LibGuides: Antiracism: A Resource Guide: Events and Programs

Get Involved, Stay Engaged!

Here are virtual opportunities to join in upcoming programs and discussions related to race, racism and antiracism. All events posted are free and open to SMCCD students, faculty and staff or the public. We will add recordings or reports of past events as they are available. If there is an event we're missing, please let us know!

Past SMCCD and California Community College Events

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021: SMCCD Board of Trustees Study Session on the Work of the District's Anti-racism Council In August 2020, the Chancellor established the District Anti-Racism Council. The goal of the Anti-Racism Council is to create a culture of equity with a lens of anti-racism, radically reimagine how the District commits to anti-racism and how the District can transform the educational experiences of all students, especially hyper-marginalized students. The District Anti-Racism Council has identified three priority areas: (1) Policy and Procedure; (2) Curriculum and Instruction, and (3) Equal Employment Opportunity.
JUNE 9-10, 2021: Equity Is a Journey: Advancing Equitable Placement, Championing Student Success & Supporting Faculty Professional Development In alignment with the continued support for equitable placement and in support of the Chancellor's office Vision for Success goals and commitments, this institute will provide an interactive and dynamic space that will inspire, inform and empower faculty to engage in critical self-examination and skills building activities to lay the ground work for sustainable, front-line, long-term, anti-racist equity work in their classrooms and institutions.
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Throughout the Institute we will consider the following key questions:
What is our role in deepening equity work on our campus and beyond?
What are our goals as equity workers?
How can we begin to make tangible shifts in order to reach those goals?
Click on the link to register. All CCC faculty are invited to attend. We especially encourage the participation of counseling faculty and faculty who teach transfer-level Math and English.
MAY 20, 2021: Courageous DEI Leadership Webinar Featuring Lake Tahoe Community College On behalf of the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, you are invited you to join the Courageous Leadership Webinar Series, an opportunity to support each other as we choose courage over comfort in leading Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and anti-racism efforts on our campuses. We’re honored to be in conversation with leaders from Lake Tahoe Community College for the final webinar in the series.
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Lake Tahoe Community College is a small college in a rural community tackling critical and timely work to advance diversity, equity and inclusion. This presentation will focus on how the college is prioritizing DEI efforts with limited resources, and will provide examples of the activities that have resulted in meaningful outcomes for students, faculty, and staff. Guest presenters include:

Jeff DeFranco, Superintendent/President, Lake Tahoe Community College
Mari Jimenez Cardenas, Student Senate President, Lake Tahoe Community College
Laura Salinas, Director of Equity, Lake Tahoe Community College
Julie Ewing, English Faculty, Lake Tahoe Community College
Antonio Benitez, Special Assistant to the President, Lake Tahoe Community College
Dr. Elizabeth Balint, Director of Institutional Effectiveness, Lake Tahoe Community College
Katherine Squire, Vice President, Student Senate for California Community Colleges
MAY 11, 2021: Interconnected Struggle: Engaging the Fight Against White Supremacy Across Communities The Associated Students of Skyline College proudly present the next speaker in the College Lecture Series: Dr. David Stovall, Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Stovall's talk identifies the current moment of racial violence against communities of color in the U.S. as connected to historical instances where people have been targeted for their race, class, gender, age, sexual orientation and (dis)ability. Akin to the historical moments, people in the present day have taken lessons from earlier struggles to create non-exploitive, harmonious strategies of solidarity to support people outside of their racial, economic and/or gender identities. Where this is not always a smooth path, it is a necessary one in the broader work of racial justice.
APRIL 21, 2021: Chancellor's Office System Webinar: Advocacy Advancing Racial Equity Town Hall The second annual California Community Colleges Advocacy Day Town Hall, where this year’s conversation is focused on advocacy efforts that advance racial equity. Over the last year, our system has made extraordinary strides to advance anti-racist practices and promote equity for our students of color. This herculean work requires the authentic partnership and support of state and federal leaders, administrators, students, faculty and staff. Guest speakers: Congressman Mark Takano (D-CA) Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gomez Reyes Gian Gayatao, Student Leader, Bakersfield College Jasmine Prasad, Student Leader, Folsom Lake College Victor Hernandez, Student Leader, Chaffey College
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Order of speakers and timestamps:
Welcome – 1:35 Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley
Remarks by Chairman Mark Takano (D), House Veterans Committee - 13:20
Supporting Student Success at California Community Colleges, moderated by Vice Chancellor David O'Brien - 25:10 Panelists include:
Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gomez Reyes
Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer
The Student Experience One Year into COVID Panel, moderated by Vice Chancellor Lizette Navarette - 52:00 Panelists include:
Gian Gayatao, Student Leader, Bakersfield College
Jasmine Prasad, Student Leader, Folsom Lake College
Victor Hernandez, Student Leader, Chaffey College
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Journey - 1:16:40 Deputy Chancellor Dr. Daisy Gonzales
Closing Remarks: How Can You Engage In This Work? - 1:28:30 Vice Chancellor David O'Brien
FEBRUARY 25, 2021: A Celebration of Black Excellence The ASSC has curated a panel of professionals from Skyline College to share stories and tell their experiences of success in higher education. As our theme for Black History Month this year is Black Excellence, we invite you and your students to come listen, engage, and learn from Dr. Taylor Mendoza, Pcyeta Stroud, Professor Weathersby, and Dr. Coates for this unique event online.
