Fifty years ago, on March 1st, 1968, several hundred Mexican American and Chicana/o students at Wilson High School initiated an impromptu walkout protest in response to the cancelation of a school play by their principal.
The Institute on Inequality and Democracy (II&D) at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center welcomed Manuel Criollo and Yvonne Yen Liu as the 2018 UCLA Activist-in-Residence Fellows during a reception held Jan. 11, 2018, at the UCLA Luskin Commons.
With a shared commitment to advance democracy through research and alliances with civil rights organizations and progressive social movements, the UCLA Asian American Studies Center and the Institute on Inequality and Democracy at UCLA Luskin have partnered to offer UCLA’s Activist-in-Residence Program during the 2018 Winter and Spring Quarters.
In this newsletter, our very first, we share glimpses of our work…
The UCLA Abolitionist Planning Group produced a resource guide that outlines their first steps to understand Trumpism as a moment in United States politics. Committed to a philosophy of abolitionism, they seek to […]
We are delighted to share the complete video of “Judith Butler: This is What Resistance Looks Like” that took place on February 15, 2017 at Luskin School of Public Affairs, UCLA.
Guest lecture featuring:
JUDITH BUTLER
Maxine Elliot Professor in the Department of Comparative Literature and the Program of Critical Theory at the University of California, Berkeley
About RAVE:
RAVE (Resistance Against Violence Through Education) is a faculty group dedicated to mobilizing the power of knowledge and critical analysis to challenge the normalization of the politics, language, and actions of Donald Trump’s presidency. We pledge to take responsibility for, support, and defend vigorously all vulnerable members of our communities who were deliberately targeted in the lead up to the election of Donald Trump, and who are now victims of hate in its wake—members of the community who are undocumented, victims of sexual assault, people of color, LGBTQ people, Muslims and other religious minorities, immigrants, the disabled, and women. We will not silently bear witness but will fight back by producing knowledge, constructing alliances, and building system-wide coalitions across the University of California.
Marking the passage of 75 years since a presidential executive order that led to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs hosted a panel discussion on Feb. 23, 2017, that took place at a time when many U.S. citizens believe history is in danger of repeating itself.
The meaning of the word “woke” used to be so simple before modern culture co-opted it. It was the past tense of wake: to become conscious after sleeping. But in some circles “woke” has taken on a deeper meaning.
We are delighted to share the complete video of “From the Frontlines of Justice” that was part of the #J18 Call to Action on January 18, 2017 at UCLA’s Ackerman Grand Ballroom.
About #J18 and Beyond
January 18, 2017, was a day to Teach, Organize, Resist. Poised between Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the presidential inauguration, #J18 was an opportunity to affirm the role of critical thinking and academic knowledge in challenging Trumpism. On that day, we taught about the agendas and policies of the new administration, be it the proposed dismantling of economic and environmental regulations, and the threatened rollback of the hard-won rights that form the fragile scaffolding of American democracy. On that day, we organized against the proposed expansion of state violence targeting people of color, undocumented people, queer communities, women, Muslims, and many others. On that day, we resisted the institutionalization of ideologies of separation and subordination, including white supremacy, misogyny, homophobia, Islamophobia, and virulent nationalism.
#J18 was a day of actions, ideas, dreams, dialogues, performances, alliances, plans, marches, and assemblies created by many in a multitude of spaces and places. Educators, students, and community partners were invited to plan programs and activities on that day.
Let it be known that on #J18 and beyond, universities, colleges, and high schools refused to bear silent witness to the politics of hate and fear; that in these times, these places of teaching and learning not only served as a sanctuary for its students and workers but also stood up to proclaim the power of knowledge on the frontlines of social justice.
#J18 was a call issued by departments, centers, and collectives at UCLA, including The UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy, RAVE or Resistance Against Violence through Education, African-American Studies, Chicana/o Studies, Institute of American Cultures, Justice Work Group, LGBTQ Studies, UCLA Labor Center, and The Undercommons.
Use the power of knowledge to challenge inequality and to build alliances for social justice. We will together build a platform that connects education and protest across the United States and links these to actions of solidarity in other parts of the world.
Teach! Organize! Resist!
That was the call by organizers of J18, a daylong exercise of teaching and learning at UCLA, as a response to the uncertainty and fear of many people surrounding the transfer of power to a new U.S. administration.
