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Racial Justice

What happens to a dream deferred? 60-Second Lectures on racial injustice
Screenshot of four people in a grid form, top left is Mary Frances Berry, top right is Margo Natalie Crawford, bottom left is Guthrie Ramsey, bottom right is Dagmawi Woubshet

Clockwise from top left: Mary Frances Berry; Margo Natalie Crawford; Guthrie Ramsey; and Dagmawi Woubshet. (Image: Penn Arts & Sciences)

What happens to a dream deferred? 60-Second Lectures on racial injustice

In an effort to amplify the messages of the recent protests against racist violence, Penn Arts & Sciences created a special series: What Happens to a Dream Deferred? 60-Second Lectures on Racial Injustice.

From Omnia

Police violence, structural racism, and the science of reform
African American person in a crowd at a demonstration confronts a line of state police with riot gear.

Police violence, structural racism, and the science of reform

Co-sponsored by LDI and the Penn Injury Science Center, a virtual seminar on Policing, Race and Health: Prospects for Reform kicks off what will be a continuing series of conversations on the topic over the next year.

Hoag Levins

Children’s literature as ‘seed work’
Ebony standing along Locust Walk Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, associate professor of literacy, culture, and international education in the Graduate School of Education.

Children’s literature as ‘seed work’

Penn GSE’s Ebony Elizabeth Thomas discusses the importance of more diverse books for kids and the challenges that continue to stifle early anti-racist learning. She also shares a curated list of recommended books for youth catered to this particular moment.

Lauren Hertzler

Michael Hanchard on continuing injustice and the fight for equal protections
Michael Hanchard

Michael Hanchard, chair and Gustave C. Kuemmerle Professor of Africana Studies. (Image: Omnia)

Michael Hanchard on continuing injustice and the fight for equal protections

The chair and Gustave C. Kuemmerle Professor of Africana Studies, discusses the recent wave of protests following the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other unarmed Black women and men across the country.

From Omnia

Jelani Williams is seizing the moment to protest systemic racism
Jelani Williams holds up a fist of solidarity while seated next to a painting of singer, actor, athlete, and political activist Paul Robeson.

Jelani Williams next to a painting of singer, actor, athlete, and political activist Paul Robeson. (Image: The Pennsylvania Gazette)

Jelani Williams is seizing the moment to protest systemic racism

Penn basketball guard Jelani Williams has been going to protests, making his voice heard on campus, and promoting messages of “love and respect.”

The Pennsylvania Gazette

What the 1968 Kerner Commission can teach us
Historic image of police storming a storefront in 1967 during a riot in Detroit.

President Lyndon Johnson established the Kerner Commission to identify the genesis of the violence in the 1960s that killed 43 in Detroit and 26 in Newark. Pictured here, soldiers in a Newark storefront. (Image: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture)

What the 1968 Kerner Commission can teach us

Criminologist and statistician Richard Berk, who worked on the report as a graduate student, explains the systemic racism and poverty found to underlie violent unrest in the 1960s and where COVID-19 and the economy fit today.

Michele W. Berger

How to begin talking about race in the workplace
Screen shot of 12 faces in a virtual meeting.

How to begin talking about race in the workplace

Wharton management professor Stephanie Creary explains her framework for middle managers in corporate environments who would like to initiate conversations about race in the workplace.

From Knowledge at Wharton

Kelly Writers House forum amplifies ideas and voices on racial justice
Six people on a videoconference

Penn's Kelly Writers House held a forum on racial justice featuring authors, students, faculty, and staff reading works written by themselves or others. 

Kelly Writers House forum amplifies ideas and voices on racial justice

Kelly Writers House held a forum on racial justice featuring faculty, students, staff, and alumni reading written works, their own and those by others, that speak to these times.

Louisa Shepard

Police killings and Black mental health
black lives matter protest in a full street

Police killings and Black mental health

Specialists from across the Penn community discuss the mental health impacts of Black people being subjected to videos of African Americans being killed by the police.
Juneteenth: A day for reflection, conversation, and learning
Open palm holding a small candle

Juneteenth: A day for reflection, conversation, and learning

As the Penn community takes time today to consider the significance of Juneteenth, Penn Today also pauses for critical reflection

Kristen de Groot , Kristina Linnea García , Louisa Shepard