FEBRUARY 24, 2021: Building Bridges, Raising Awareness and Celebrating Black Student Achievement The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office invites you to join the Building Bridges, Raising Awareness and Celebrating Black Student Achievement Webinar on February 24th. This webinar will: underscore institutional partnerships between the Chancellor’s Office and HBCUs and their impact on Black student achievement, provide a broad overview of inclusive classroom environments and anti-racism curriculum that produces equitable outcomes, and discuss the California Community Colleges Black and African American Advisory Panel’s recommendations for Improving Black and African American student outcomes.
FEBRUARY 5, 2021: Voices of Freedom--Stories of Hope from Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Students The California Community Colleges announce the launch of the Rising Scholars Network, an equity-driven initiative to prioritize and serve incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students. Join more than 50 participating community colleges, including Skyline College, as we elevate the powerful voices of students who have experienced incarceration. Hosted in partnership with the Campaign for College Opportunity. • Hear directly from students, including a student who will join the webinar from prison • Learn how the student experience is impacted by the deep inequities of the criminal justice system and how higher education can bring us closer to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice • Preview The Possibility Report, the Campaign for College Opportunity’s forthcoming report on systematic barriers formerly incarcerated individuals face in accessing and completing a college education • Experience Reginald Dwayne Betts, award-winning American poet and New York Times author, as he talks about his journey from incarceration to Yale Law School.
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Contact Chris Woo at skyprojectchange@smccd.edu for more information about Project Change at Skyline.
JANUARY 28, 2021: A Conversation with Dr. Cornel West and Rick Najera--The Shared History of African American and Latinx Peoples As part of its ongoing commitment to celebrate diversity and inclusion, Cañada College will host an important conversation with Latino Thought Makers Rick Najera featuring renowned speaker, author and Harvard scholar, Dr. Cornel West. Dr. West is best known for his classics, Race Matters and Democracy Matters, and for his memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud. His most recent book, Black Prophetic Fire, offers an unflinching look at African-American leaders and their visionary legacies. He is co-host of the podcast “The Tight Rope,” and is committed to telling the truth and bearing witness to love and justice.
DECEMBER 11, 2020: Racial Justice Training Forum: Explore the Role Education Plays in Empowering Activism Part four of the Bay Region Community Colleges Racial Justice Training Forum. This session explored the role education plays in empowering activism, a more just workforce and building communities of struggle for economic, racial and gender justice. A keynote conversation with Dr. Angela Davis was followed by a "work in practice" panel discussion.
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Part four of the Bay Region Community Colleges Racial Justice Training Forum. This session explored the role education plays in empowering activism, a more just workforce and building communities of struggle for economic, racial and gender justice. A keynote conversation with Dr. Angela Davis was followed by a "work in practice" panel discussion.
DECEMBER 2, 2020: Chancellor's Office Webinar--Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Integration Plan Update The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office invites you to join the Chancellor’s Office System Webinar: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Integration Plan Update on December 2nd. This webinar will showcase the commitment and progress of system stakeholder groups toward the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Integration Plan.
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Guest presenters will include:
*Dr. Martha Garcia, Superintendent/President, Imperial Valley College, Chief Executive Officers of the California Community Colleges
*Mark Evilsizer, Governing Board Member, Palomar Community College District, California Community College Trustees
*Katherine Squire, Vice President, Student Senate for California Community Colleges
*Dr. Debbie Klein, President, Faculty Association for California Community Colleges
*David Williams, Vice President, Academic Affairs, Solano Community College, California Community Colleges Chief Instructional Officers
*Dr. Kelly Hall, Assistant Superintendent / Vice President of Business and Financial Affairs, Southwestern College, Association of Chief Business Officials
*Greg Smith, Vice Chancellor of Human Resources, San Diego Community College District, Association of Chief Human Resource Officers
*Jessie Ryan, Executive Vice President, Campaign for College Opportunity
*Academic Senate for California Community Colleges
NOVEMBER 20, 2020: Racial Justice Training Forum: Courageous Leadership and Advancing Excellence through Equity The third Bay Region Community Colleges Racial Justice Training Forum focused on answering the question - Courageous Leadership: What is our role as leaders at all levels to build an antiracist campus culture and advance “Excellence through Equity”? This four-part virtual professional development series aims to provide mindful conversations around racial justice and the tools to use in our educational practices. Our third forum will began with a powerful keynote conversation with Distinguished Professor of Education, Dr. Pedro A. Noguera, followed by “The Work In Practice” panel discussion and collaborative breakout sessions.
