Police violence, black resistance: A UC Berkeley Othering and Belonging town hall
“Rise Up For Justice” virtual event to address impact of George Floyd’s death on black lives and what the protests mean for the future
June 5, 2020
Inspired by the brutal death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, protests against police violence have erupted around the world, but the road forward remains unclear.
How did our country get here? What can we do to build and maintain a racially just future? Must black people continue to die at the hands of police officers for American society to change?
UC Berkeley’s Othering and Belonging Institute examines these questions and more at a virtual event held on Monday, June 8 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. PST.
“As the last few weeks have made so painfully clear, we don’t live in a post-racial society,” said john a. powell, director of the institute. “We felt an urgent need to create this event, with those working on the ground, in order to come together and address our deep pain, look clearly at our history, and identify what it might take for us all to move forward.”
The livestreamed town hall will feature powell, and organizers and protesters from around the country who are currently on the frontlines, including Rev. Michael McBride, director of Urban Strategies and Live Free USA, and Linda Sarsour, co-founder of Until Freedom.
Moderated by Jidan Terry-Koon, Director of the San Francisco Foundation, the conversation will, among other topics, examine the history and impact of police violence and inequality on the black community, and the current context of white supremacy and black resistance.
Possible solutions and strategies to obtain racial justice collectively will also be addressed.
“While we are seeing uprisings in every state, what is different is that we’re also seeing an unprecedented outbreak of support from all walks of life, and from across the country,” powell said. “As the pandemic has shown, every person’s health and well-being are intimately bound together, so our care needs to extend to all of us.”
This event is organized in partnership with the Community Action Partnership, International SEIU, and Race Forward. For more information visit here.