Source: Rafu Shimpo BEVERLY HILLS — Consul General of Japan Akira Muto announced on June 30 an unprecedented, four-pillar collaboration between Japan and African American communities, pledging “a deeper kinship and mutual understanding.” “We are just so excited by this collaboration,” reacted Michael A. Lawson, Los Angeles Urban League president and CEO and former ambassador in the Obama Administration. Impetus for the consul general’s plan, outlined during the L.A. Urban League’s 100th anniversary celebration, stems from a series of discussions involving African American and religious leaders that began after his arrival in the fall of 2019. Less than a year later, the ... Read More
African American
Inaugural Juneteenth Symposium Calls for Systemic Change
California State University (CSU) held its first Juneteenth Symposium June 15 and 16, celebrating Black history and achievement while demanding justice and equity within higher education and beyond. The event, hosted by CSUDH, was titled “By Any Means Necessary: Synthesizing the Voices of Our Ancestors and Everyday People.” Recent San Diego State graduate and CSU Board of Trustees Emerita Maryana Khames led the push to create the symposium after listening to students demand action in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. Students called on the CSU to take the lead in combating anti-Black racism and champion diversity, equity, and inclusion across the CSU’s 23 campuses, and throughout ... Read More
Press-Telegram: Experts, Scholars Talk Juneteenth, Societal Change During Groundbreaking CSU Symposium
Source: Long Beach Press-Telegram The two-day event — titled “By Any Means Necessary: Synthesizing the Voices of Our Ancestors and Everyday People” — aims to engage and support Black students in their pursuit of college success, prosperity and self-fulfillment, Cal State officials said. CARSON — Discussion focusing on higher education in the Black community, the meaning of celebrating Juneteenth and the importance of amplifying diverse voices on Cal State University campuses are some of the key points being discussed during the Inaugural Juneteenth Symposium, hosted by Cal State Dominguez Hills and livecast throughout the CSU system. The two-day event — titled “By Any Means ... Read More
EdSource: Cal State Juneteenth Symposium Focuses on Racial Progress Beyond Campus Diversity
Source: EdSource In Cal State’s first biennial Juneteenth symposium, the nation’s largest public university confronts the need for societal change that uplifts Black students, faculty and staff. The symposium, which was hosted in person and virtually by CSU Dominguez Hills on Wednesday and Thursday, featured Princeton University professor and author Cornel West, Grammy Award-nominated singer and actress Angie Stone, University of Southern California professor Shaun Harper, UC Irvine professor Michele Goodwin, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and other academics and student advocates from across the state. The symposium went beyond higher education and covered ... Read More
LAist/KPCC: Cal State University Commemorates Juneteenth With First Biennial Conference
Source: LAist This story also had a radio segment on KPCC. On June 19, 1865 — more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation — enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas, finally received word that they were free. That day, known as Juneteenth, was declared a national holiday last year. To commemorate it, the Cal State University system held a two-day symposium this week, the first of what will now be a biennial event. Dr. Thomas Parham, president of Cal State Dominguez Hills, said: “We are not simply acknowledging Juneteenth by putting on a program that lasts for a couple hours, then everybody goes home. We want people to be ... Read More
