Online events with Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Jason Hickel, Cory Doctorow, William Barber, etc.

Upcoming Online Events:

Sat, 8/21, 12 noon -- That Guy Comedy show on Climate Change -- This is a second Climate change comedy night that happens every two weeks, not to laugh at climate change but to talk about it with laughter -- We came up with this idea that stand up comedy can actually stand up for climate change by talking about and not laughing about climate change. Getting people together after the show to discuss climate change, and yes of course it is a joke that other people don't think that climate change is a problem and we have a duty to look after the planet we are living on. . Comedians have the stage on climate change to raise awareness!:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/that-guy-comedy-show-on-climate-change-tickets-166608804419?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch&keep_tld=1

Sat, 8/21, 1 pm -- Sustainability Salon on Climate Modeling -- Torrential floods in Europe recently killed hundreds and displaced thousands. A "heat dome" over the Pacific Northwest this June brought record temperatures and led to something like a thousand deaths. Wildfires out west and in Canada are sending smoke all across North America. Shorter winters yield less mountain snowpack to melt into rivers, hotter temperatures draw more moisture out of the soil (turning vegetation into tinder), and stronger storms create more lightning to spark fires. As summarized in the IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report released this month, all of these events (and more) are predicted to become even more common into the future. How do we know this? Scientists often use models to understand and predict how conditions will change in complex systems -- The 115th Sustainability Salon will be all about climate modeling. We'll learn about the history of climate modeling radiative forcing, climate feedbacks, uncertainties, policy factors, and how we can test models with field measurements, satellite observations, and other data -- Speakers will include: Chris E. Forest, a professor of Climate Dynamics and the director of the Penn State Center for Earth System Modeling, Analysis, and Data; and a lead author on the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report; Hamish Gordon, an assistant research professor at Carnegie Mellon University, studying the interaction of atmospheric particles (both natural aerosols and pollution) with clouds and climate; L. Ray Roberts, a longtime local leader for Citizens Climate Lobby, who will demonstrate MIT's En-ROADS interactive modeling tool; and Daniel Kirk-Davidoff, a climate dynamicist whose current research focuses on renewable energy forecasting:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/august-21st-sustainability-salon-on-climate-modeling-tickets-167138468659?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch

Sat, 8/21, 1 pm -- Our Liberation is Interconnected: Facilitated by Sabrina Im -- Please join the Cambodian American Literary Arts Association for the third virtual workshop from the Community Dialogue and Workshop Series on Racial Equity and Inclusion -- Sabrina Im is a queer poet, artist, and diasporic organizer living on the unceded ancestral lands of the Tongva peoples. The daughter of Khmer refugees, she is all about community building, healing justice, and nurturing social transformations. She is the creator and host of "Rooted in Poetics," a podcast that explores collective healing and intergenerational wisdom through the diaspora stories that come out of Long Beach's Cambodia Town. Sabrina hopes to continue using storytelling as a means for mediating and cultivating intergenerational narratives, as well as mobilizing others to explore their art too:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/our-liberation-is-interconnected-tickets-163302515219?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch

Sat, 8/21, 4 pm -- The day the Haitian revolution started: August 21, 1791 - FREE event by the L’Ouverture Cultural Society Inc.(LCS) to commemorate the day the Haitian revolution started for Haiti's freedom -- Historical research reveals that several factors contributed to the eruption of the slave rebellion. In addition to the chaotic environment that prevailed at the time, there was significant preparation by slave Leaders and formerly enslaved blacks. This presentation will discuss and highlight the key factors that ignited the Haitian revolution -- Guest Speaker: Jean-Claude Dutès, Ph.D. -- This event is a recognition and celebration of the slave Leaders who made the Haitian revolution possible:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-day-the-haitian-revolution-started-august-21-1791-tickets-163943853479?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch

Sat, 8/21, 10 pm thru Sun, 8/29, 7 am -- Historical Materialism East Asia Conference 2021 -- The HM East Asia conference holds theoretical and critical discussions on labour and capital mobility in Asia. Full Program: https://hmeastasia.org/agenda/ -- Over the last quarter century, East Asia has moved to the centre of global capitalism. In the past, understanding of East Asian capitalism(s) has drawn on theoretical concepts such as developmental state, embedded autonomy, Asian labour system, state capitalism and others. Are such concepts still applicable and relevant? What other new theoretical approaches should we consider in analysing East Asian capitalism(s)? Moreover, how do we understand the multiplicity of crises in the region: labour, reproductive, ecological, social, political and economic? How have labour and social movements responded to these crises, and what are the alternatives? What theoretical and historical lessons and legacies can we reevaluate and engage from East Asia’s own past? -- The Historical Materialism conference in East Asia in 2021 promotes theoretical and empirical assessments of labour and capital mobilities in East Asia in recent decades and their practical implications for workers and labour movement. In this year’s conference, we will engage in the theoretical, historical and contemporary debates on: East Asia Capitalism(s), Gender and Social Reproduction, Labour and Precarity, Ecological Crisis, Radical History and Theory, Trade Unions and more -- About the Journal: Historical Materialism: Research in Critical Marxist Theory is a Marxist journal based in London:
Historical Materialism East Asia Conference 2021