OCTOBER 30, 2020: Racial Justice Training Forum: Creating a Space and Place for Students to See Themselves in Post-Secondary Education and Key Workforce Sectors This is the second Bay Region Community Colleges Racial Justice Training Forum, Imposter Syndrome: Creating a Space and Place for Students to See Themselves in Post-Secondary Education and Key Workforce Sectors. The keynote features Dr. Knatokie Ford.
OCTOBER 28, 2020: Transforming Campus and Classroom Climate webinar sponsored by the CCC Institutional Effectiveness Partnership Initiative
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Includes webinar recording and PowerPoint slides
OCTOBER 22, 2020: Now is the Time: Why You Must Commit to Developing an Anti-Racist Growth Mindset, sponsored by the San Mateo County Community Colleges Foundation A collaboration between SMCCCF and College of San Mateo Director of Equity, Jeremiah Sims. A workshop about race, equity, and inclusion, and developing an anti-racist growth mindset, created exclusively for our SMCCC Foundation donors and friends by College of San Mateo Director of Equity, Jeremiah Sims.
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Slide deck from Dr. Sims to be available soon.
SEPTEMBER 9, 2020: New Intercultural Center Introduction at Skyline College The Student Equity and Support Programs Division (SESP) hosted an event for the development of a new Intercultural Center. The Center is a work in progress that will require community sharing, listening, vulnerability, and resilience from the entire Skyline College Community. We are not just changing the name of the Multicultural Center to the Intercultural Center; we are changing the culture of how we approach race and identity at Skyline College. The new Center will provide a welcoming space on campus, as well as a virtual campus for students, faculty members, and classified professionals to explore their identities, find community, and work toward racial and social justice. The programs will center on racial and ethnic identity, and also provide perspectives on multiple aspects of identity. Contact Allen Ocampo at ocampoallen@smccd.edu for more information. Fill out our survey! https://smccd-czqfp.formstack.com/forms/intercultural_center
AUGUST 21, 2020: Student Senate for California Community Colleges Second Town Hall Meeting on Institutional Racism This is the second town hall held by the SSCCC as we begin our work to aggressively break down institutional racism. During the first town hall, students shared their experiences and feelings about the racial climate in the CCC System. In this town hall, the members of the Institutional Success for People of Color Task Force shared a proposed plan of action based on what they heard from the students during the first town hall, as well as their own experiences. Students in attendance provided feedback on the plan of action before it goes to the SSCCC Delegate Assembly on September 4, 2020, for adoption.
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SSCCC ANTI-RACISM: A STUDENT PLAN OF ACTION byPresident Stephen Kodur, Sept. 6, 2020: https://studentsenateccc.org/news-events/newsroom/newsroom.html/article/2020/09/06/ssccc-anti-racism-a-student-plan-of-action
AUGUST 19, 2020: Call to Action Part 2 - Nurturing an Anti-Racist Campus Culture The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office invites you to join the Chancellor’s Office System Webinar: California Community College Leaders Nurturing an Anti-racist Campus Culture. This webinar will serve as a follow up to the Chancellor’s Call to Action, and will feature California Community College leaders, through their individual lens, presenting structural changes, tools, and dialogue that campuses must prioritize to nurture an anti-racist campus culture. Guest presenters will include: Denise Apuzzo, Senior Program Specialist, Outreach and Financial Aid, Gavilan College Dr. Keith Curry, President, Compton College Dolores Davison, President, Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, Faculty, Foothill College Stephen Kodur, President, Student Senate for California Community Colleges Dr. Cynthia Olivo, Chief Student Services Officers Association, Vice President of Student Services, Pasadena City College Dr. Eric Ramones, Associate Vice Chancellor of Human Resources, West Valley-Mission Community College District Linda Wah, Trustee, Pasadena Area Community College District
AUGUST 18, 2020: John Lewis Tribute by Professor Danielle Powell Professor Danielle Powell delivered a heartfelt tribute to Rep. John Lewis as part of Skyline College's Opening Day activities for the Fall 2020 semester. Professor Powell also highlighted the work of the Women's Mentoring and Leadership Academy.
AUGUST 4, 2020: Town Hall Meeting on the racial climate in the CCC system sponsored by the Student Senate for California Community Colleges This Town Hall provided students with a space to express their experiences and feelings about the racial climate in the CCC System. The Town Hall was not an opportunity to blame individuals or groups but instead make progress to create an environment where students, particularly those of color, feel welcomed and able to succeed. This platform provided space for healthy discussions that will result in an SSCCC plan of action to inform policy decisions on behalf of students.
JUNE 3, 2020: A Call to Action for California's Community Colleges Our students, our communities and our colleagues are hurting. We are all in this together. Please join us to learn about how our system will take action to address structural racism and ensure that our communities and students have access to an equal educational opportunity.
