Keynote Speaker: Chad Williams

Chad Williams headshotChad Williams is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of African and Afro-American Studies at Brandeis University.  Chad earned a BA in History and African American Studies from UCLA, and received both his MA and Ph.D. in History from Princeton University.  He specializes in African American and modern United States History, African American military history, the World War I era, and African American intellectual history.  His first book, Torchbearers of Democracy: African American Soldiers in the World War I Era, was published in 2010 by the University of North Carolina Press. Torchbearers of Democracy won the 2011 Liberty Legacy Foundation Award from the Organization of American Historians, the 2011 Distinguished Book Award from the Society for Military History and designation as a 2011 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title.  He is co-editor of Charleston Syllabus: Readings on Race, Racism and Racial Violence (University of Georgia Press, 2016) and Major Problems in African American History, Second Edition (Cengage Learning, 2016). 

Chad has published articles and book reviews in numerous leading journals and collections.  He has earned fellowships from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies at Harvard University, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Ford Foundation and the Woodrow Wilson Foundation.  He is currently completing a study of W. E. B. Du Bois and World War I.

Note: To view a video of the Teach-in on Race panels and keynote, please click the titles below.

Schedule of Events: October 13, 2017

Keynote Address: 10:00 am–11:00 am

Practicing History and Social Justice in Moments of Racial Crisis

Keynote Address by Chad Williams
Associate Professor and Chair, Department of African and Afro-American Studies at Brandeis University

Location

Cutler Majestic Theater

Sessions: 11:15 am–12:15 pm

Art and Appropriation

Panelists

Adam Spry, WLP
Regge Life, VMA
Jenna Lea Scott, Glass Curtain Theater Co.
Maria Agui Carter, VMA (moderator)

Location

Bright Family Screening Room


Say the Right Thing: How Do We Talk to Each Other?

Panelists

Chastity Bowick, Steering Committee Mas. Trans. Political Coalition (MTPC); AIDS Action Committee
Melissa Bergstrom, Boston Artists Against Violence
Harrison Blum, Director of Emerson Center for Spiritual Life
Moderator TBD

Location

Greene Theater

Sessions: 12:30 pm–1:30 pm

Current Crisis in Casting in Theatre and Media

Panelists

TBD
Miranda Adekoje, Beyond Measure Productions, LLC
Ken Cheeseman, Performing Arts (Moderator)

Location

Bright Family Screening Room


The POWER You Hold

A workshop and guide on available resources and support for fighting bias and discrimination at Emerson

Organized by Student Advocacy Group POWER

Location

Multipurpose Room, 150 Boylston, 1st Floor

Sessions: 1:45 pm–2:45 pm

A Primer for Activists

Panelists

Lucie Pereira, POWER
Andrew Child, Artists from Suburbia
Matthew Taylor, Anti-Racism Collaborative
Tamia Jordan, Intercultural Student Affairs (Moderator)

Location

Walker 202


Tearing Down Walls: Immigrant America

Panelists

Patricia Montes, Centro Presente, East Boston
Jenny Alexander, Northern Light Production
Nicolasa Lopez, Gardner Pilot Academy
Cristina Kotz Cornejo, VMA (moderator)

Location

Greene Theater

Session: 3:00 pm–4:00 pm

Building Community (including Safe Spaces)

Panelists

Mary Driscoll, OWLL Theatre Collective for Social Change
Alaina Leary, We Need Diverse Books
Giles Li, Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center
Jessica Chance, Career Services (moderator)

Location

Walker 202