Racial and Social Justice Movements in Iowa: Past and Present
The PPC is proud to co-sponsor "Racial and Social Justice Movements in Iowa: Past and Present—A CLAS Theme Year Event"
Wednesday, September 23, 5:30-7:00
Join a panel of faculty and other experts as they discuss the past and present of activism related to racial and social justice in Iowa.
This webinar is part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences-sponsored Theme Year, "Pursuing Racial Justice at the University of Iowa." This community "theme year" initiative will engage with the University of Iowa’s history as a majority white institution. Through cross-disciplinary lenses, CLAS faculty, students, and staff—often in collaboration with colleges and units from throughout campus—will grapple with how the UI's history as a predominantly white institution has shaped the university and CLAS, the knowledge we produce and convey to students, interactions among its members, and the relationship of the university to Iowa City and the state of Iowa.
In this series of events held during the 2020-21 academic year, CLAS faculty, students, and staff will be invited to explore these questions through cross-disciplinary lenses, and work together to build a stronger departmental and college community. These events will focus primarily on race, but will be intersectional in their explorations. The goal of each event is to invite members of the CLAS community to engage with the issues, reflect upon what they have learned, and consider personal and institutional actions we might take in response.
Moderator: John McKerley (PhD, Oral Historian, Labor Center, UI College of Law)
"The Colored Conventions and Black Political Activism in Nineteenth Century Iowa," Dwain Coleman (ABD, University of Iowa, Founding Member of the Iowa Colored Conventions Digital Project and Co-Director) and Heather Cooper (Ph.D., Graduate Research Assistant, Iowa Women's Archives and Founding member of the Iowa Colored Conventions Digital Project).
“When Cesar Chavez came to Davenport,” Janet Weaver (PhD, 2019; Assistant Curator, Iowa Women’s Archives, UI Libraries),
“Present Day Activism,” Nick Salazar, State Director, LULAC and Erik Henderson, Graduate Research Assistant, Iowa Women's Archives.
"Why the Labor Movement Still Matters: Workers' Rights and Social Justice in Iowa Today," Jen Sherer, PhD, Director, Labor Center, UI College of Law