The Boston College Forum on Racial Justice presents: Critical Conversations and Student Voices Addressing Racial Justice in America
Boston College will be hosting a Forum on Racial Justice sponsored student conference on March 24 – 25, 2023. This will be a day and a half student-led, in-person conference designed to provide space for discussion and reflection on the national effects of racial injustice.
This conference is free to all participants and will be taking place at Boston College.
Goals for participants: Engage reflectively in formative sessions that foster a deeper understanding of how racial injustice function on a systemic level Connect with and learn from a network of experienced student leadersLearn skills and techniques to engage in actions that further racial justice This year, the planning committee is focusing the conversations at the conference on the following topics:
- Education
- Wealth Distribution
- Criminal Justice
- Affordable Housing
- Healthcare
- National Racial Justice Topics
The topics listed above will be discussed in connection with their impacts on race and identity in the US.
Critical Conversations and Student Voices Addressing Racial Justice in America
Conference Agenda and Information
Friday, March 24, 2023PROGRAM | |
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5:00 p.m. | Registration
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6:00 p.m. | Opening Welcome: Vice President Joy Moore and Fr. Gregory Kalscheur,
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7:15 p.m.
| Evening Reception
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Saturday, March 25, 2023PROGRAM | |||
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9:30 a.m. | BreakfastLocation: The Heights Room, Corcoran Commons | ||
10:00 a.m. | Opening Welcome:
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11:00 a.m.
| Breakout Session ILocation: Gasson Hall | ||
12:00 p.m. | Lunch
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1:20 p.m. | Breakout Session II
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2:15 p.m. | Closing Remarks
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Thomas W. Mitchell
Robert Drinan, S.J., Professor of Law
Keynote Speaker
Thomas W. Mitchell holds the Robert F. Drinan, S.J. Endowed Chair at BC Law and serves as the Director of the Initiative on Promoting Land, Housing & Property Rights, which seeks to help disadvantaged people and communities acquire and secure important property rights. Prior to joining Boston College in 2022, he served as a tenured professor on the faculties of the University of Wisconsin Law School (2000-2016) and Texas A&M University School of Law (2016-2022). In 2017-2018, he served as interim Dean of Texas A&M School of Law. Professor Mitchell is a national expert on property issues facing disadvantaged families and communities, and has published leading scholarly works addressing these matters in academic journals, government publications, and publications for trade associations such as the American Bar Association. He has been interviewed by numerous media outlets including the New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, NPR, ProPublica, The Nation, Politico, Mother Jones, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, VICE, and many more.
To learn more about Thomas W. Mitchell, Robert Drinan, S.J., Professor of Law, view his faculty profile.
Racialized Property Systems in America: Generational Impacts and Possible Solutions
My keynote address will provide a historical account of several aspects of various property law systems in the United States that have marginalzed people of color from historically subordinated groups in ways that have had adverse multi-generational impacts. This account will demonstrate that, throughout U.S. history, both private and public actors have acted to stymie the ability of people of color to have strong property rights or sometimes any property rights at all. Finally, the presentation will address how a historically racialized property system can be (and in some instances is being) remedied with a special focus on the promise of Boston College Law School's new Initiative on Land, Housing & Property Rights.
Devianna Smith
MCAS ' 23
Student Keynote Speaker
Devianna is a senior from Chelmsford, Massachusetts, majoring in Political Science and Communication, Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences. Devianna is currently a Resident Assistant at Boston College in the V90 Community and serves as an Academic Advising Fellow for BC’s Advising Center to help students navigate BC and find their academic passion(s). Devianna’s duties as a Resident Assistant has taught her the importance of “Cura Personalis” and inspired her to be the Multicultural Living Experience RA last year. Devianna is committed to her other leadership roles as she is the Chair of the Student Conduct Board; she recently served as President of the AHANA Pre-Law Students Association and Treasurer of the Caribbean Culture Club. Lastly, she is a part of the Communication Honors Department.