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Speakers include:
· Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley
· Bryan Daley, City College of San Francisco
· Pamela Haynes, Board of Governors
· Dr. Ed Bush, Cosumnes River College
· Dr. Martha Garcia, Imperial Valley College
· Dr. Jennifer Taylor-Mendoza, Skyline College
· Dr. Pamela Luster, San Diego Mesa College
· Dr. Luke Lara, MiraCosta College
· Dr. Frank Chong, Santa Rosa Junior College
· Dr. Abdulmalik Buul, San Diego City College
· Dr. Regina Stanback-Stroud, Peralta Community College District
· Marty Alvarado, Chancellor’s Office
JULY 29, 2020: BAM Community Conversation - Experiences of Men of Color at Skyline College A virtual panel featuring members of Brothers Achieving Milestone (BAM). Learn about their college experience, the unique challenges they encountered, areas of support, and their virtual experience managing their education during a pandemic. Panelists: CARLOS ACUNA, Natural Science major, 2019 graduate; HOLLYWOOD BANEYAD, Letters and Science major, 2020 graduate; ROLANDO MUTUI, Kinesiology major, student; OVIE OGEGE, Math and Electrical Engineering major, 2020 graduate; CHRISTOPHER WARDELL, Business Administration major, student. Moderator: Michael Stokes.
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Contact Michael Stokes at stokesm@smccd.edu for more information.

Recordings of Past National Events

APRIL 9, 2021: Conversations Across the Diaspora with guest Henry Louis Gates, Jr., 12:00 p.m. This installment of a new interactive series that brings you eclectic conversations from across the African Diaspora features author and host Sarah Ladipo Manyika and historian, filmmaker and public intellectual Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Dr. Gates is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, literary scholar, journalist, cultural critic and institution builder, Professor Gates has authored or co-authored twenty-four books and created twenty-one documentary films, including Wonders of the African World, African American Lives, Faces of America, Black in Latin America, Black America since MLK: And Still I Rise and Africa’s Great Civilizations. Finding Your Roots, his groundbreaking genealogy series now in its sixth season on PBS, has been called “one of the deepest and wisest series ever on television,” leveraging “the inherent entertainment capacity of the medium to educate millions of Americans about the histories and cultures of our nation and the world.”
DECEMBER 10, 2020: Race, Class and Campus Climate This year, as many colleges have pledged to confront systemic racism and inequity, they are focusing more attention on the experiences of students, faculty, and staff of color, and of first-generation students. College leaders say they want to create equitable and supportive environments for all. But what does a diverse, inclusive campus really look like, and how can colleges — even virtually — help foster a sense of belonging? In the final session of The Chronicle’s 2020 series examining race and class in higher education, a panel of students, faculty, and administrators from around the country will share their experiences and explore the ways colleges can make good on the promise of greater equity and inclusion.
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Use this link to see an on-demand recording of the event.
SEPTEMBER 21, 2020: John Lewis, Good Trouble: An Online Panel Discussion Celebrate an icon who spent his life getting into Good Trouble! Remember the life and legacy of Representative John Lewis – Freedom Rider and Congressman, Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree and the conscience of a nation – who served the cause of social justice for decades, both as an elected representative and as an activist whose fervent belief in getting into “good trouble, necessary trouble” for the cause of racial equality changed our nation. Watch a live virtual panel on the documentary "John Lewis: Good Trouble," featuring the film’s director and civil rights advocates as they talk about Lewis’s legacy of fearless protest and how we can keep his campaign for justice alive. The panel discussion includes director Dawn Porter, Ras J. Baraka, Mayor of Newark, NJ, Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Professor of History, Race and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and Director of the Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project, and Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to talk about Lewis’s legacy of fearless protest and how we can keep his campaign for justice alive. New Jersey Senator Cory Booker provides opening remarks.
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The documentary is now available to stream through Hoopla! Login through your public library.
SEPTEMBER 8, 2020: Race, Power and Curation: Celebrating the Launch of the Black Women's Suffrage Digital Collection The event will feature a keynote by Dorothy Berry, the Digital Collections Program Manager at Houghton Library, Harvard University, on the importance of curating Black Collections and centering Black Stories intentionally during this transitory period of American history. Other speakers include: Elaine Westbrooks, Vice Provost of University Libraries and Librarian at UNC-Chapel Hill; Yusef Omowale of the Southern California Digital Library and DPLA Community Manager Shaneé Yvette Murrain. Murrain also will demonstrate the Black Women’s Suffrage Digital Collection website and DPLA’s Metadata Working Group will describe the creation of a Harmful Content Statement. We also invite you to explore the Black Women's Suffrage Digital Collection here: http://BlackWomensSuffrage.org.
SEPTEMBER 1, 2020: The America We Need: Creating More Equitable Cities Does your ZIP code determine your destiny? From the quality of schools to the levels of pollution to the cost of housing, where we live shapes our prospects for the future. Meanwhile, economic segregation is eroding the capacity of cities to play their traditional role — as an engine of opportunity. What can be done? How can cities fulfill their promise? And what role could you as an individual play? Times Opinion columnist Farhad Manjoo sits down with Julián Castro, former secretary of Housing and Urban Development and recent 2020 Democratic presidential candidate; Raj Chetty, professor of economics at Harvard University; and Sonja Trauss, a Bay Area pro-housing activist, to discuss their thoughts on fostering opportunity, fairness and invention.
