TONIGHT, September 16 | 5–6.30pm | UVA School of Architecture Campbell Hall 153

Deanna Van Buren is one of the national leaders researching, formulating, and advocating for restorative justice centers, a radical transformation of the criminal justice system. She is the design director and executive director of Designing Justice + Designing Spaces, an architecture and real estate development firm innovating in the built environment to end mass incarceration. Deanna’s professional career spans 16 years as a design lead in the offices of Eric R. Kuhne & Associates London, The Buchan Group Sydney, Michelle Kauffman Designs, and Perkins + Will on urban design, domestic, institutional and education projects in the Bay Area, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Recent work with her practice includes Restore, a multi-use hub for restorative justice and restorative economics, the Pop-Up Village, a mobile site activation tool, and The Hope Re-entry Campus. Deanna is a recent awardee of the Berkeley-Rupp Professorship Prize, The Royal Society of Arts Bicentenary Medal and the Women in Architecture Awards Honoring Pioneering Professionals. Deanna received her BS in Architecture from the University of Virginia, M. Arch from Columbia University and is an alumnus of the Loeb Fellowship at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.

TONIGHT Sept. 16, 7 - 10 pm, UVA Multicultural Student Center

Seattle collective Women of Color Speak Out is leading a workshop based on the connection between systemic oppression and climate change. Their transformative talk will focus on effective allyship and solidarity in the social and climate justice movements. All are welcome, especially if you are new to activism!

 Vegan dinner will be served, with gluten-free options available. The Multicultural Student Center is located in the basement of Newcomb Hall on UVa Grounds, and is wheelchair accessible through the back entrance labelled "Newcomb Theater" across from the parking garage. Please let us know if you have any dietary restrictions or other needs by messaging us so we can accommodate you!

'Enrique's Journey': How to Fix Immigration in a Humane Way

Wednesday, September 18 | 6:30-8:00PM | The Haven at First and Market

Join Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Sonia Nazario, author of Enrique's Journey, for a wide ranging and provocative exploration of the promise and perils of immigration. In conversation with Miller Center Faculty Senior Fellow David Leblang—who is also professor of politics in the College of Arts and Sciences and of public policy at the Batten School—Nazario will engage in a broader discussion of conditions in Central America, changes in U.S. immigration policies, and ways in which communities welcome immigrants and refugees.

Book signing and sale will follow.

This event is part of "Welcoming Week," an annual series of events in which communities bring together immigrants, refugees, and native-born residents to raise awareness of the benefits of welcoming everyone. This discussion is cosponsored by UVA's Miller Center, Office of the President, College of Arts & Sciences, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, Karsh Center for Law and Democracy, Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Outreach, Democracy Initiative, the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, and Welcoming Greater Charlottesville. 

*This event will not be live-streamed.
Photo: Enrique (left) shortly before he begins his journey north from Honduras

Join the University of Virginia Press and UVA President James E. Ryan on Sept. 19th, 1pm at the Rotunda’s Dome Room for a launch event celebrating the publication ofEducated in Tyranny: Slavery at Thomas Jefferson’s University. President Ryan will introduce the event to be followed by talks from the book’s co-editors Louis Nelson andMaurie McInnis. The event will be followed by a reception from 2pm to 4pm at the Colonnade Club on Grounds.

In Educated in Tyranny, Maurie McInnis, Louis Nelson, and contributing authors tell the largely unknown story of slavery at the University of Virginia. While UVA has long been celebrated as fulfilling Jefferson’s desire to educate citizens to lead and govern, the book’s contributors document the burgeoning political rift over slavery as Jefferson tried to protect southern men from anti-slavery ideas in northern institutions. In the book, we see UVA as a cultural landscape shaped by a paradox, an institution designed to preserve democratic ideals that was built and maintained by enslaved workers. In uncovering this history, Educated in Tyranny changes how we see the university during its first fifty years and understand its history hereafter.

Theatre of the Oppressed Workshop - Kick Off

Cville Sabroso 2019

Tuesday, September 24 | 6:30 – 8 pm | Jefferson School African American Heritage Center

In How to Be an Antiracist, Kendi asks us to think about what an antiracist society might look like, and how we can play an active role in building it. See below for more information.

A 5-Week Series Pay-What-You-Can $25-100 | Wednesdays Sept 11th-Oct 9th | 6:00-7:15

Though white Americans have been the dominant racial group in this country for centuries, many, if not most whites, carry very little awareness of whiteness or its implications as we move through our days. If you racially identify as white, how often do you bring to conscious awareness the color of your skin in daily life? Have you contemplated the impact your whiteness has had on your educational background and professional advancement? Are you aware of the governmental policies that have allowed whites to own property and amass wealth to the detriment of African-Americans and other peoples of color? What are some of the hidden ways with which whites continue to dominate the power structures of this nation and this community? 

