“Our Shared Future: Reckoning With Our Racial Past”
Secretary Bunch invites you to join the inaugural forum in a multi-year initiative that will explore the history and legacy of race and racism in the United States and beyond.
As part of the Smithsonian’s ongoing effort to lead a national conversation about race, one of the country’s most enduring and consequential concerns, we will kick off our new Institution-wide initiative, “Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past” with a virtual forum tonight, Thursday, August 26, at 7:00 p.m. EDT.
The inaugural forum, “Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past” will showcase discussions and short films on the topics of “What’s Real About Race,” “Race, Health and Wealth” and “Mental Health and Trauma.” The forum also will also explore the complex systems driving racial inequality in America and examine how racial disparities have been exposed by the current COVID-19 pandemic.
The event will stream live from Los Angeles and feature an introduction by the Secretary and panelists with a broad spectrum of experience, expertise, and perspectives:
- Pilar Ossorio, law and bioethics professor, University of Wisconsin;
- Juliet K. Choi, president and CEO, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum;
Joi Lewis, founder of Healing Justice Foundation; - Monique Morris, president and CEO, Grantmakers for Girls of Color, author and social justice scholar;
- Damion L. Thomas, NMAAHC curator of sports,
- Diana Chao, founder and executive director, Letters to Strangers, and recipient of National Alliance on Mental Health Young Leader Award;
- Sean Sweat, second-year medical student, University of Pittsburgh, author of a new version of the Hippocratic Oath that reflects racial injustice; and
- Louise Seamster, assistant professor of sociology, University of Iowa, studies race and economic inequality particularly in cities.
I am very proud of the Smithsonian’s work every day and how we have used our content, scholarship, collections, and science to help our nation and the global community address important contemporary issues. I encourage you to be part of “Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past” by engaging with our social media channels, sharing stories and questions with colleagues, and offering suggestions. For more information about “Our Shared Future: Reckoning with our Racial Past,” and Thursday’s forum, visit the Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past website. You also can email raceinitiative@si.edu to share your own stories and suggestions.
Thank you so much for your time and effort. I look forward to continuing this journey with you.
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Posted: 26 August 2021
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