AUGUST 28, 2020: Celebrating While Black: From Juneteenth to Black August Black Culture Matters is a series hosted by the African American Studies Institute (AASI) at Prince George's Community College, revolving around this year’s theme: Resisting De-humanization through the Humanities. The goal of this series is not to declare the value of Black lives to those who do not wish to acknowledge it. The goal is, instead, to examine the ways in which people of African descent have expressed their own humanity, to affirm the meaning-making with which they have resisted being "thingified." These four lecture-discussions will not only offer historical and cultural context for the given topics; they will also challenge the community to think about how expanded knowledge might inform the racially charged present moment.
AUGUST 24, 2020: White Fragility: A Conversation of Allyship The New Jersey Performing Arts Center's True Diversity Film Series screens issues-based films followed by engaging panel discussions. This season, the films we present will focus on social and racial justice, in response to the uprisings against systemic racism that have spread around the globe in 2020. This film is "White Fragility," a discussion of the book of the same name, by its author Robin DiAngelo. It also features music by Claire Ernst, a singer/songwriter from Hightstown, New Jersey. Debuting in 2015, she has been developing her sound with every release and strives to make people feel. Her passion for songwriting and creating music is a dynamic force in the upcoming pop world.
JULY 20, 2020: 13th, An Online Panel Discussion of the Film by Ava Duvernay Thank you to our panelists who shared their perspectives on the history and impact of incarceration on communities and families, including: -Rick Robinson, Chairman of the NAACP New Jersey State Conference Criminal Justice Committee, and the chair of the first Newark Civilian Complaint Review Board; -Stephanie James Harris, the Executive Director of the New Jersey Amistad Commission of the New Jersey Department of Education, which is tasked with the inclusion of African American historical content into New Jersey’s K-12 Social Studies curriculum; -Brandon Paradise, an Associate Professor at Rutgers Law School and a McDonald Distinguished Fellow at the Emory Center for the Study of Law and Religion, whose academic work focuses on race and law; -Bahiyyah Muhammad, a professor in the Howard University Department of Sociology and Criminology, who received her Ph.D. from Rutgers University’s School of Criminal Justice and who studies the lives of children of incarcerated parents; -And Kleo Torres, is a recent Cum Laude graduate of Alabama State University with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. Both her parents were incarcerated.
JUNE 30, 2020: The Elephant We Don't See: A Diversity Dialogue The Prince George's County Memorial Library System and Prince George's County Human Relations Commission present "The Elephant We Don't See: A Diversity Dialogue" every last Tuesday of the month in Summer 2020. Michelle Hamiel and Kyla Hanington discuss diversity in the workplace using important recent books as a launch point. This event features a discussion of "How to Be an Antiracist" by Ibram X. Kendi. ASL interpretation is included..
JUNE 10, 2020: Remaking the Republic: Black Politics and the Creation of American Citizenship "Remaking the Republic" chronicles the various ways African Americans from a wide range of social positions throughout the North attempted to give meaning to American citizenship over the course of the nineteenth century. Examining newspapers, state and national conventions, public protest meetings, legal cases, and fugitive slave rescues, Dr. Christopher Bonner uncovers a spirited debate about rights and belonging among African Americans, the stakes of which could determine their place in U.S. society and shape the terms of citizenship for all Americans. Dr. Bonner is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Maryland-College Park.

Upcoming Events and Programs

NOVEMBER 15, 6:00 p.m.: The Art of Calling In--Dismantling Racism Not Relationships
You've likely heard of the "cancel culture" or the "call-out culture," but what does it mean to "call-in" someone? How do you approach someone to disrupt racism when there's a power imbalance? What are the best ways to influence change? How do you handle the messy emotions that arrive with conflict? What are the four white emotional barriers that get in the way of progress? What do you do when someone calls YOU in? We'll cover this and more.
SURJ SAN MATEO is a group of people who organize, mobilize and educate white folks and other folks with privilege for racial justice in San Mateo County. SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice) is part of a multiracial movement and the SURJ National Network with over 200 chapters and affiliates in 46 states. We work with Accountability Partners led by people of color to show up in the ways they request and are supporting issues such as affordable housing, immigration rights, and police oversight. Click the link to register for this virtual event..
OCTOBER 16 - DECEMBER 21: An Ode to Us--A Celebration of Black Hair Exhibit
An Ode to Us, is created for Black folk to honor the loveliness and diversity of our hair. This interactive exhibit includes a selfie wall with images of popular hairstyles, hairstyle tutorials, personal narratives, poetry, objects for the hairstyles and tools.

