social justice
Access all of our programs encompassing social justice through policy, conversation, and more
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A LOOK AT "FAITH, FEARS, AND FACTS," A RECENT JES REPORT
Panel Discussion
April 12, 2021
Dr. Parris Baker leads a panel discussion with Dr. Charles Mock, Rev. Remy Acevedo, and Pat Cuneo on the recently released Jefferson report, "Faith, Fears, and Facts: African Americans, Vaccinations, and the Fierce Urgency of Now for BIPOC Communities."
As the nation speeds up the race to get COVID-19 vaccines into the arms of Americans, Dr. Baker, a Gannon University professor and department head, discusses the report that explores the politics and perceptions around vaccination and offers key recommendations. Other contributors to the report are the Rev. Charles Mock, Pat Cuneo, Gary Horton, James Sherrod, and Ben Speggen.
Among the key report recommendations are: 1. Designing interventions that help Erie County healthcare providers to address the distrust of the vaccine in BIPOC communities. 2. Empower organizations like MCIC, AACC, NAACP, the United Clergy of Erie, and the Erie Housing Authority with resources to establish vaccination centers that the community considers trusted places with trusted people. 3. Assist the vaccination centers to provide information and outreach regarding the efficacy of vaccines, and to model vaccination compliance. 4. Hold healthcare providers accountable for the reception, availability, and distribution of vaccines throughout Erie County.
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LOCAL AND STATEWIDE PERSPECTIVES ON ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Sarah Bennett, Gary Horton, and Allison Acevedo
February 25, 2020
Erie Coke closed its doors in December 2019 after years of environmental violations that disproportionately impacted Environmental Justices communities. In September 2020, Erie County declared racism as a public health crisis. Join Sarah Bennett, PennFuture’s Campaign Manager for Clean Water Advocacy in the Lake Erie Watershed, Gary Horton, Urban Erie CDC President, and Allison Acevedo, Director of the Office of Environmental Justice at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, to learn what environmental justice is, how it impacts the Erie community, and what can be done to create a future where low income people and people of color are no longer disproportionately impacted by environmental degradation and pollution.
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THE URBAN DIGITAL DIVIDE DEFINED
Matt Wiertel
October 15, 2020
The broadband and technology skills gap that exists in U.S. urban areas often decides whether individuals can become part of the connected digital economy and education. Due to Erie's demographics, broadband adoption in urban areas trails national averages and creates a larger challenge for the community at large. Raimy Fellow Matt Wiertel dives into this multi-faceted issue, presents possible solutions, and forms a call to action to assist a technologically marginalized population in Erie.
To watch this program on YouTube, click HERE!
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UNEXPECTED CONNECTIONS: STATISTICAL PHYSICS, PHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY, AND DIVERSITY AND EQUITY IN STEM
Dr. Noah Charles
October 13, 2020
Physics promises to deliver for us leaps forward in our technological capabilities. Dr. Charles' time in the field has shown him that physics shares unexpected connections with many other areas of thought, from philosophy to social science. In this talk, he explains how his interest in statistics led him down the rabbit hole to questions of the evolution of the universe and our expectations about its future and simultaneously to work to understand why people of non-traditional backgrounds sometimes choose to leave the field.
To watch this program, click HERE!
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A SHARED HERITAGE: PEOPLE AND PLACES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE IN ERIE COUNTY
Mr. Johnny Johnson and Dr. Chris Magoc
September 30, 2020
This program offers an overview of a newly launched community history project. The centerpiece of A Shared Heritage is a driving and walking tour of 29 sites of significance related to African American history in Erie County from slavery through the Civil Rights era. Along with the tour is a website featuring a number of other supplemental educational resources that are previewed in the presentation.
To watch this video on Facebook, click HERE!
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FROM 1619 VIRGINIA TO 16503 ERIE: THE CONSTITUTIONAL PATH TO BLACK LIVES MATTER
Dr. Parris Baker
Spetember 22, 2020
Dr. Parris Baker, longtime Gannon University faculty member and author of the Jefferson report "A Pain-filled, Polarized America: Reflections, Recommendations on Racism in U.S., Erie," will discuss this presentation, debuted on Aug. 25, 2020 at Gannon, as he examines how racism was ingrained in the founding of the United States and the historical events that have led to the current Black Lives Matter movement. The focus on making reflective and reflexive change and the desire to re-evaluate processes at the micro and macro level are two areas Dr. Baker believes can result in significant change.
To watch this video on YouTube, click HERE!
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A CONVERSATION WITH AUTHOR PRESTON LOVE JR.: A CLEAR VISION: LOOKING AT DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
Preston Love, Jr.