Isiaah Clark ' 24
Student Keynote Speaker
Intercultural Facilitator Program,
Loyola Marymount University
Isaiah is originally from Omaha, Nebraska. He is a junior majoring in political science (pre-law) with a minor in music. In his free time, he loves to read, spend time with friends, watch movies, and learn to play new music on the piano. Currently, Isaiah serves as president of the Dedicated Intellectuals of the People (D.I.O.P.), co-chairman for the Black History Month Committee, and a resident assistant for the Grande Intercultural Experience Floor. These positions have allowed him the opportunity to build a community centered around vulnerability, accountability, and encouragement. Having the ability to build these communities has been one of the most rewarding parts of being a student at Boston College. Much of the work he does at BC is geared towards bringing resources and support to the BIPOC community. He believes that it is his responsibility, along with others, to leave this place better for the next generation that comes here after us.
Loyola Marymount University is home to an exceptional student-led effort called the Intercultural Facilitator (IF) Program. The premise of the program is to develop a group of students, highly skilled in principles of facilitation, to effectively facilitate other students in critical cultural conversations. In this session participants will be able to learn more about this program model and adopt their practices within their communities and institutions.
Session I | 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM | Gasson Hall
The Inextricable Link between Racial Income, Housing, and Wealth Inequality.
Location: Gasson 301
Presenter(s): Geoffrey Sazenbacher, Associate Professor of the Practice - Boston College and Adalyn Schommer, Student- Boston College
Session Description: Few people know that the racial income gap is the same today as it was 45 years ago. The reasons for this persistent gap range from discrimination, to inequality in education, to a lack of economic opportunity. This session will cover topics related to these issues from an economic lens
Missing Voices in History
Location: Gasson 303
Facilitator(s): Elizabeth Shalala, Assistant Dean and Associate Prof of the Practice, Core Curriculum - Boston College, and Fr. Hilary Nwainya, Graduate Student- Boston College
Session Description: After visiting Robben Island in South Africa, you find people who have been "erased" from history. Can we restore these missing voices? Yes! We have a moral imperative to do so.
“Savage Inequalities" in Education: Still Savage and Unequal?
Location: Gasson 305
Facilitator(s): Lorenzo (Alex) Alexander Puente, Assistant Professor of the Practice - Boston College, and Troy Woolsey Ph.D candidate in the Boston College, Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, English
Session Description: Jonathan Kozol, a Boston-based activist and educator, has been working for educational and racial inequalities since the 1970s. He has published many books on this issue, including Savage Inequalities (1991), showing the vast inequality in education based on race and class. More than thirty years after Savage Inequalities was published, have there been any changes in US education in terms of inequality and diversity? In this session you are invited to share your observations in your own community or state or the nation in general. What is being done, if any, and what needs to be done towards fostering a more inclusive and equal educational opportunities for all. Feel free to bring in other related issues of educational and racial inequality.
America's Racialized Body Politic
Location: Gasson 306
Facilitator(s): Gregory Fried, Professor Philosophy Department - Boston College, and Rowah Ibnouf, Undergraduate Student - Boston College
Session Description: We will discuss to what extent the body politic of America, the "We the people" of the US Constitution, has been split by racialization and how this reverberates to this day. At issue are the ideals of the American founding and the realities of American history, and the stormy conflict between them.
The Hermeneutics of Epistemic Decolonization, Race and Justice: Racial Justice beyond Lactification
Location: Gasson 307
Facilitator(s): Stanely Anozie, Assistant Professor of the Practice - Boston College, and Kathryn Stone, Undergraduate Student - Boston College
Session Description: This session will discuss the "Theories of Race" and how it is related to social divisions based on "Color lines"and "Epistemic Decolonization" as an aspect of liberty from lactification.
Race and the Law: Collaborative Close Reading of Leah Goodridge's "Professionalism as a Racial Construct"
Location: Gasson 308
Facilitator(s): Stephanie Charles, Associate General Counsel - Boston College
Session Description: In a widely acclaimed law review article, Leah Goodridge, a tenants' rights attorney in New York, unpacks "professionalism" as a racial construct weaponized to police and control people of color in the legal field. This session draws from Goodridge's article for a critical exploration of racialized professionalism in the law and beyond.