Historically, Black people have been kept from employment, punished in schools and teased for their hair. On July 3, 2019, Governor Newsom signed the CROWN Act (SB 188), making California the first state in the nation to ban racial discrimination based on natural hair. The CROWN Act, which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair”, extends California’s ban on race discrimination to unmistakably forbid, by law, race-based hair discrimination and harassment based on hair style, hair texture or protective styles including bantu knots, braids or locs.

The movement continues to gain momentum and has become law in 13 states. Come visit An Ode to Us to appreciate the creativity in Black hairstyles from Africa to the Bay Area.

Recordings of Past Local Events

OCTOBER 17, 2021: Trauma, Tresses and Truth--Untangling our Hair through Personal Narrative Contributors of, Trauma, Tresses, & Truth, relate their true, often shocking encounters while wearing natural hair. Featuring Dr. Adrienne Danyelle Oliver, Barbara Ruth Saunders, Kathryn Seabron and Lyzette Wanzer. Particularly relevant during this time of emboldened white supremacy, racism and oppressive othering, their work explores how writing about one of the still-remaining systemic biases in academic and corporate America might lead to greater understanding and respect. In her essay “Is Your Hair Still Political?” writer and civil rights activist Audre Lorde explains how she nearly missed a Caribbean vacation because an immigration officer objected to her dreadlocks. Black women’s natural hair remains political and persecuted even now.
JULY 25, 2021: Black Panther--Tales of Wakanda Kim McMillon hosts writers featured in the new anthology Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda. Award-winning authors Jesse J. Holland, Danian Darrell Jerry, Kyoko M, Glenn Parris and Sheree Renée Thomas read selections from Black Panther and share their insights on science fiction, fantasy, Afrofuturism and the enduring power of Wakanda. Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda is a ground-breaking anthology celebrating Marvel’s beloved Black Panther and his home of Wakanda. The first mainstream superhero of African descent, the Black Panther has attracted readers of all races and colors who see in the King of Wakanda reflections of themselves. Hosted by the San Francisco Public Library.
JULY 20, 2021: Politics, Race, and Policies of Incarceration Authors Dr. Keesha Middlemass and Reuben Jonathan Miller discuss the politics, race and policies of incarceration and reentry. They frame their discussion around their respective books, "Convicted and Condemned: The Politics and Policies of Prisoner Reentry" and "Halfway Home: Race, Punishment and the Afterlife of Mass Incarceration." This program is part of a partnership with the San Francisco Public Library's Jail and Re-entry Services Department and the Oakland Public Library.
JUNE 30, 2021: Write Now! Writers of Color--Essential Truths Write Now SF Bay’s fourth anthology features 130 BIPOC writers and artists responding our times with prose, poetry, and visual art reflecting Bay Area realities. The pandemic and other events have tested every fiber of our being and shaken relationships with family, community, the nation, and the earth itself. As our basic assumptions about life were upended again and again, what essential truths emerged? Readings by Kim Shuck, Shizue Seigel, An Bui, Andre Le Monte Wilson, Christl Perkins, Dena Rod, Francee Covington, Karla Brundage, Kevin Madrigal, Lina Begonia, Lorraine Bonner, Mihee Kim, Tehmina Khan, Yeva Johnson, Vanessa Cabrera, and Venus Zahura Noble. Sponsored by the San Francisco Public Library.
JUNE 27, 2021: There's Something About the Water In honor of Black Music Month, recognize the achievements of African American musical artists who were born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Exploring genres from jazz and R&B, to gospel, funk and hip-hop, There’s Something About the Water… enlightens, entertains and hopefully, makes you proud of these artists who made their marks on the world stage and call the Bay Area home. Sponsored by the San Francisco Public Library.
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Linda A. Jackson, a native San Franciscan, is a writer, historian, photographer and food artist. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Mount St. Mary’s University and received her Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles. She is a member of the San Francisco Writers Workshop, and has recently completed a collection of short stories entitled, The Religion of Slaves. She is now working on her memoir.
APRIL 21, 2021: Unity and Struggle--The inaugural of San Francisco's 8th Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin, 6:00 p.m. San Francisco's 8th Poet Laureate is Tongo Eisen-Martin: founder of Black Freighter Press, educator and movement worker focusing on incarceration and human rights. He has taught at detention centers around the country and at the Institute for Research in African American Studies at Columbia University, where his curriculum on the extrajudicial killing of Black people, ”We Charge Genocide Again!” has been used as an educational and organizing tool throughout the country. His book, "Heaven Is All Goodbyes," received a 2018 American Book Award, the 2018 California Book Award for Poetry and was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize. His forthcoming book: "A Good Earth: City Lights Pocket Poets Series No 62," will be published in September 2021.
