USI Mandela Social Justice Day To Feature Dr. Manisha Sinha

The University of Southern Indiana College of Liberal Arts Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity Committee (LA EDIC) is partnering with the USI Nelson Mandela Social Justice Commemoration Committee to host a two-day series of events on February 17 and 18. All events are free and open to the public. Webinar links and the full schedule, with descriptions, will be available on the LA EDIC webpage (USI.edu/lateachin) and the Mandela Social Justice Day webpage (USI.edu/msjd).

LIBERAL ARTS EQUITY DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVITY COMMITTEE TEACH-IN

Wednesday, February 17

• 9 – 9:50 a.m. – Immigration Panel
• 10 – 10:50 a.m. – Disability Advocacy Panel
• 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Rap Artist Roy Kinsey
• 12:30 – 1 p.m. – Lunch
• 1 – 1:50 p.m. – How to be an Activist Workshop
• 2 – 2:50 p.m. – Labor and Diversity
• 3 – 3:50 p.m. – Sports and Activism Panel

MANDELA SOCIAL JUSTICE DAY

Thursday, February 18

• 9 – 10:30 a.m. – Virtual Tour of the Jim Crow Museum
• 10:30 a.m. – Noon – Activism Fair
• Noon – 1:30 p.m. – Keynote Speaker, Dr. Manisha Sinha
• 1:30 – 3 p.m. – Student Activism Panel

All events will be hosted in Central Time.

Roy Kinsey. Image copyright: Provided

Special guest, rap artist Roy Kinsey, will speak at 11 a.m. on February 17 as a part of the LA EDIC Teach-in. Chicago-born and raised, Kinsey is a bit of an anomaly when it comes to tradition in his respective industries. Where being a black, queer-identified, rapper and librarian may be an intimidating choice for some, Kinsey’s non-conformist ideology has informed his sixth album and self-proclaimed “best work yet,” Kinsey: A Memoir. It is the manifestation of a queer man, in a black body, coming of age in Chicago.

The keynote speaker for Mandela Social Justice Day, Dr. Manisha Sinha, will speak at Noon on February 18. Sinha is the James L. and Shirley A. Draper Chair in American History at the University of Connecticut and a leading authority on the history of slavery and abolition and the Civil War and Reconstruction. She was born in India and received her PhD from Columbia University. She is the author of The Counterrevolution of Slavery: Politics and Ideology in Antebellum South Carolina and The Slave’s Cause: A History of Abolition. She is currently writing a book on the “greater reconstruction” of American democracy after the Civil War.

The University of Southern Indiana has sponsored the Nelson Mandela Social Justice Day and Speaker Series since 2014. The goal of these events is to raise dialogue at USI around current issues of human and civil rights, public service and activism through diverse, dynamic, nationally and internationally known public intellectuals and academics. Previous speakers include authors Tim Wise and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, community organizer Tia Oso and academics and activists such as Dr. Cornel West and Dr. Angela Davis. For more information about the annual event, visit the Mandela Social Justice Day webpage at USI.edu/msjd.

The 2021 Mandela Social Justice Day is sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts, the Pott College of Science, Engineering and Education, the College of Nursing and Health Professions and USI Housing and Residence Life. For more information about these events, contact Dr. Sakina Hughes, Director of Africana Studies and Associate Professor of History, at shughes1@usi.edu or 812-465-1224.