On October 23 and 24, 2020, we hosted virtual events to mark the 10th anniversary of Case Western Reserve University’s Social Justice Institute. Over this two-day period, inspiring speakers shared their insight on the issues of today and opportunities for social justice advancement going forward. These sessions drew on themes we have covered over the last ten years, while highlighting the work of faculty from across the university.
Breathe! Resist! Live!: Keynote Address with Rhonda Y. Williams
The 10th anniversary virtual event series kicked off with a keynote address from Rhonda Y. Williams, CWRU’s Social Justice Institute founder and inaugural director on October 23.
Williams is a historian of low-income Black women’s and marginalized people’s experiences, everyday lives, politics and social struggles. Her research contributes to the rethinking of gender, political identity, citizenship, civil rights, Black liberation struggles and interactions with the U.S. state. She serves as a history professor and John L. Seigenthaler Chair in American History at Vanderbilt University.
During her two-decade tenure as a faculty member in the History Department at Case Western Reserve, she also established and directed the Postdoctoral Fellowship in African American Studies.
Williams is the author of the award-winning The Politics of Public Housing: Black Women’s Struggles Against Urban Inequality (2004) and Concrete Demands: The Search for Black Power in the 20th Century (2015), among other notable articles and essays.
Co-Director Remarks: Our Vision for the Future
Following the keynote address, Social Justice Institute Co-Directors Ayesha Bell Hardaway and Mark Chupp closed the evening by sharing their vision for the future of SJI as a university-wide initiative under the Office of the Provost, and celebrating the accomplishments over the last 10 years.
Saturday Sessions
During day two of the event, we examined topics from past programming over the last 10 years, including sessions on racism, mass incarceration, immigration and human rights. Access the replay videos and resources below.
The COVID-19 Crisis in the Prisons
Join Tim Black and Crystal Tascon as they discuss the COVID-19 crisis happening in prisons across the country.
Watch the Replay: "The COVID-19 Crisis in Prisons"
Social Inequalities: Redlining and Its Legacy
During this session, Claudia Coulton covers social inequalities and redlining.
Resources:
- The Center for Investigative Reporting: The red line: Racial disparities in lending
- AT&T’s Digital Redlining: Leaving Communities Behind for Profit
- Interactive Redlining Map Zooms In On America's History Of Discrimination
- University of Richmond interactive map: Mapping Inequality - Redlining in New Deal America
- Ohio legislators could take another look at the state's school funding formula before the end of the year
Watch the Replay: "Social Inequalities: Redlining and Its Legacy"
Protesting While Black: The Fourth Estate, Protest Scripts, and How Mass Media Legitimizes State Violence Against Marginalized Groups
This timely session featuring Bryan Adamson focused on protesting and the Black community, including a look at how media legitimizes state violence.
Watch the Replay: "Protesting While Black"
Modern Native American Visibility & Decolonization
Jeremy Bendik-Keymer, Bruce Kafer and Cynthia Connolly join us for a critical conversation around modern Native American visibility and decolonization.
Resources:
- Decolonizing Wealth website
- Penguin Random House
- YWCA of Greater Cleveland: 21 Day Racial Equity & Social Justice Challenge
- You can’t be Indian! Indians are extinct! by Cynthia Connolly
- "Learning from the Germans: Race and the Memory of Evil" by Susan Neiman
- "Braiding Sweetgrass" by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Watch the Replay: "Modern Native American Visibility & Decolonization"
Democracy and Social Justice in Hard Times
Karen Beckwith discusses the political system and social justice in hard times.
Resources:
- "Democracy in Chains" by Nancy MacLean
- "Dark Money" by Jane Mayer
Watch the Replay: "Democracy and Social Justice in Hard Times"
Immigration and the 2020 Election
This session with John Flores and Fatima Rahman focuses on immigration and the 2020 election.
Resources: