Past Events

Dr. Peniel Joseph discusses gentrification-driven displacements of Austin's longstanding African American residents with University of Texas at Austin Professor Dr. Eric Tang.

CSRD Director Dr. Peniel Joseph discusses the future of public safety with Kellee Coleman, business process consultant for the City of Austin's Equity Office; Sukyi McMahon, strategic director and board chair of the Austin Justice Coalition; and Chris Harris, director of Texas Appleseed's Criminal Justice Project.

Author, activist and sociologist Dr. Pedro Noguera, dean of the USC Rossier School of Education, joins the CSRD for the first virtual presentation of the William C. Powers, Jr. Speaker Series. Honoring the memory of former UT President William C. Powers, Jr., this speaker series invites thought leaders to present research in American politics and public policy in reflection of his commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Dr. Peniel E. Joseph, director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy and Barbara Jordan Chair of Ethics and Political Values, and panelists Lawton Cummings and Kelli Mason, partners at Notley, an Austin-based nonprofit social impact firm, discuss meaningful paths to allyship and fostering an inclusive and equitable society for all.

CSRD Founding Director Dr. Peniel Joseph and Dr. Jeremi Suri, LBJ Professor Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs, moderated a virtual public forum with Austin Mayor Steve Adler, Austin Council Member Alison Alter and Austin Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison.

The Center for the Study of Race and Democracy hosted Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., one of the nation's leading scholars on African American history and literature, as the third keynote presenter in the William C. Powers, Jr. Speaker Series. Gates is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University. An Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, literary scholar, journalist, cultural critic and institution builder, he has authored or co-authored 21 books and created 15 documentary films, including "African American Lives," and "Finding Your Roots," his groundbreaking genealogy series now in its third season on PBS.

The Center for the Study of Race and Democracy hosted Sherrilyn Ifill, one of the nation's leading scholars on civil rights law and litigation, as the second keynote presenter in the William C. Powers, Jr. Speaker Series. Ifill is the president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), the nation's premier civil rights law organization fighting for racial justice and equality.

The Center for the Study of Race and Democracy hosted Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad as the inaugural presenter in the William C. Powers, Jr. Speaker Series. Dr. Muhammad, one of the nation’s leading scholars on race, democracy, inequality, and criminal justice, spoke on "The Descent of Democracy and the Promise of African American History."