As a mode of witnessing and documentation, a form of memorial, and a tactic of exposure, photography played a critical role in the movement for African American civil rights. This webinar will explore the agency of photography in arguments for inclusion, desegregation, cultural enfranchisement, economic justice, and the failures and promises of America. Some of … Continued
What accounts for the mysterious power of the nonviolent march? To address that question, this webinar will focus on two of the twentieth century’s most iconic—and spectacular—marches: the “Salt March” led by “Mahatma” Gandhi in the spring of 1930 and the March on Washington led by, among others, Martin Luther King, Jr. in August 1963.
This webinar offers an overview of the historical development of the Internet in China, exploring such topics as censorship, business monopoly and Internet activism. It demonstrates how the Internet in China is intricately embedded in and shaped by China’s political processes, business operations, and people’s everyday lives.
The deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd have inspired Americans and people throughout the world to take to the streets in protest against police brutality. In the course of what might be the largest movement for civil rights since the 1960s, many activists have issued calls to “defund the police” in response to police … Continued
We are currently witnessing a remarkable wave of political activism among Black athletes who are using their power and prestige to challenge white supremacy, police brutality, and injustice. Yet Black athletes’ political activism has a long history. In the late 1960s, an unprecedented number of Black athletes joined the Black Freedom Struggle, contesting the old … Continued
Bayard Rustin was twentieth century America’s great radical voice. His vision contained multitudes, fusing labor rights, racial justice, sexual equality, socialism, and pacifism. He may well have been America’s first intersectional radical. But in the 1960s, Rustin’s attempt to weave the strands of his activism together into a broad-based program for transformative change fell victim … Continued
Native women’s perspectives and experiences are accessible in the documentary record, and attention to them fundamentally alters traditional historical narratives for the better by infusing them with relevance for twenty-first century students. Beginning with a reframing of early colonial encounters and ending with an analysis of the modern justice movement for missing and murdered Indigenous … Continued
Environmental activist, photographer, and teacher Subhankar Banerjee recounts a time, shortly after moving to New Mexico, when he walked out of his house to encounter a small dead bird lying motionless on the porch. This humble, private moment of grief, confusion, and aesthetic complexity echoed the sensations he had previously felt while viewing Albert Pinkham … Continued
Luis Rodriguez, Poet Laureate of Los Angeles in 2014, explains how his love for books and libraries rescued him from a life of trouble. He notes that through books, he discovered more about people and their lives, which encouraged his interest in writing about injustice and activism. To celebrate its 40th year anniversary of grant … Continued
In this video recollection, author and conservation activist Terry Tempest Williams describes her first encounter with Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and the ethical questions shared by her grandmother about taking personal responsibility for the natural world. As she says of this moment, “On that day, I became an environmentalist.” In discussing Carson’s influence as a … Continued