2019 Teach-In: Friday, October 18
Keynote Speaker
Ruha Benjamin is a professor of African American studies at Princeton University and author of People's Science: Bodies and Rights on the Stem Cell Frontier (Stanford University Press). She has studied the social dimensions of science, technology, and medicine for over 15 years and speaks widely on issues of innovation, equity, health, and justice in the U.S. and globally. Benjamin is the recipient of many awards and honors, including the 2017 President's Award for Distinguished Teaching at Princeton.
Her forthcoming second book, Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code, examines the relationship between machine bias and systemic racism, analyzing specific cases of "discriminatory design" and offering tools for a socially conscious approach to tech development.
Her work is published in numerous journals including Science, Technology, and Human Values; Policy & Society; Ethnicity & Health; and the Annals of the American Academy of Social and Political Science and reported on in national and international news outlets including the Guardian, National Geographic, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and Nature.
Teach-in on Race 2019 Recordings
The recordings from the 2019 Teach-in on Race may be viewed here.
Schedule of Events
10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. | Keynote
Race to the Future: Rethinking Innovation, Inequity, and Imagination in Everyday Life
Keynote address by Ruha Benjamin
Doors open at 9:15 a.m.; SkinTones performance at 9:45 a.m.
11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. | Sessions
Option 1: Change Artists
Location: Semel Theatre
With:
- Daniel Callahan, filmmaker, MassQ project
- Lina Maria Giraldo, Journalist-in-Residence, Journalism
- Cannupa Hanska Luger, Multi-disciplinary artist
- Moderator: Davante Jackson, Flawless Brown Stage
Option 2: Business of Race
Location: Walker Building, Room 202
With:
- Kristin Lieb, Associate Professor, Marketing Communication
- Wes Jackson, Executive-in-Residence, Marketing Communication; Director of Business of Creative Enterprises (BCE)
- Bithiah Carter, President of New England Blacks in Philanthropy
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. | Sessions
Option 1: The POWER You Hold
Location: 172 Tremont, Owens Multipurpose Room
A student-led panel discussing different methods of collective organizing and accountability. Followed by an open audience forum detailing what people want to see from us and the school.
Organized by Student Advocacy Group POWER
Option #2: Ciera Burch Reading
Location: Walker Building, Iwasaki Library
Join the Iwasaki Library and MFA candidate Ciera Burch for a reading from her short story Yvonne, this year’s One City One Story selection (part of the Boston Book Festival), followed by a question and answer session with the author. Now in its 10th year, the OneCity OneStory program is designed to foster a culture of literature and idea-sharing in the City of Boston. The Boston Book Festival is held every fall in Copley Square. Pick up a free copy of Yvonne at the Library Service Desk or online.
1:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. | Sessions
Option #1: Disrupting Mass Incarceration
Location: Semel Theatre
With:
- Arthur Bembury, Executive Director, Partakers
- Michael Cox, National Director, Black and Pink
- Kaneesha Johnson, Petey Greene
- Moderator: Mneesha Gellman, Emerson Prison Initiative and Associate Professor, Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies
Option #2: Building Communication Through Art
Location: Walker Building, Room 202
With:
- Johnette Ellis, Mother Mercy
- Rashin Fahandej, Assistant Professor, Visual and Media Arts
- Alex Charalambides, Managing Director of Mass Leap (Massachusetts Literary Education and Performance)
- Moderator: Jae Williams, filmmaker and affiliated faculty, Visual and Media Arts
3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. | Sessions
Option #1: Creating Theater and Film to Advocate for the Rights of immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
Location: 148 Boylston Street, Elma Lewis Center for Civic Engagement, Learning, and Research
A conversation with members of the Massachusetts TPS Committee; the Boston Experimental Theater and actors from "The Last Dream," a theater production and documentary film about U.S. children (ages 9-17) whose parents risk deportation if TPS (Temporary Protected Status) is ended. They created and performed a play to fight for their parents and to educate and inspire people to support their cause and act in their defense.
With:
- Moderator: Tamera Marko, Executive Director, Elma Lewis Center for Civic Engagement, Learning, and Research
Option #2: In Their Shoes
Location: Semel Theatre
With:
- Cheryl Buchanan
- Mathematics from Writers Without Margins
