop on racial equity impact assessment with Niketa Brar (MPP '15), part of our Racial Justice in Practice workshop series. Open to U-M students, faculty, staff, and community partners.
University of Michigan Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium
Wallace House presents educator and writer for The New York Times Magazine, Linda Villarosa, as she examines racial health disparities in America and the toll racism takes on individuals and the health of our nation.
Policy Talks @ the Ford School,
Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation Lecture Series
Join Professor Brian Jacob for a conversation on the academic impacts of the Flint Water Crisis 7-8 years later, and the big picture implications for young people in the community, featuring Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha - recognized as one of USA Today’s Women of the Century for her role in uncovering the Flint water crisis and leading recovery effort - alongside Dr. Sam Trejo, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Princeton University, and Flint Community Schools Superintendent Kevelin Jones.
Kade Crockford, the director of the Technology for Liberty Program at the ACLU of Massachusetts, will speak about technology, surveillance, and civil liberties.
