Brandeis Alumni, Family and Friends

The Meaning of Freedom: And Other Difficult Dialogues

In this collection of previously unpublished speeches, Angela Davis ’65 confronts the interconnected issues of power, race, gender, class, incarceration, conservatism and the ongoing need for social change in the United States.

Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice

Ray Arsenault, MA’74, PhD’81, recounts how a group of Black and white volunteers came together to travel from Washington, DC, through the Deep South, defying Jim Crow laws in buses and terminals and putting their lives on the line for racial justice.

From Power to Prejudice: The Rise of Racial Individualism in Midcentury America

A history of social scientific debates over the nature of racial injustice from the mid 1930s through the mid 1960s, written by Leah Gordon, the Harry S. Levitan Director of Education and Associate Professor of Education, that helps to contextualize current discussions of prejudice, systemic racism and the distinctions between these.

Intersectionality as Critical Social Theory

All individuals fall into overlapping social categories that describe race, class, gender, sexuality, age, ethnicity or ability. This book by Patricia Hill Collins ’69, PhD’84, is designed to help practitioners and scholars working to facilitate social change reflect critically on intersectionality’s assumptions, epistemologies and methods. 

Trans/Coalitional Love-Politics: Black Feminisms and the Radical Possibilities of Transgender Studies

Research from V Varun Chaudhry, assistant professor of women's, gender, and sexuality studies, on the reproduction of antiblack racism in progressive gender/sexual political spheres.

Let’s Make a Better World

Jane Sapp and Cynthia Cohen, the director of Brandeis’ Peacebuilding and the Arts program, share songs of activism and hope, rooted in African American musical traditions, that Sapp wrote or adapted during her long career in cultural community development.

Naming a Transnational Black Feminist Framework: Writing in Darkness

K. Melchor Quick Hall, a visiting scholar at the Women's Studies Research Center, analyzes the five guiding principles of the transnational Black feminist framework—intersectionality, scholar-activism, solidarities, attention to borders/boundaries and radically transparent positionality.

The Descendants Versus the Forces of Hate

Created, written and illustrated by Tony Robinson ’88, this superhero graphic novel addresses social issues with a positive message.

The Loneliness of the Black Republican

This book from Leah Wright Rigueur, the Harry Truman Associate Professor of History, examines the ideas and actions of black Republican activists, officials and politicians from the era of the New Deal to Ronald Reagan's presidential ascent in 1980.

"What Does Injustice Have to Do with Me?": Engaging Privileged White Students with Social Justice

David Nurenberg ’99 weaves together narrative from 20 years of suburban teaching with relevant research in education and critical race theory to provide practical, hands-on strategies for educators dealing with challenges unique to high-powered suburban, urban and independent schools.

Toxic Inequality: How America's Wealth Gap Destroys Mobility, Deepens the Racial Divide, and Threatens Our Future

In our increasingly diverse nation, sociologist and Director of the Institute on Assets and Social Policy Thomas Shapiro argues, wealth disparities must be understood in tandem with racial inequities--a dangerous combination he terms 'toxic inequality.'

The Hidden Cost of Being African American: How Wealth Perpetuates Inequality

Thomas Shapiro, Director of the Institude on Assets and Social Policy, reveals how the lack of family assets--inheritance, home equity, stocks, bonds, savings accounts, and other investments-- along with continuing racial discrimination in crucial areas like homeownership dramatically impact the everyday lives of many black families, reversing gains earned in schools and on jobs, and perpetuating the cycle of poverty in which far too many find themselves trapped.

The Children in Room E4: American Education On Trial

Susan Eaton, Director of the Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy, spent four years at Simpson-Waverly Elementary School, an all-minority school in Hartford, Connecticut. Located in the poorest city in the wealthiest state in the nation, it is a glaring example of the great racial and economic divide found in almost every major urban center across the country.

The Other Boston Busing Story: What's Won and Lost Across the Boundary Line

Susan Eaton, Director of the Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy, presents interviews with sixty-five graduates of Boston's METCO busing program, assessing the benefits and hardships of this landmark school desegregation program.

Voices from the Mississippi Hill Country: The Benton County Civil Rights Movement

Co-Authors Roy DeBerry ’70, Aviva Futorian ’59, Stephen Klein, and John Lyons have created a collection of interviews with residents of Benton County, Mississippi—an area with a long and fascinating civil rights history. The product of more than twenty-five years of work by the Hill Country Project, this volume examines a revolutionary period in American history through the voices of farmers, teachers, sharecroppers, and students.

Charleston Syllabus: Readings on Race, Racism, and Racial Violence

In the aftermath of the 2015 Charleston, South Carolina church massacre, Professors Chad Williams, Kidada E. Williams, and Keisha N. Blain sought to put the event within the context of America's tumultuous history of race relations and racial violence on a global scale. These readings explore racial conflict, southern identity, systemic racism, civil rights, and the African American church as an institution.

African and African American Studies Department 50th Anniversary

Brandeis University honored the 50th anniversary of its AAAS department with a weekend of discussions, performances and celebrations of esteemed alumni, including Angela Davis ’65, Julieanna Richardson ’76, H’16, Hortense Spillers, PhD’74, and more.

America’s Racial Reckoning: Black Lives and Black Futures in Historical, Political and Legal Context

Moderated by Professor Chad Williams, Professors Anita Hill, Daniel Kryder and Leah Wright Rigueur examined and contextualized the national uprising sparked by the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery in this virtual Brandeis panel.