In this six-week, meditation-centered course, we will explore and investigate these kinds of questions, both as a class and individually. Each week’s class will revolve around a part of American life built upon racial hierarchy, i.e. education, housing, the legal and justice systems, and the racial history of Charlottesville itself. Short periods of guided meditation each week will support our exploration and the concurrent (usually difficult) emotions that can arise in discussions about this deeply-entrenched and also supremely urgent topic. 

This class will involve weekly readings, podcasts and videos, which will help to facilitate learning and class participation. Sharing in group discussions and dialogue will be encouraged! Learning how to speak openly and with greater awareness about one’s race is a lifelong process – a process that can be shared with others to create a more just and meaningful world.

Student publications in the decades after the Civil War evinced a growing preoccupation with rationalizing what they termed “white rule” as the natural and proper state of affairs. An April 1868 article entitled “The Future Rulers of the World” posed the question: “What nation … will be the ruling power and direct the civilization of the world?”²They answered their own question, asserting “it is plain that it will be the Caucasian race.” The editors of the issue agreed, reminding readers “we will never submit to negro rule.”³

Mythologizing about the “Lost Cause” – a post-Civil War, pro-Confederate interpretation of history – was accompanied by mocking dehumanization of African Americans through blackface minstrel shows and other stereotypes, all of which fed into a white supremacist ethos supporting the rise and continuation of the segregated state..."

By Meagan Flynn | Original Publication: Washington Post | Published September 2019 | Photo: Library of Congress
"From their offices in a building erected by slaves, leaders of the Virginia Theological Seminary announced early this month that they have created a $1.7 million fund for reparations, putting one of the oldest Episcopalian schools at the forefront of a movement among universities and other groups seeking to reconcile slavery’s enduring legacy in their organizations.

The endowment fund offers a model at a time when lawmakers and presidential candidates are studying how reparations may work nationally. At Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria — a school that did not admit black students until 1951 — the plan involves more than just writing a check.

The pot of money will be used to address “particular needs” of descendants of slaves who worked at the seminary, to create programs that “promote justice and inclusion,” and to elevate the work and voices of African American alumni and clergy within the Episcopal Church, especially at historically black congregations.

'As we approach the [the Seminary’s] milestone of 200 years, we are deeply conscious of our past. ... Part of our past is explicit racism,' the Rev. Ian S. Markham, dean and president of the seminary, said in a statement. 'We were a Seminary where enslaved persons worked. We participated fully in segregation. So we apologize; so we commit to a different future; but we need to do more. This fund is our seed — the first step...'"

Community Criminal Justice Days
October 17 - 18, 2019 | Eastern Mennonite University | To Register >

The Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) and The Institute for Reforms & Solutions (IR&S) are co-hosting a two-day conference to discuss and develop the foundation for a community strategy to reduce incarceration and recidivism in the Shenandoah Valley and beyond.

Topics and workshops will include:

Transformative and Restorative Justice
Innovative Programs in Reentry
Addressing Childhood Trauma
Addictions and Mental Health Treatment
Immigration Detention and Reform
Workforce Training and Adult Basic Education Programs
Therapeutic Approaches to Reduce Juvenile Detention
Partnerships for Housing to Alleviate Chronic Homelessness
Partnerships for House and Employment
The Road to Cannabis Legalization in the Commonwealth

Special event:  Candidate's forum for the November 2019 area elections

Where: Campus Center, Eastern Mennonite University
When:  Thursday, October 17: 8:30am - 5:00pm - Friday, October 18: 8:30am - 5:00pm
Click here https://reformcjs.org/community-criminal-justice-days/ for more information and to register.
We look forward to seeing you at CCJD 2019!

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1st Harambee Family Events

January-December 2019 | Various Times | Various Locations

Charlottesville, VA - Harambee Family Events is a calendar that highlights African American Cultural Activities in Charlottesville and surrounding areas. The calendar, created and designed by author, award winner, Mr. Alex-Zan, presents 18 events from January 2019 - December 2019.

The Harambee (Swahili - All Pull Together) culture events objectives are to inspire and unify area citizens to communicate more effectively and create/maintain a positive environment for change and civility. The calendar also strives to strengthen family relations and culture awareness, particularly African Americans who have experienced a lack of inclusion in many area events.

The Harambee Family Event Calendar will be distributed throughout Central VA. - schools, churches, businesses, clubs/organizations and social media to name a few. The calendar sponsors are: (CAT) Charlottesville Area Transit, Wegmans, Blue Ridge Graphics and Carter Myers Automotive.

To view the calendar, visit: Alex-Zan.com