Sun, 8/22, 5 pm -- Malcolm X VS Martin Luther King: Online Presentation -- Join us for Malcolm VS Martin, an online discussion and presentation analyzing the speeches, lives and ideologies of two of the greatest Black leaders of our time. In VERSUZ fashion, it's a celebration of both men! -- The common narrative is that these two men held views that were on the opposite ends of the spectrum. One, Dr. King is widely believed to be a proponent of "non-violent" protest while Malcolm is widely looked at as being more radical and a proponent of a more violent approach to liberation -- **But is this the reality? -- In this presentation we will dissect audio, video, quotes and interviews to determine how similar or how different were the thoughts and opinions of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Brother Malcolm X, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz -- We will compare and contrast their words, actions and some of the tactics of the movements they both represented -- The purpose of this presentation is not to cause separation or division, but to look at the lives of two brilliant men who provided a ton of valuable insight into the struggle. Let's learn from the SOLUTIONS they put forth to help us in today's time of protesting, as we find ourselves once again seeking Freedom, Justice and Equality:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/malcolm-x-vs-martin-luther-king-online-presentation-tickets-165380101335?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch


Mon, 8/23, 5 pm -- We the People's Forum: How Can We Fix America's Immigration System? -- Build a wall? Open borders? Something else? What would a fair and orderly immigration system look like in America? -- We know the slogans. It's a political hot-button issue. But what do immigrants -- those who voted for Trump and those who voted for Biden -- themselves think about how we could make America's immigration system work? -- Join us for a fascinating conversation with two immigrants and friends who have much in common, but also differing perspectives on immigration. During Discussion, anyone with direct experience on this issue may comment, and anyone may ask a question -- With Alicia Matos and Neyju Rondon -- Alicia Matos was born in Venezuela, first came to America as a child with her family, and became a U.S. citizen at age 15. Alicia graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Project and Supply Chain Management, recently purchased her first home, and works as a regional buyer for a steel recycling company. She would like to see America’s immigration system become “more accessible” to immigrants. She voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election -- Neyju Rondon was born in Venezuela and immigrated to America in 2002 when she was 25 years old. She became a U.S. citizen in 2019 and worked as a housecleaner for many years before starting her own cleaning business. She believes that America’s immigration system is “hard” but “fair,” adding that, “I’m not against the people who are walking from the border.” She voted for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/we-the-peoples-forum-how-can-we-fix-americas-immigration-system-registration-166342172917?aff=erellivmlt


Tue, 8/24, 8 am -- Big Data Research: New Regulatory and Ethical Challenges -- Seminar and discussion of challenges of big data with Prof. Mark Rothstein, Director of the Institute for Bioethics, Health Policy -- Big Data technologies and methods have had a great impact on research practices both within and outside the academic context. In this session, we will examine the novel ethical and regulatory challenges introduced by Big Data and present the final results from our a national research Swiss project “Regulating Big Data research: A new frontier” -- Prof. Mark Rothstein, Director of the Institute for Bioethics, Health Policy and Law at the University of Louisville School of Medicine will present on the topic and participate in the discussion. He has concentrated his research on bioethics, genetics, health privacy, public health law, research ethics, and employment law. He has expertise in public health, health information policy and has authored 19 books and over 300 articles on his areas of research:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/big-data-research-new-regulatory-and-ethical-challenges-tickets-162516612563?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch&keep_tld=1