Sankofa Community Conference, Advancing Racial Justice Through Life and Work

The virtual conference sponsored by the Heller School for Social Policy and Management covered current events, including how structural racism interacts with COVID-19, disability and race, restorative and transformative justice and the need for reparations, and personal stories from people of color about survival through inequality.

"Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired": A Conversation on Anti-racism and Equity Momentum in America

Moderated by Associate Dean Maria Madison, Professors Anita Hill, Bill Rodgers and Leah Wright Rigueur discussed racism as a public health and economic crisis, with a focus on action, in this virtual panel sponsored by the Heller School for Social Policy and Management.

3 Boston artists with long careers of calling out racism (The Boston Globe)

Marlon Forrester ’04 is featured, discusses how his art is the best way he knows how to battle systemic racism.

'An Extraordinary Moment': Angela Davis Says Protests Recognize Long Overdue Anti-Racist Work (WBUR)

Angela Davis ’65 is interviewed, says protests recognize long overdue anti-racist work.

Pioneering Artist Howardena Pindell Reflects On Art And Race (WBUR)

Howardena Pindell, H’20, is interviewed, discussing the prospect of the art world diversifying in the wake of global Black Lives Matter protests.

'There’s a sense that things are falling apart.' What’s so different about today’s protests? (The Boston Globe)

Chad Williams, the Samuel J. and Augusta Spector Chair in History and Chair of the African and African American studies department, is quoted. He discusses how the current unrest also is being fueled by the dire economic and public health consequences of the coronavirus.

A Queer Black Jewish College Student’s Plea to the Jewish Community (Alma)

Aviva Davis ’21 shares how racism has been at the forefront of her existence, and why you need to care about Black Lives Matter.

Beyond The Obligatory Statement: Here Are 5 Things Organizations Can Do To Meaningfully Combat Racism (WBUR)

Amber Spry, assistant professor of African and African American studies and politics, offers five questions organizations can ask themselves to help move beyond symbolic action and commit to transformation that can be seen and felt by Black people.

‘Could the Police Kill Me, Too?’ My Young Son Asked Me (The New York Times)

An op-ed written by Carina Ray, associate professor of African and African American studies and the Harry Coplan Chair of Social Sciences, on "the talk" that many Black parents have with their children about how to stay safe when confronted by the police.

“The Plight of the Fight”: A View from Atlanta After the Killing of Rayshard Brooks (The New Yorker)

An anonymous Brandeis alum shares a vivid first-person account of a demonstration in Atlanta at the Wendy's where Rayshard Brooks was killed.

Yes, President Trump, Confederate base names celebrate heritage — a shameful one (The Washington Post)

An op-ed written by Chad Williams, the Samuel J. and Augusta Spector Chair in History and Chair of the African and African American studies department, about why removing the names of Confederates from military bases matters, especially when we consider the history of Black soldiers.

At the Intersection

A podcast about two friends, including Brian Kennedy, MPP’16, who investigate the intersection of policy, culture and identity.

Dad Daughter Dialogues

Roy DeBerry ’70, MA’78, PhD’79, and his daughter Aisha talk about their father-daughter relationship through the lens of being an African American baby boomer and Gen X-er.

Politics & Polls: Episode #189

Julian Zelizer ’91 and Sam Wang discuss the Black Lives Matter protests and how social media and technology have boosted the movement. They look into the underlying resentment with, and potential reforms for, the current criminal justice system.

The Ballpark Podcast Extra Innings: African Americans in a White House

Leah Wright Rigueur, the Harry Truman Associate Professor of History, tells the complex story of the transformation of Black politics and the astonishing racial politics of presidential administrations that have paved the way for patterns of political misconduct that have continued into the present.

The Parsnip Ship

This podcast play company from Iyvon Edebiri ’13, Todd Kirkland ’13 and Jesse Manning ’13 amplifies accessible stories and storytellers.

The Take: What are intersectionality, privilege and positionality?

Mark Brimhall-Vargas, chief diversity officer and vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion at Brandeis, explains these important terms in under five minutes.

Black Space Portal

The Brandeis BLK Archives Collective works with Brandeis University Library Archives & Special Collections to explore the archival process and question how Black lives can be archived in a non-exploitative way.

Diversitydatakids.org

A flagship research project of the Institute for Child, Youth and Family Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, data and research available through diversitydatakids.org can be used to identify patterns of racial/ethnic inequality and develop programs and policies to reduce inequities.

The Feminist Sexual Ethics Project

The goal of the Feminist Sexual Ethics Project at the Women's Studies Research Center is to provide religious communities and society at large with the knowledge and framework needed to recognize and acknowledge past collaboration in slavery; to engage in restorative justice for slavery; and to create sexual ethics untainted by slave-holding values.

The HistoryMakers

Founded by Julieanna Richardson ’76, H’16, the HistoryMakers is a non-profit research and educational institution committed to preserving and making widely accessible the untold personal stories of both well-known and unsung African Americans. Through the media and a series of user-friendly products, services and events, The HistoryMakers enlightens, entertains and educates the public, helping to refashion a more inclusive record of American history.

The Disruptive Equity Education Project (DEEP)

Darnisa Amante-Jackson ’06, MA’06 is the CEO for DEEP, a professional development and strategy organization that is ocused on the intentional, developmental, and complex work that is associated with changing mindsets around equity and dismantling systemic oppression and racism.