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 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 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?
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.
Diversifying the teaching force could be a key step to closing student achievement gaps and moving schools closer to equity goals. In their book, Teacher Diversity and Student Success: Why Racial Representation Matters in the Classroom, Seth Gershenson, Brookings Senior Fellow Michael Hansen, and Constance Lindsay present nuanced policy recommendations to increase teacher diversity in classrooms and promote more inclusive schools.
The Center for Racial Justice proudly welcomes Angela Harrelson to the Ford School and the University of Michigan for the Masterclass in Activism. Angela Harrelson is the aunt of George Floyd, as well as the author of Lift Your Voice.
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.
Watch Party: Weill Hall
Betty Ford Auditorium (Room 1110)
The Center for Racial Justice, Ford School, and Midwest Institute for Sexuality and Gender Diversity present Bianca Wilson, in conversation with Dr. Celeste Watkins-Hayes on LGBTQ rights.
Fordies: Join Students of Color in Public Policy and the Center for Racial Justice for an end-of-year celebration honoring and celebrating our graduates of all degree levels.
In conversation with Celeste Watkins-Hayes, Professor Roberts will share more on her new book Torn Apart, and her belief that the only way to stop the destruction caused by family policing is to abolish the child welfare system and liberate Black communities.
Gay McDougall and Jamil Dakwar will join Professor John Ciorciari in conversation as part of a virtual series on the historical roots and impact of race shaping public policy in the global context.
Reginald M. Turner (JD '87) will visit the Ford School to share more on his leadership at the ABA, and his work on some of its most pressing issues like access to legal services, judicial reform, election integrity, and the eviction crisis.
Dr. Robert Fatoon Jr. and Dr. Millery Polyné will join Professor John Ciorciari in conversation as part of a virtual series on the historical roots and impact of race shaping public policy in the global context.
Dr. Kelebogile Zvobgo will join Professor John Ciorciari in conversation as part of a virtual series on the historical roots and impact of race shaping public policy in the global context.
Harry K. Thomas, Jr.—served as U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe (2016-2018), the Philippines (2010-2013) and Bangladesh (2003-2005) and is a senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs and a senior strategic engagement leader at Special Operations Command—will join Professor John Ciorciari in conversation as part of a virtual series on the historical roots and impact of race shaping public policy in the global context.
Dr. Brenda Plummer will join Professor John Ciorciari in conversation as part of a virtual series on the historical roots and impact of race shaping public policy in the global context.
Developing Future Leaders in U.S.-Russia Relations
Students will break into groups to reconcile the various conflicting mandates of the state and international actors, seeking ways forward that respect international legal obligations.
The session features the inaugural cohort of the ARC research and community impact fellows—U-M faculty members who are engaged in cutting-edge research and scholarship on racial inequality and justice and who use a variety of community-centered approaches to affect change in multiple systems and settings.
Join us for an important discussion between University of Michigan Ford School Dean Michael Barr with Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves, to discuss his work to revive the economy while combating the racist systems embedded within it.
This student-led discussion on migration and refugee policy will be facilitated by Ford school students Abigail Johnson, Fanta Condé, Marissa Uchimura, and Young Chan Lim. Open to all Ford School students.
Dr. Jennifer Lee, an award winning author and frequent public commentator on the implications of contemporary U.S. immigration, will join Dr. Celeste-Watkins-Hayes in conversation as part of a virtual series on the historical roots and impact of race in shaping public policy.
Dr. Rucker Johnson—a labor economist who specializes in the economics of education—will join Dr. Celeste-Watkins-Hayes in conversation as part of a virtual series on the historical roots and impact of race in shaping public policy.
This virtual event will be a question-and-answer style panel with Eli Savit, Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney; Victoria Burton-Harris, Washtenaw County Chief Assistant; Dr. Jeremiah Wade Olsen, professor at UM-Flint; and Alyshia Dyer (MPP/MSW’22), former Washtenaw County Deputy Sheriff.
Dr. William Darity—director of the Samuel Dubois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University—will join Dr. Celeste-Watkins-Hayes in conversation as part of a virtual series on the historical roots and impact of race in shaping public policy.