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Born and raised in San Francisco, Eisen-Martin spent his childhood at the Western Addition Cultural Center, now the African American Art & Culture Complex. In his vision for Poet Laureate, Eisen-Martin writes of organizing poetry circles in the Tenderloin, Bayview-Hunters Point and Sunnydale and recruiting and nurturing artists from San Francisco’s marginalized communities. ”I and my poetry are an absolute product of every nook and cranny of San Francisco. It is the City’s cultural institutions, chartered in ink, demonstration, spirit and bloodline, that taught me how to relate to the world,” said Eisen-Martin. ”As deep into the various communities of the city as our poets have already brought the craft, I want to push even further into places where poetry has not yet permeated. Give poetry even more of a mass personality; as mass participation has always been the staple of what could be described as San Francisco futurism.”
Click on the link for more information and to register for his Eisen-Martin's inaugural event.
MARCH 10, 2021: Author Elizabeth Acevedo and Educator Mahogany Browne on Social Justice and Equality New York Times-bestselling author, Elizabeth Acevedo, is joined by fellow author, organizer and educator Mahogany L. Browne in a conversation about social justice and equality on the heels of Acevedo’s collaboration on Browne’s recent book, Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice. In this special engagement in partnership with the SFUSD, students and educators alike are invited to listen, be inspired and learn from two of the most vital voices in YA literature today.
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Elizabeth Acevedo is the New York Times-bestselling author of The Poet X, which won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, the Pura Belpré Award, the Carnegie medal, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award and the Walter Award. She is also the author of With the Fire on High—which was named a best book of the year by the New York Public Library, NPR, Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal—and Clap When You Land, which was a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor book and a Kirkus finalist.

She holds a BA in Performing Arts from The George Washington University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Maryland. Acevedo has been a fellow of Cave Canem, Cantomundo and a participant in the Callaloo Writer’s Workshops. She is a National Poetry Slam Champion, and resides in Washington, DC with her love.
MARCH 4, 2021: The Female Civil Rights Pioneers Behind Frederick Douglass The San Francisco Public Library is partnering with the McEvoy Foundation for the Arts as part of Isaac Julien’s immersive moving-image installation "Lessons of the Hour," exploring the life of Frederick Douglass, the visionary African American writer, abolitionist, statesman and freed slave. Julien is joined by the celebrated philosopher and educator Judith Butler and acclaimed Douglass scholar Celeste-Marie Bernier to examine the role of the influential women in Douglass’ life and their overdue recontextualization as pioneers in the history of civil rights.
FEBRUARY 25, 2021: Jason Reynolds and the Transformative Power of Reading and Writing Winner of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent, an 2017 NAACP Image Award and multiple other honors, author Jason Reynolds spent 2020 serving as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, sharing his transformative journey as a writer—and a reader—with youth during a year of previously unimaginable transformation. Join us for a landmark lecture and creative exploration of the theme of “transformation”—and prepare to be transformed. Author of National Book Award finalist Ghost, the Newbery Honor Award-winning Long Way Down, the acclaimed graphic novel Miles Morales: Spider-man and numerous other titles for middle grade and young adult readers, Reynolds presents the 25th Effie Lee Morris Lecture. Reynolds, also the New York Times best-selling author of All American Boys and the Track series, collaborated with historian Ibram X. Kendi on Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism and You, a 2020 youth version of Kendi's Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America. Sponsored by the San Francisco Public Library.
FEBRUARY 2, 2021: Black History Everyday--The Three Point Nine Collective’s Art of Research Members of Three Point Nine Art Collective, San Francisco-based Black artists, will talk about the role of research in their creative practices. Archives, libraries, museums and dynamic contemporary communities are resources and sources of deep knowledge. Panelists will talk about moving from engaged study and learning from others to interpretation and making. The 3.9 Art Collective is an association of African American artists, curators and art writers who live in San Francisco, and came together to draw attention to the City’s dwindling Black population. The 3.9 Art Collective bears witness to this phenomenon and seeks to reverse it by drawing attention to the historical and ongoing presence of Black artists in the City and creative expression in its Black communities. Through multiple forms of presentation and outreach, they create and claim spaces to display their artwork; nurture young artists and develop educational programs for students; and write about and curate exhibitions meant to generate productive, cross-cultural dialogues. Click on the link to register.
DECEMBER 5, 2020: What the Black Woman Body Knows, Addressing Trauma through Art Praxis In this panel discussion, Sistar Lorraine Bonner, MD, a sculptor and poet whose work centers on externalizing what is unseen such as the consequences of historic and persistent trauma; Sistar Fania Davis, Ph.D. author, Race and Restorative Justice: Black Lives, Healing, and US Social Transformation (2019), founder of RJOY (Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth) offers tools for those difficult yet necessary conversations centered in the self; and Sistar Amara Tabor-Smith, scholar conjurer’s Deep Water Dance Theater’s House/Full of Black Women is a reclamation of public space with intentional occupation. House/Full is an uncompromising look at wellness for Black women and girls with rest and safety at the top of the list. Sistar Wanda Sabir, Depth Psychologist, CEO of MAAFA SF Bay Area, moderates.
