• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Features
  • Campus News
  • CSUDH.edu
  • Contact
  • People
    • Staff Spotlight
    • Faculty Highlights
    • Alumni
  • Magazine
  • For Journalists
    • CSUDH In The News
    • Press Releases
    • Facts and Figures
    • Find Media Experts
    • Gallery

CSUDH News

The primary source of news and information about California State University, Dominguez Hills, its students, faculty, and staff.

You are here: Home / Archive / News / President Parham Participates in National Panel on Voting

President Parham Participates in National Panel on Voting

July 5, 2020

Town Hall: Where Do We Go From Here...To The Polls!California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) President Thomas A. Parham participated in a national town hall discussion on the value of voting as a means of creating substantive change hosted by Keepers of 306, an initiative of the National Civil Rights Museum (NCRM) on June 30.

Moderated by Tracie Potts, senior Washington correspondent for NBC News Channel, “Where do we go from here? To the polls,” included Parham, along with Rabbi Jonah Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington, DC; Tennessee State Senator Raumesh Akbari, and Rev. Earle Fisher, pastor, educator, and founder of UP the Vote 901.

During the panel discussion, Parham and the other speakers offered their opinions on a wide range of voting-related topics. Parham spoke to the need to create a “social norm” that places voting in its proper context as a driver of social change. “For me the biggest challenge is psychological,” he said. “It is what I call the need for mental liberation – being able to take the shackles off people’s brains.”

He called for progressive leaders to “Instill in generations of people that there is no greater act of individual agency and empowerment than voting – than being able to turn your echo into a voice.” Parham cautioned against letting the slow pace of change deter people from voting or quell the enthusiasm that people are feeling right now.

Parham added that voting matters because we need to have leaders who are capable of making the changes that society demands. He commented on the crises we are living through by saying, “We’re getting a first-hand look at why leadership matters.”

Rabbi Pesner spoke of the necessity of non-people of color to join the fight for social justice. “If white people see the brutal violence and systemic racism against black and brown bodies, if we bear witness to that and we do anything other than organize and put our own bodies on the line for the sake of our family who are under assault, then we have abdicated our own humanity,” he said.

One of Fisher’s main themes was that “Registration is not the problem,” but getting people out to the polls and keeping them engaged with the process is where the hard work lies. “Registration is just step one,” he said. “What impacts low turnout, beyond the reality of voter suppression, and what renders our votes so anemic, is that we have not cultivated a progressive political infrastructure that educates, that engages, and that empowers people.”

Wrapping up the panel discussion, Potts asked the panelists to recommend one thing people can do to help society move forward positively. Akbari’s advice was to “Jump in with both feet, whether you’re running for office, supporting a candidate, or voting. That’s the only way you can really make the change you want to see.”

Parham concluded his remarks by asking people to get engaged. “Encourage people to vote. One person can make a difference and we’ve got to empower our people to believe that.”

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Administration, Social Justice

Primary Sidebar

Recent Campus News

Government, business, and university officials

CSUDH Launches New Japan Jobs Training Program

Commencement keynote speakers headshots

Commencement 2022 to Celebrate Grads, Feature Distinguished Speakers

Amalia Medina Castañeda

University Archivist Named Mellon Cultural Heritage Fellow

Journalism Program Earns ACEJMC Accreditation

Students with Rep. Barragan

Nursing, OT Skills Labs Receive Federal Appropriations for Upgrades

... see all Campus News

Recently In the News

Students on campus

LAist: CSU Women’s Centers

May 13, 2022

Barragán (center) with CSUDH faculty, students, and administrators.

Daily Breeze: Cal State Dominguez Hills Receives $700k in Funding

May 5, 2022

Click the image to view Spectrum's video news story.

Spectrum: Student Fellowship Program Addressing Need for Political Diversity

April 27, 2022

... see all In the News

Footer

California State University, Dominguez Hills Logo

1000 E. Victoria Street, Carson, CA 90747
1-310-243-2001 • Send Email

Related Sites

  • csudh.edu
  • magazine.csudh.edu
  • gotoros.com

EMAIL NEWSLETTER

Get CSUDH News directly in your inbox

Copyright © 2022 · California State University, Dominguez Hills