We are so excited to be taking a look back at some of our past annual lectures as we gear up for the Chair’s 30th anniversary.

We are starting this series with the address from 2018, “Deconstructing Race / Reconstructing Difference,” delivered by Dr. Jabari Mahiri. He centered his talk on ways to move and change so future generations won’t have to face the same inequities brought about by race. His argument centers around the social construction and performance of race. Despite the lack of scientific proof, race is a social fact, and the implications of the social perceptions of race are very real.

The fate of our democracy is at the forefront of our minds as we head into midterm season. In this year’s annual lecture, “Democracy, Voting Rights and Black Women as the Vanguard,” Professor Martha S. Jones discusses a new way to look at American democracy through the lens of history. She addresses major questions, including how we have arrived here in 2022 and what has changed in the 102 years since the ratification of the 19th amendment.