July 28, 2020
Acclaimed author, professor, and long-term activist Preston Love, Jr. discusses Clear Vision, the follow-up book to his groundbreaking Economic Cataracts: A Chronicle of Efforts to Remove the Obstacles of Urban Community Engagement and Economic, Inclusion. Explore his unique approach to building Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the nonprofit he founded, the Institute for Urban Development (4urban.org), including a look at community engagement, economic and leadership growth, and his other organization, Black Votes Matter. The manager for Jesse Jackson's 1984 presidential campaign, Love also reflects on his recently published Jackson Papers, his children's book Your Bridge to History, and his annual Black History Tour, all in conversation with Jefferson Educational Society Vice President Ben Speggen.
To watch this program on YouTube, click HERE!
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A CONVERSATION WITH ANDRE PERRY, AUTHOR OF KNOW YOUR PRICE, ON HIS LATEST BOOK, RACISM IN AMERICA, AND THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT
Andre Perry, Ph.D.
July 16, 2020
Dr. Perry is a fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, a scholar-in-residence at American University, a columnist for the Hechinger Report, and is the author of the recently published book Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities.
A nationally known and respected commentator on race, structural inequality, and education, Perry's research has included: documenting the underlying causes for the outsized number of coronavirus-related deaths in Black communities; illuminating how certain forms of social distancing historically accelerated economic and social disparities between Black people and the rest of the country; mapping racial inequities in housing, income, and health to underscore how policy discrimination makes Black Americans more vulnerable to COVID-19; and spotlighting the struggles of Black businesses as they await federal relief from COVID-19’s economic impact.
To watch this program on YouTube, click HERE!
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FOOD SECURITY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: U.S. AND GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
Caitlin Welsh, M.P.A.
July 21, 2020
From food security in the United States broadly to the impact on specific communities, to a look at global conditions, international supply chains, potential famines, and food shortages, Erie native Caitlin Welsh, Director of the Global Food Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., offered a tour d'horizon of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, looking back to her Jefferson Digital Programming presentation in April 2020 to where conditions stand now to estimations of where we are headed through the summer into the fall.
To watch this program on YouTube, click HERE!
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A CONVERSATION WITH REV JEFFREY BROWN: THE “BOSTON MIRACLE,” RACE IN AMERICA, AND TODAY’S BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT
Rev. Jeffrey Brown
June 30, 2020
Heralded as "the architect of the Boston Miracle," Rev. Jeffrey Brown led the way to curb youth-involved violent crime in Boston by 79 percent over a decade. Working with faith groups, cities, government, and police to stop gang violence, Rev. Brown serves as president of RECAP (Rebuilding Every Community Around Peace) and co-founder of My City at Peace.
To discuss race in America, today's Black Lives Matter Movement, and more, Rev. Brown, who presented in Erie at Global Summit VIII, joins Jefferson Vice President Ben Speggen in conversation to review our country's history, unpack its present, and explore its future.
To watch this program on YouTube, click HERE!
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A PAIN-FILLED, POLARIZED AMERICA: REFLECTIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS ON RACISM IN U.S., ERIE
Dr. Parris Baker
June 22, 2020
In a Jefferson report, "A Pain-filled, Polarized America: Reflections, Recommendations on Racism in U.S., Erie," author Dr. Parris Baker examines America's history and grappling with racism in the context of George Floyd's violent death while in police custody, the rise of global protests, and the ongoing pervasion of the coronavirus pandemic.
While reviewing the country's history rooted in racism and the centuries-long impacts it's had, Baker highlights current initiatives, such as Campaign Zero, and outlines key recommendations to drive equitable progress through policy.
To watch this program on YouTube, click HERE!
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A CONVERSATION WITH CAMILLE BUSETTE, DIRECTOR OF THE RACE, PROSPERITY, AND INCLUSION INITIATIVE AND SENIOR FELLOW AT BROOKINGS INSTITUTION
Camille Busette, Ph.D.
May 14, 2020
The Federal Reserve took the unprecedented step of establishing a Municipal Liquidity Facility (MLF), providing up to $500 billion in lending to states, cities, and counties, but the "MLF's proposed eligibility criteria unintentionally deepen what are becoming disturbing and obviously racial disparities of COVID-19," writes Camille Busette with Brookings colleague Aaron Klein in their report "Improving the Equity Impact of the Fed's Municipal Lending Facility.
To discuss that report and more, Busette, speaker at Global Summit X, joins Jefferson Vice President Ben Speggen in conversation for the Jefferson's Digital Programming.
To watch this program on YouTube, click HERE!
