A CONVERSATION ON RACE: A 50-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE
UW-Whitewater is recognizing the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965
Voting Rights Act by engaging the entire campus community (students, faculty and staff) in a
wide-ranging “Conversation on Race.”
Recent events from California to Missouri to New York highlight the importance of engaging this
nation’s civil rights history as more than a mere celebration of past achievements. The
persistence and growth of race-based inequities in American society, particularly problematic in
Wisconsin, make this an important program for UWW, which has an Inclusive Excellence
commitment to diversity education and multi-cultural competency.
The goal of the Conversation on Race is to foster an ongoing conversation across campus that
examines, educates, and opens dialogue on race and race relations past and present.
During Fall 2014 attendance at CoR –sponsored events was close to 500, with more than a
thousand more students, staff and faculty attending CoR-related events sponsored by others.
Many of these events focused on issues of identity and the socially constructed nature of race.
The Spring 2015 Conversation on Race program will include a similar mix of panel discussions,
guest speakers, digital stories, films/documentaries, and other activities focusing on race and
culture. Spring semester CoR-sponsored events seek to move the conversation forward by
focusing on multiple ways in which perceptions of race affect people’s lives.
Calendar of Spring 2015 events is provided on the back side.
Also, check out the Conversation on Race website, with many links, including Faculty & Staff
Resources for incorporating CoR events into teaching and learning. Updated frequently.
http://www.uww.edu/diversity/conversation-on-race
CoR@uww.edu
Organized & Sponsored by Faculty, Staff, Students with support from Departments, Divisions & Colleges
CONVERSATION ON RACE CALENDAR – SPRING 2015
JANUARY – MAY
• “Moments In History” – signage on path north side of UC, after the ground softens
• Race Card Project - link at CoR webpage http://www.uww.edu/diversity/conversation-on-race
JANUARY
1/28 {W}: Speaker: Deuel Ross, “The 1965 Voting Rights Act” [Ross is a staff fellow for the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund] Martin
Luther King Commemorative Event, Hamilton Center; 3:30pm
FEBRUARY
2/3 {T}: Speaker: William Jones, “Jobs, Freedom & the Forgotten History of Civil Rights” [Jones is Professor of History, UW-Madison] African
American Heritage Lecture Series UC 275A; 3:30-4:30pm
•2/10 {T}: Movie & Panel: 12 Years A Slave (Oscar-award winning movie) Warhawk Connection Center; 5:00pm
2/19 {R}: Speaker Jessica Kota, “The Two-Spirited: Living in Multiple Worlds,” [Kota is a Therapist at Mingus Mountain Academy] Native Pride
Lecture Series in collaboration with Queer Cultural Series UC 275A; 3:30-4:30pm
2/25 {W}: Film: “The Dialogue,” (Award-winning documentary in the Crossing Borders trilogy) Sponsored by SEAL & Warhawk Connection.
LocationTBA; 3:30pm
MARCH
3/3 {T}: Speaker: Martha DeLaRosa “The Fight for 15: Low Wage Women Workers Organizing for Change” (Chapter Director, 9 to 5
Wisconsin) UC 275; 11am-12:15pm.
3/5 {R}: Speaker: Tharaphi Than,”Burmese Women: Forgotten People in the Making of Burma’s History,” [Than is Asst. Prof., Dept. of Foreign
Languages & Literatures, Northern Illinois University] Southeast Asian Lecture Series UC 275A; 3:30-4:30pm
3/9 {M}: Speaker: Adisa Banjoko; "Promoting Youth Empowerment and Non-Violence through Hip Hop, Chess and Martial Arts"
(founder of Hip-Hop Chess Federation, explores how the fusion of music, chess & martial cars can teach unity among diverse cultures,
life strategy & non-violent communications) L&S Lecture Series, Young Auditorium; 7:00pm
3/11 {W}: Speaker: Gary W. Johnson, “Tribal Identities and Traditional Beliefs in Contemporary Society” [Johnson is an Asst. Prof of First
Nation Studies, UW-S] Native Pride Lecture Series UC 275A 3:30-4:30pm
3/18 {W}: Panel & Discussion: “Hate Crimes on Campus” (UWW Faculty-Staff will examine causes, consequences, and social functions of
hate crimes and the particular challenges posed by hate crimes committed at UWW) UC 275B; 5:00-6:30pm
3/31 {T}: Speaker: Juan Jose Lopez, “Cesar Chavez and the Chicano Movement,” (Lopez is a Management Trainer at the WI Department of
Workforce Development] Latino Heritage Lecture Series UC 275A; 3:30-4:30pm
APRIL
TBA: Panel & Discussion, “Why Mass Incarceration Matters” (Panelists will discuss the origins and implications of exploding rates of racially
disparate incarceration.) Location TBA. 5:00-6:30pm
4/14 {T}: Tue Trinh, “The Lost History of Vietnamese Written Langauge,” [Trinh is Asst. Professor of Lunguistics, UW-Milwaukee] Southeast
Asian Heritage Lecture Series UC 275A; 3:30-4:30pm
4/21-22 {T-W}: VANG (Dramatic Performance & workshop exploring immigrants’ struggles to survive in the U.S. through the eyes of four
different ethnic/nationality groups) Sponsored by Young Aud. & Warhawk Connection Center Locations/Times TBA
4/28 {T}: “WALK YOUR TALK” Gathering (CoR capstone event, highlighting ways that individuals & groups are engaging the conversation
through action – panels, speakers, stories; refreshments. Hamilton Center, 11am-2pm.
MAY
5/5: {T} Speaker: Nayla Chehade, “Latinas in Literature,” [UWW Languages & Literature Dept] Latino Heritage Lecture Series UC 275A; 3:304:30pm