Race and Equity

When Quintard Taylor, professor emeritus of history at the UW, launched BlackPast in 2007, he didnt realize attacks on history would make the site as necessary as it has proved to be.

Things were a little bit different at Town Hall on March 4. Things were a little bitwarmer. Activist and educator Margo Okazawa-Rey was in the house.Linh Thy Nguyn, assistant professor of American ethnic studies at the UW, is quoted.

A video project led by School of Music professor Stephen Price highlights the work of Black composers for organ and provides historical context.

The event commemorated the 1886 expulsion of 350 of Seattles Chinese residents, who were forced to board a ship for San Francisco, where they were then deported to China. Connie So, teaching professor of American ethnic studies at the UW, is quoted.

DEI policies have been in the crosshairs since President Donald Trump arrived back in the White House. Many corporations have been proactively choosing to downsize their DEI programs or eliminate them completely. But one company is facing a unique level of backlash: Target.Timeka Tounsel, associate professor of Black studies in communication at the UW, is interviewed.

"In my research on marketing campaigns aimed at Black women, Ive examined how the struggle for consumer citizenship complicated the dynamic between Black entrepreneurs and consumers. On the one hand, businesses have long leveraged Black ownership as a unique selling proposition in and of itself, urging shoppers to view Black brand loyalty as a path to collective racial progress," writes Timeka Tounsel, assistant professor of Black studies in communication at the UW.

Bad Bunny's new album, "Debir Tirar Mas Fotos," dropped earlier this month. It features traditional folk music from Puerto Rico, where the artist is from. The lyrics touch on the gentrification of Puerto Rico and draw a stark parallel with Hawaii. Ileana Rodriguez-Silva, associate professor of history at the UW, is quoted.

A massive 70-member choir belted out Hallelujah to open a Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Day service Monday at his former congregation in Atlanta, followed by a stern message from his youngest daughter warning against anti-woke rhetoric. Ralina Joseph, associate professor of communication at the UW, is quoted.

Combining classroom time and outdoors experiences, a Disability Studies course explores what it means to provide access and disability justice for community members in recreation spaces.

In the aftermath of the 2024 election, Democrats are confronting a possible existential threat: The erosion of support among important demographic groups, particularly Latinos. Sophia Jordán Wallace, professor of political science at the UW, is interviewed.

Conventional history states Christopher Columbus was from Genoa, Italy, but he may have been, in fact, a Sephardic Jew from the eastern Iberian Peninsula, according to a new documentary by Spain’s national broadcaster that also rekindles questions of religious persecution and the treatment of Indigenous communities. Devin Naar, associate professor of history and of Jewish studies at the UW, is quoted.

"In the Old Town of Rhodes, a picturesque tourist destination in the Aegean Sea, stands a monument to a dark period in the island’s past. In the former “Djuderia,” the Jewish quarter, a marble obelisk commemorates the deportation of the island’s small but vibrant Sephardic Jewish community to Auschwitz-Birkenau on July 23, 1944," writes Devin Naar, associate professor of history and of Jewish studies at the UW.

It has been five years since Washington’s signature “sanctuary” law went into effect, prohibiting most local officials from cooperating with immigration enforcement. Since then, Washington jail and law enforcement agencies have committed hundreds of alleged violations, according to a report by the UW’s Center for Human Rights. Angelina Godoy, professor of law, societies, and justice and of international studies, as well as director of the Center for Human Rights at the UW, is quoted.

Personal stories are integral to Interrupting Privilege, a UW program that leans into difficult intergenerational discussions about race and privilege.

"While the war between Hamas and Israel dominates the news, the growing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is far more dangerous. Since Hamas attacked Israel last Oct. 7, Hezbollah — far larger and better armed than Hamas — has been waging a less-publicized war on Israel from southern Lebanon, attacking with rockets, artillery, drones, antitank missiles and other weapons, forcing Israel to evacuate tens of thousands of civilians living near the border. Hezbollah could initiate full-scale war at any moment. Its goal: The destruction of Israel," writes Paul Burstein, professor emeritus of sociology and adjunct professor of political science at the UW.