September 2016 - May 2017

In the weeks following the death of Freddie Gray, Devin Allen's photographs gave voice to Baltimore's pain during one of its darkest hours. His images of the city document the struggle and humanity of protest, as well as the beauty found in community and everyday life.

Please join us for a reading, discussion, and book signing with Martín Espada, celebrated poet and Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He will be reading from his latest collection of poems, Vivas to Those Who Have Failed.

As the 2016 presidential election enters the final stage, race continues to be a major theme of the campaign. Nationally recognized scholars of race and politics Tricia Rose and James Morone will discuss the implications of race in the context of the presidential campaign and the longer term political consequences.

Presented by the Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy.

In his new book, The Fight to Vote, Waldman takes a succinct and comprehensive look at a crucial American struggle: the drive to define and defend government based on “the consent of the governed,” offering a current, readable history of voting rights in the United States. Waldman traces the full story from the Founders’ debates to today’s challenges: a wave of restrictive voting laws, partisan gerrymanders, and the flood of campaign money unleashed by Citizens United. Amid this topsy-turvy election season, Waldman’s book is a needed reminder that voting rights have never been – and are still not – a guarantee.

Scholar-activist Eric Tang will explore themes from his new book, Unsettled: Cambodian Refugees in the NYC Hyperghetto, including the relationship between immigrant communities and African Americans as they experience common and distinct forms of state violence taking shape in America’s inner cities. Tang’s research sits at the intersection of two issues that define the current moment: the international refugee crisis and the resurgent movement against police violence in the urban United States.

Free and open to the public. 

The Annual Elizabeth Munves Sherman'77, P'06, P'09 Lecture in Gender and Sexuality Studies

"Black Feminism, Popular Culture and Respectability Politics," a lecture by Tricia Rose, Professor of Africana Studies and Director, Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America.

Presented by the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women. 

Please join us on Friday, March 4, at 12:00 pm (lunch provided) for “How Structural Racism Works,” a lecture by Tom Shapiro, Pokross Professor of Law and Social Policy and Director of the Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis. Tom Shapiro will speak over lunch about his research, particularly the role homeownership, race and intergenerational inheritance, which led to his book, The Hidden Cost of Being African American: How Wealth Perpetuates Inequality.