Tue, 8/24, 4 pm -- The Doctrine of Discovery and the Legacy of Injustice -- How did the Doctrine of Discovery add to the legacy of injustice committed against indigenous people & what can we do about it? -- The recent discovery of mass graves in Saskatchewan, Canada, filled with the bodies of indigenous children from boarding schools demands that people in North America look deeply at the injustices that have been committed against Native peoples -- The Doctrine of Discovery not only enabled colonizers in their brutal conquest of the "new world" that caused a near genocide among Native peoples, it also prepared the way for Manifest Destiny, a devastating policy of the United States. These actions resulted in massacres of Native Americans and more forced removals and the beginning of faith-based boarding schools. It was in these schools where "educators" sought to "kill the Indian and save the man." -- Join this challenging discussion where we will demythologize the Doctrine of Discovery and reveal legacy of generational sin against Native Americans and learn how we can appropriately move forward in both lament and action. -- The discussion will be led by Mark Charles. The son of an American woman (of Dutch heritage) and a Navajo man, Mark teaches the complexities of American history regarding race, culture, and Christendom in order to help forge a path of healing and conciliation for the nation. He is the co-author of the book, Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery, and he authors the blog Reflections from the Hogan. Mark is currently an independent candidate for the presidency of the United States, advocating for a Truth and Conciliation Commission – a formal and national dialogue on issues of race, gender, and class:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-doctrine-of-discovery-and-the-legacy-of-injustice-tickets-165763147035?aff=erellivmlt

Tue, 8/24, 5 pm -- Anti-fascism in the USA: Bill Mullen and James Tracy -- Join us as we welcome Bill Mullen, co-editor of The U.S. Anti-fascism Reader, and James Tracy, co-author of No Fascist USA!, for a talk about the history of anti-fascism in the United States and its lessons for activists today -- Bill V. Mullen is Professor of American Studies at Purdue University. He is the author of James Baldwin: Living in Fire (forthcoming); and UnAmerican: W.E.B. Du Bois and the Century of World Revolution and Afro-Orientalism, and a founding member of the Campus Antifascist Network -- James Tracy is an author, organizer, and an Instructor of Labor and Community Studies at City College of San Francisco. He is the co-author of Hillbilly Nationalists, Urban Race Rebels and Black Power: Community Organizing in Radical Times and the author of Dispatches Against Displacement: Field Notes From San Francisco's Housing Wars -- About The U.S. Anti-fascism Reader: Since the birth of fascism in the 1920s, the United States has been home to its own distinct fascist movements, some of which decisively influenced the course of US history. Many on the left are unaware that the US has a rich antifascist tradition, because it has rarely been discussed as such. The U.S. Anti-fascism Reader reconstructs the history of US antifascism, showing how generations of writers, organisers, and fighters spoke to each other over time -- About No Fascist USA!: In 1977, a group of white anti-racist activists formed the first chapter of the John Brown Anti-Klan Committee, dedicated to countering the rise of the KKK and other far-right white nationalist groups. No Fascist USA! tells the story of that network, whose efforts throughout the 1980s––which included exposing white supremacists in public office, confronting neo-Nazis in street protests, and engagement with the underground punk scene––laid the groundwork for many anti-racist efforts to emerge since:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/anti-fascism-in-the-usa-bill-mullen-and-james-tracy-tickets-165750091987?aff=erellivmlt

Tue, 8/24, 5 pm -- P&P Live! Robert S. Levine: THE FAILED PROMISE with Richard Bell -- Join Robert Levine as he discusses his newest book, THE FAILED PROMISE, with Richard Bell on P&P Live! -- Robert S. Levine foregrounds the viewpoints of Black Americans on Reconstruction in his absorbing account of the struggle between the great orator Frederick Douglass and President Andrew Johnson, in: The Failed Promise: Reconstruction, Frederick Douglass, and the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson -- Robert S. Levine (Ph.D. Stanford) is Distinguished University Professor of English and Distinguished Scholar-Teacher at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is the author of Martin Delany, Frederick Douglass, and the Politics of Representative Identity; Dislocating Race and Nation: Episodes in Nineteenth-Century American Literary Nationalism; The Lives of Frederick Douglas; Race, Transnationalism, and Nineteenth-Century American Literary Studies; and (upcoming from Norton) The Failed Promise: Reconstruction, Frederick Douglass, and the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson -- Richard Bell is Professor of History at the University of Maryland and author of the new book Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped into Slavery and their Astonishing Odyssey Home which is shortlisted for the George Washington Prize and the Harriet Tubman Prize. He serves as a Trustee of the Maryland Center for History and Culture and as a fellow of the Royal Historical Society:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pp-live-robert-s-levine-the-failed-promise-with-richard-bell-tickets-164380439319?aff=erelpanelorg

Tue, 8/24, 6 pm -- Dispelling the Myths: "Critical Race Theory" in K-12 Classrooms -- Teachers of the Year discuss the controversy surrounding critical race theory. -- ***Interested attendees must RSVP via Eventbrite to receive the Zoom Webinar link and password 24 hours before event.*** -- Why are conversations about race, equity, racial justice and "Critical Race Theory" in k-12 classrooms so contentious now? Three experienced and acclaimed 2019 Teachers of the Year—AZ, UT, and AR--share their experiences and perspectives on the social and political debate taking the US by storm. In the wake of the US and global racial justice “reckoning,” where does this focus on Critical Race Theory fall and how does this “controversy” challenge the foundation of US education and race relations?:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dispelling-the-myths-critical-race-theory-in-k-12-classrooms-tickets-163311411829?aff=erellivmlt

