Racial Justice and Reparations
“Especially in recent history, more often than not, one form of oppression has been replaced with another, different form that is similar or even more unjust than the one that preceded it… If we want to do more than alter the color of our children’s chains, we will have to successfully oppose more than isolated instances of oppression. ― Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics
Image credit: Toyin Ojih Odutola. (2018). Picnic on the Grounds. [Charcoal, pastel and pencil on paper 74 1/2 × 50]. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
Dates:
Wednesday, February 5, 2025 | 11:30 am – 5:00 pm | Express Newark , 54 Halsey Street, 2nd Floor, Room 213, Newark, NJ 07102 | Download Program
Thursday, February 6, 2025 | 11:00 am – 5:00 pm | Express Newark , 54 Halsey Street, 2nd Floor, Room 213, Newark, NJ 07102 | Download Program
Cost: Free and open to the public.
Overview: Recent conversations about reparations in the United States have drawn on both history and analyses of current economic, social, and political perspectives to propose reparative practices that range from monetary compensation to targeted policies that address racial disparities in wealth, housing discrimination, and education access, among others. At a wider scale, scholars like Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò have offered a constructivist view of reparations that proposes a historically informed project of distributive justice that serves a larger and broader world-making process. The project of reparations, therefore, has a forward-facing orientation that by necessity is anchored in the past. Many thanks to our co-sponsors for their additional support and contributions. Much gratitude to Gourmet Dining, Reservations, and Express Newark!
Wednesday, February 5, 2025:
11:30 – 12:30 PM: Introductory Remarks and Keynote
Mayte Green Mercado, Associate Professor of History, and the Newark Campus Director of the Institute for the Study of Global Racial Justice
Dr. Davarian L. Baldwin, Author of In The Shadow of the Ivory Tower, Trinity College Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American Studies
12:30 – 1:00 PM: Book signing with Dr. Davarian L. Baldwin
1:00 – 2:00 PM: Lunch
2:00 – 4:30 PM: Panel The Renewal Project: Reckoning with University-Driven Displacement and Dispossession
Dr. Rachelle Berry, The Linnentown Project, Department of Geography, Planning & Environment, University of Georgia
Dr. Jerry Shannon, The Linnentown Project, Department of Geography, Planning & Environment University of Georgia
Hattie Thomas Whitehead, The Linnentown Project, Financial and Public Chair
Nolbert Chavez, Sherri Arguello, Displaced Aurarians Memory Project, Board of Regents 7th Congressional District, Democrat
Sherri Arguello, Displaced Aurarians Memory Project
Dr. Davarian L. Baldwin, Author of In The Shadow of the Ivory Tower, Trinity College Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American Studies, Moderator
4:30 – 5:00 PM: Closing remarks
Click here to view recorded livestream!
Thursday, February 6, 2025:
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Introductory Remarks and Keynote
Mark Krasovic, Associate Professor of History, Co-Organizer, Rutgers University – Newark
Michael Conteh, Postdoctoral Associate in Public Policy and Administration, Co-Organizer, Rutgers University – Newark
Ambassador Dorbrene O’Marde, Chairperson, Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Commission and Vice-Chair of the CARICOM Reparations Commission
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM: Reparations Work: A Conversation on Local and Global Actions
Jean-Pierre Brutus, New Jersey Institute for Social Justice
Dreisen Heath, Co-Chair, Public Education & Narrative Committee, New Jersey Reparations Council
Dr. Simon Anderson, Director, Chronic Disease Research Centre of CAIHR, and a Professor of Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences
Dr. Deborah Gray White, Board of Governors Professor of History and Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Rutgers University – New Brunswick
Dean Jacqueline S. Mattis, Dean of Faculty, School of Arts and Sciences Rutgers University – Newark, Moderator
1:30 – 2:30 PM: Lunch
2:30 – 4:30 PM: Working Session: Towards a Statement of Strategic Need
Wendell Marsh, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies, Co-Organizer, Rutgers University – Newark
Mark Krasovic, Associate Professor of History, Co-Organizer, Rutgers University – Newark
Liz Ševčenko, Co-Director, Humanities Action Lab, Rutgers Newark, Moderator
4:30 – 5:00 PM: Closing remarks
Click here to view recorded livestream!