NOVEMBER 21, 2020: Author Kwame Alexander in Conversation with Sheryl Davis Shine some light in the world. Join award-winning author Kwame Alexander and Sheryl E. Davis of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission for an in-depth conversation on race and hope. From NPR correspondent and New York Times bestselling author, Kwame Alexander, comes a powerful and provocative collection of poems that cut to the heart of the entrenched racism and oppression in America and eloquently explores ongoing events. A book in the tradition of James Baldwin’s “A Report from Occupied Territory,” "Light for the World to See" is a rap session on race. A lyrical response to the struggles of Black lives in our world...to America’s crisis of conscience...to the centuries of loss, endless resilience and unstoppable hope. During the conversation, Alexander will also read a poem from "Light for the World to See." Community Event Partners: San Francisco Human Rights Commission, San Francisco Public Library, MegaBlack SF.
NOVEMBER 11, 2020: Isaac Julien in Conversation with Angela Y. Davis Angela Y. Davis, activist, educator and author, joins writer and artist Isaac Julien to discuss the contemporary legacy of Frederick Douglass and art’s role in the ongoing struggle for economic, racial and gender justice. Davis helped to popularize the notion of the “prison industrial complex,” and urges her audiences to consider the future possibility of a world without carceral systems to forge a 21st century abolitionist movement. Moderated by Sarah Lewis, associate professor of history of art and architecture and African and African American studies at Harvard University. This free program is presented in partnership with the McEvoy Foundation for the Arts and the Museum of the African Diaspora.
AUGUST 5, 2020: Ruha Benjamin on Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code From everyday apps to complex algorithms, Ruha Benjamin cuts through tech-industry hype to understand how emerging technologies can reinforce white supremacy and deepen social inequity, in her latest book, Race After Technology. Benjamin argues that automation, far from being a sinister story of racist programmers scheming on the dark web, has the potential to hide, speed up and deepen discrimination while appearing neutral and even benevolent when compared to the racism of a previous era. Presenting the concept of the “New Jim Code,” she shows how a range of discriminatory designs encode inequity by explicitly amplifying racial hierarchies; by ignoring but thereby replicating social divisions; or by aiming to fix racial bias but ultimately doing quite the opposite. Moreover, she makes a compelling case for race itself as a kind of technology, designed to stratify and sanctify social injustice in the architecture of everyday life. Ruha Benjamin is an Associate Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, studying the social dimensions of science, technology and medicine.
AUGUST 2, 2020: San Francisco in Black & White: A Photographic Retrospective of San Francisco’s African-American Community (1951-1980) This presentation on August 2 from 2:00-3:15 p.m. features selected works, many never before published, of local photographer, Steve Jackson, Jr., who was resident photographer at Jimbo’s Bop City (1951-1965). A portion of Jackson’s collection is currently on exhibit at the Smithsonian’s African-American Museum of History & Culture in Washington, DC. Join us and experience the City and San Francisco’s African-American community through images and anecdotes shared by his daughter, Linda. Linda A. Jackson, a native San Franciscan, is a writer, historian, photographer and food artist. She is a member of the San Francisco Writers Workshop, and has recently completed a collection of short stories entitled, The Religion of Slaves. This event is hosted by the San Francisco Public LIbrary.
JULY 22, 2020: Alcatraz and Mass Incarceration Troy Williams, founder and director of Restorative Media and host of the Troy Williams Journal served 25 years in prison facilities. Williams along with a National Park Service Alcatraz park ranger will discuss mass incarceration in America. Learn how the history of incarceration at Alcatraz informs us about the state of incarceration today, with a special focus on incarceration and reentry during the current pandemic, protests and uprisings. Artwork by Jesus Barraza. Reservations: https://bit.ly/AlcatrazIncarceration7-22-20. This event will simultaneously be broadcast on the SF Public Library YouTube.
JULY 19, 2020: Let Her Tell It! Black Women Healing Through Writing People love the sassy, strong Black female character. From Florence on The Jeffersons to Cookie on Empire, she is someone who is entertaining, admired, even feared. Contrary to these images, Black women aren’t made of Vibranium. We’re dealing with challenges impacting our mental health such as high rates of domestic violence, stress, racism, sexism, homophobia etc. Many of us secretly carry shame for living with mental health challenges because we’re expected to be emotionally invincible. This group of writers and mental health advocates is disrupting the silence. They have suffered from stigma yet eventually found freedom through their words. Now they are telling their stories so others struggling will know they have nothing to be ashamed of. Some stories are heavy, others mixed with humor. All are real. A program of the San Francisco Public Library.
JUNE 24, 2020: Rep. Jackie Speier's Town Hall on America's Overdue Reckoning on Racism with Dr. John F. Gates Congresswoman Jackie Speier led a tele town hall discussion featuring Dr. John Gates, a diversity training specialist and one our country’s thought-leaders on issues of diversity and racial bias. Dr. Gates is the Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion and a clinical professor in the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University and the Principal and Chief Strategist of Criticality Management Consulting, a full-service Strategic Diversity and Complexity Management Firm. Dr. Gates and Rep. Speier discussed the movement to address ongoing racial injustice.