Tue, 8/24, 6 pm -- Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz in conversation with Alejandro Murguía -- Celebrating the launch of her new book Not A Nation of Immigrants: Settler Colonialism, White Supremacy, and a History of Erasure and Exclusion -- Debunks the pervasive and self-congratulatory myth that our country is proudly founded by and for immigrants, and urges readers to embrace a more complex and honest history of the United States -- Whether in political debates or discussions about immigration around the kitchen table, many Americans, regardless of party affiliation, will say proudly that we are a nation of immigrants. In this bold new book, historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz asserts this ideology is harmful and dishonest because it serves to mask and diminish the US's history of settler colonialism, genocide, white supremacy, slavery, and structural inequality, all of which we still grapple with today -- Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz grew up in rural Oklahoma in a tenant farming family. She has been active in the international Indigenous movement for more than 4 decades and is known for her lifelong commitment to national and international social justice issues. Dunbar-Ortiz is the winner of the 2017 Lannan Cultural Freedom Prize, and is the author or editor of many books, including An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States, a recipient of the 2015 American Book Award:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/roxanne-dunbar-ortiz-in-conversation-with-alejandro-murguia-tickets-151014228623?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch

Tue, 8/24, 10 pm -- Unravelling the Capitalist State: Crisis and Opportunity -- Sydney Environment Institute Doctoral Fellow Anna Sturman explores the capitalist state as a key terrain of inquiry for environmental and social justice movements -- A central concept that remains resolutely under-theorised in much climate and environmental scholarship is the capitalist state -- In conversation with this resurgent state theory literature and on-the-ground responses to compounding crises, SEI Doctoral Fellow Anna Sturman argues that what we may observe as disparate crises are internally related facets of the same crisis - or crisis tendencies - of capitalism. Moving past definitions of the state which see it as a unified and autonomous entity, instrumentally or structurally inclined to act in one way or the other, here instead the state is positioned as an internally contradictory set of social relations which can be worked on and through by different social forces -- As crisis tendencies continue to escalate, the state will be worked on and through by different social forces bent on achieving their aims. With the ongoing rise of the far-right, we can see that the stakes have never been higher. The time is now to return to a serious consideration of the capitalist state and how progressive forces might navigate it as part of a broader strategy to bring about a safer, democratic future -- Speaker: Anna Sturman is a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Economy at the University of Sydney and a SEI Doctoral Fellow. Her research interests include the political economy of climate change, the role of agriculture in programmatic socio-ecological transformations, materialist ecofeminist approaches to economics and theories of the state:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/unravelling-the-capitalist-state-crisis-and-opportunity-tickets-164935682065?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch&keep_tld=1


Wed, 8/25, 4 am -- We Are All Mutants: CRISPR and Multispecies Futures -- AMOR MUNDI Multispecies Ecological Worldmaking Lab presents “We Are All Mutants: CRISPR and Multispecies Futures”: A Talk by Multispecies Ethnographer & Biotechnoscience Scholar Eben Kirksey -- In THE MUTANT PROJECT: Inside the Global Race to Genetically Modify Humans, anthropologist Eben Kirksey visits the frontiers of genetics, medicine, and technology to ask: Whose values are guiding gene editing experiments? And what does this new era of scientific inquiry mean for the future of the human species? -- In 2018, Dr. He Jiankui announced that he had created the first genetically modified babies—twin girls named Lulu and Nana—sending shockwaves around the world. As scientists elsewhere start to catch up with China’s vast genetic research program, gene editing is fueling an innovation economy that threatens to widen racial and economic inequality. Fundamental questions about science, health, and social justice are at stake: Who gets access to gene editing technologies? As countries loosen regulations around the globe, from the U.S. to Indonesia, can we shape research agendas to promote an ethical and fair society? -- EBEN KIRKSEY is an American anthropologist and Member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. He speaks widely at the world’s leading academic institutions including Oxford, Yale, Columbia, UCLA, and the International Summit of Human Genome Editing. Professor Kirksey holds a long-term position at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/we-are-all-mutants-crispr-and-multispecies-futures-tickets-167384386205?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch

Wed, 8/25, 9 am -- Who is Creating Existential Risk? (Why, and Why Should We Care?) -- In this panel, Centre for the Study of Existential Risk researchers will discuss an array of different hazards, ranging from AI to bioweapons, climate change to nuclear weapons -- Who or what are the primary creators of global risk? Should we be most concerned about individuals like the lone rogue scientist or hooded hacker, or place more responsibility with larger actors such as large corporations and states? To what extent should we think of actors as holding responsibility for risk, as opposed to it being something that emerges in a more distributed way? Why does this matter, and how might understanding the root causes and responsibilities around global risk help us to better mitigate them? -- In this panel, researchers from the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) will discuss these questions for an array of different hazards, ranging from AI to bioweapons, climate change to nuclear weapons. They will consider the sources of existential risk in the past and present, what could change in the future, and what this means for the world. Panellists: Jess Whittlestone, Lalitha Sundaram, Tom Hobson, and Luke Kemp:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/who-is-creating-existential-risk-why-and-why-should-we-care-tickets-165734208479?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch&keep_tld=1

Wed, 8/25, 11 am -- The Divide by Jason Hickel -- Join author Jason Hickel and guests for a discussion on Global Inequality and its Solutions -- The richest eight people control more wealth than the poorest half of the world combined. Today, 60 per cent of the world’s population lives on less than $5 a day. Though global real GDP has nearly tripled since 1980, 1.1 billion more people are now living in poverty -- Join author Jason Hickel and guests for a discussion on The Divide - a provocative, urgent and ultimately uplifting account of how the world works, and how it can change for the better. The discussion will explore the reality that poor countries are poor because they are integrated into the global economic system on unequal terms, and that aid only helps to hide this:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-divide-by-jason-hickel-tickets-163829706061?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch&keep_tld=1

Wed, 8/25, 12 noon -- Ethics in Tech – A Conversation Series -- From the moment you wake up and check your messages on Facebook or Twitter, to when you set your Google Nest for the night, tech giants wield unprecedented influence over our daily lives. With this enormous power comes an enormous potential for abuse. The information economy has led to profound challenges to personal privacy. Stalkerware takes advantage of security gaps in our personal digital infrastructure to turn phones and smart home products into tools for facilitating domestic violence. Online platforms are grappling with what it means to provide fairness and due process to their users. And across the tech industry, racial and gender-based discrimination scandals suggest a need to address toxic cultures. The question of how to impose ethical guardrails on these enormously powerful actors is among the most important challenges of this generation -- Our first session features Cory Doctorow, in conversation with Dr. Sarah Roberts -- Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist, journalist and blogger -- the editor of Pluralistic and the author of young adult novels like LITTLE BROTHER and HOMELAND and novels for adults like ATTACK SURFACE and WALKAWAY, as well as nonfiction books like HOW TO DESTROY SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM. He is the former European director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group -- Sarah T. Roberts is an Associate Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the Department of Information Studies and holds an appointment in Labor Studies. She was recently appointed a Research Associate to the Oxford Internet Institute:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ethics-in-tech-a-conversation-series-tickets-166575189877?aff=erellivmlt

Wed, 8/25, 3 pm -- Hemp and Biotech: An Earth Based Solution for 21st Century Challenges -- A monthly series highlighting hemp as an eco-solution to the climate crisis with conversations between industry Leaders and youth activists! -- Moon Mother Hemp Company and Earth Guardians are combining forces to host a virtual series designed to shine light on hemp as a dynamic solution to the current climate crisis. Each panel will focus on unique topics chosen by the Earth Guardians' Youth Council featuring industry specialists. Learn about hemp history, environmental benefits, justice & equity, daily uses, substitutions, and more! -- AUGUST WEBINAR: HEMP AND BIOTECH: AN EARTH BASED SOLUTION FOR 21st CENTURY CHALLENGES -- Many of the biggest challenges in the battle against our environmental crisis lie in the biotech space. However, today a number of scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs are looking at those challenges through the lens of Hemp. Some of the most evocative uses of Hemp are as an alternative to plastic, packaging, and other low impact solutions to a sustainable economy and a more regenerative approach to the challenges of commerce and utility:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hemp-and-biotech-an-earth-based-solution-for-21st-century-challenges-tickets-152730794919?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch


Thu, 8/26, 4 pm -- "Redeeming the Heart and Soul of America": A Conversation with Rev. William Barber -- Rev. William Barber is one of the best known social justice advocates in America today and his passion and eloquence has inspired millions of people. On Thursday night, August 26th he will be featured in a webinar hosted by the McClendon Scholar Program at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. He will be interviewed by Rev. William Lamar IV, pastor of the historic Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, DC. They will discuss personal faith, activism and social change and what needs to be done to "redeem the heart and soul of America.":
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/redeeming-the-heart-and-soul-of-america-with-rev-william-barber-tickets-165804641145?aff=erellivmlt