As part of UCSB Arts & Lectures “Race to Justice” series, three speakers — a former NASA astronaut, a visual artist and a social justice advocate — will discuss systemic racism and inequality virtually over the next two weeks.
All programs are virtual.
This Tuesday, Dr. Mae Jemison will give a presentation called “Overcoming Obstacles, Breaking Barriers and Reaching for the Stars,” where she’ll share her story as the first woman of color to travel into space.
Dr. Jemison is an engineer, physician and former NASA astronaut. She made history when she climbed aboard the space shuttle Endeavour in 1992.
Since then, she has been inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame and International Space Hall of Fame, and she is currently at the helm of the 100 Year Starship, a Pentagon-funded effort pioneering and transforming breakthrough science and technology.
A Q&A following her presentation will be moderated by Susannah Scott, a chemical engineering professor at UCSB. The talk will be held at 5 p.m. Tuesday virtually.
Visual artist, photographer and advocate LaToya Ruby Frazier will also present “Art as Transformation: Using Photography for Social Change” as part of the series.
Ms. Frazier uses her photography to depict post-industrial cities riven by poverty, racism, health care inequality and environmental toxicity. As a MacArthur Fellow, National Geographic Storytelling Fellow and professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she’ll share how she uses photography to fight injustice and create a more representative self-portrait.
A Q&A will follow her presentation as well, moderated by Kim Yasuda, Chair of the UCSB Department of Art, and the virtual talk will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday.
Legal scholar and social justice advocate Michelle Alexander will present “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness,” where she unpacks racial injustice in the modern legal system to reveal how mass incarceration has come to replace segregation.
Ms. Alexander is a New York Times columnist, author and visiting professor at Union Theological Seminary, and offers a new perspective on challenges facing the civil right community.
She will have a conversation with Victor Rios, UCSB sociology professor and associate dean of social sciences followed by a Q&A. The virtual conversation will be held at 5 p.m. March 4.
Tickets are $10 for the general public and free for UCSB students with registration, and can be purchased at artsandlectures.ucsb.edu. Ticket holders will be able to replay this event for one week after the live stream.
email: gmccormick@newspress.com