Health-Related Effects of Racial Injustice: A Trauma Informed Perspective
Location: Gasson 304
Facilitator(s): Alex Pieterse, Associate Professor, Director of the Institute for the Study of Race and Culture - Boston College, and Lawrence Stevenson, Ph.D candidate in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Counseling, Developmental & Educational Psychology
Session Description: This session will examine health-related outcomes of racial injustice. Attention will be given to both direct and vicarious effects of experiencing injustice with a specific focus on the cumulative impacts of racial trauma. The discussion will include approaches for self-care with a focus on resilience and resistance in the face of racial injustice.
Working towards Racial Justice by finding our Voice: A Brainstorm Carousel with the LMU Intercultural Facilitators
Location: Gasson 309
Facilitator(s): Olivia Rodriguez, Coordinator of Intercultural Programs and Initiatives - Loyola Marymount University, and Mariah Allen and Cathy Frias, Students - Loyola Marymount University
Session Description: As advocates for racial and social justice, there are many ways we want to make a change in the world around us, but where and how does this change begin? This session engages student participants in a brainstorming activity and dialogue on the importance of finding your voice as change agents passionate about racial justice on their campus, and beyond.
Policing and Racial Inequality in the United States
Location: Gasson 310
Facilitator(s): Martin Summers, Professor of History and AADS - Boston College
Session Description: Black Americans have always had a complicated relationship with the police and other forms of legal and extralegal law enforcement. On the one hand, law enforcement has functioned as a method of social control to keep Blacks “in their place.” On the other hand, Blacks have recognized the importance of public safety in their communities and have sought to integrate police departments, have collaborated with law enforcement to develop models of community policing, and have harbored a skepticism toward movements seeking to “defund the police.” This session will examine this complicated relationship.
Session II | 1:20 PM - 2:05 PM | Gasson Hall
How Implicit Bias Impacts Healthcare from a Nursing Perspective
Location: Gasson 302
Presenter(s): Leah Gordon, Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence, Diversity, and Belonging - Boston College
Session Description: Define implicit bias and its dangers, Discuss how implicit bias can impact healthcare, Provide tools for evaluating implicit bias and how they can be used to address implicit bias
Amplifying Black Voices: A Conversation Examining The Black Student Experience at PWIs
Location: Gasson 304
Facilitator(s): Lauren Bowers, SOAR Academic Counselor - Saint Louis University
Session Description: “Have you ever noticed that you were the only person of your race in a room? Did you begin to question if you belonged in that space or feel the need to tailor how you presented yourself to those around you? Often, black students feel this way in their higher education institutions and don't say anything. Together, we will discuss the unique perspectives of black PWI students. This topic is far too infrequently discussed despite being crucial in the space of diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education. Take this opportunity to listen to black student voices, respond, and grow your understanding. All are welcome to share their perspectives and learn regardless of race and experience."
Movies, Television, and Social Media's Impact on Racial Identity Development
Location: Gasson 301
Facilitator(s): Kenny Francis, Assistant Athletics Director - Student Athlete Formation & Success - Boston College and Dwayne Allick, Student - Boston College
Session Description:A critical examination of media and its impact on racial identity formation. During this session, participants will review artifacts and consider the role media has played in developing their identity and understanding of identities outside of themselves. Participants will then reflect on how to strengthen relationships between diverse groups through a more culturally proficient lens.
Curated Conversation with the Bowman Advocates - Theme: National Topics on Race
Locations: Gasson 307 (and 310)
Facilitator(s): Willow Golden and Heather Lee, Bowman Advocates, Students - Boston College
Session Description: We as a generation spend many hours of our day on social media sites, whether that is facebook, instagram, tiktok, or others. However, many of these sites use algorithms that are not racially neutral. From algorithms that are meant to capitalize on as much of your attention as possible, to what kind of people get platformed on traditional late-night TV, we are primed to receive many messages about race even if we are not explicitly aware of it.
Curated Conversation with the Bowman Advocates - Theme: Race and Employment
Location: Gasson 309
Facilitator(s): Day Kolz, Bowman Advocate - Boston College
Session Description: This session will discuss the impacts race can have on career areas, employment, and the assumptions people make within such categories. Some important subtopics include workplace professional expectations and biases, the pressure experienced by many to succeed in conversation with the effects of John Henryism, and how we can make workplaces and the workforce more diverse and accepting.