Ethnic Studies Now! at UCLA and Beyond

I totally forgot to talk about LCC’s Epic FAIL show last week, which is too bad, because it was pretty awesome. Here’s another event that, while not arts and entertainment related, will probably be as awesome: Ethnic Studies Now! at UCLA and Beyond.

A symposium on the state of Ethnic Studies Now! at UCLA and Beyond will be held on Monday, March 7, 2011. This event seeks to make links between national and local actions that have targeted Ethnic Studies including: HB 2281/Anti-Ethnic Studies legislation in Arizona, the impending termination of Asian American Studies Department at Cal State LA, and the suspension of American Studies and the dismantling of Community Studies Department at UCSC.

Panel sessions will focus on the importance of Ethnic Studies now, what challenges Ethnic Studies face, the movement for diversity in the general education curriculum at UCLA, and local and nation-wide actions to support Ethnic Studies. In this campus-wide gathering, discussions and action-plans are designed to build a sense of urgency towards supporting existing programs.

Guest speakers will be coming from UCLA, CSU Northridge, CSULA, and more. At 6:30, there will be a screening of Mountains That Take Wing: Angela Davis and Yuri Kochiyama – A Conversation on Life, Struggles & Liberation. It’s a documentary film by C.A. Griffith and H.T. Quan of QUAD productions; the screening will be followed by a Q&A session with the makers.

Co-directed by C.A. Griffith & H.L.T. Quan, MOUNTAINS THAT TAKE WING features conversations that span 13 years between two formidable women whose lives and political work remain at the epicenter of the most important civil rights struggles in the US. Through the intimacy and depth of conversations, we learn about Davis, an internationally renowned scholar-activist and 88-year-old Kochiyama, a revered grassroots community activist and 2005 Nobel Peace Prize nominee’s shared experiences as political prisoners and their profound passion for justice. On subjects ranging from the vital but largely erased role of women in social movements of the 20th century, community empowerment, to the prison industrial complex, war and the cultural arts, Davis’ and Kochiyama’s comments offer critical lessons for understanding our nation’s most important social movements and tremendous hope for its youth and the future.

I won’t be able to make it to the whole event (it’s all day, pretty much), but I am clearing my schedule to watch that documentary. It’s not often I have an opportunity to watch a documentary and learn about two influential women of color in the civil rights movement.

Timetable of Events:

* 2:30-2:45pm Welcome
* 2:45-4:15pm Ethnic Studies Panel
* 4:25-5:25pm Diversity Requirement Panel
* 5:25-6:00pm Food/Refreshments
* 6:00-8:30pm Film and Filmmakers Panel
* 8:30-9:00pm Closing

Like I said, pretty much all day. So make some time on your schedule and go check it out!