We want to thank everyone who came out for “Why Authoritarians Fear Education” with Jason Stanley and Randi Weingarten, moderated by Kimberlé Crenshaw. This first entry of the Future of Democracy & Civil Rights lecture series focused on the ways in which attacks on racial justice had been used to sow distrust in education and other public institutions.
Our speakers reminded us of why this happens: authoritarians target education because it facilitates the critical thinking, shared empathy, and mutual understanding that are the key pillars to democracy.
(Photographer: Edoghogho Joy Ugiagbe)
The conversation concluded with a book signing with the speakers. We would like to thank the following co-sponsors for their partnership in making this event possible: AFT, Constitutional Democracy Initiative, Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought, High School Law Institute, Racial Literacy for Racial Justice at Columbia Law School, and Education Policy and Social Analysis Department at Teachers College.
Critical Race Studies 25th Anniversary Symposium and Celebration | Thursday, October 23 - Saturday, October 25
The Critical Race Studies Program at UCLA School of Law celebrates its 25th anniversary this year with a landmark symposium. This three-day program will bring together leading scholars, students, advocates, and community members to honor CRS’s trailblazing contributions over the past quarter century—and to chart the future of racial justice in a moment of profound political and social challenge. Find out more here!
AAPF Executive Director Kimberlé Crenshaw will be speaking on the panel “Transform Racial Justice Advocacy” on Friday, October 24th at 5pm PT - 6:15pm PT alongside panelists:
Ahilan Arulanantham, Professor from Practice and Faculty Co-Director, Center for Immigration Law & Policy, UCLA School of Law
Sandy Hudson, Writer, Producer, and Activist, Founder, Black Lives Matter-Canada, CoFounder, Black Legal Action Centre, and Co-Owner, Above the Palace, UCLA Law JD ‘22
Caleb Jackson, Judiciary Counsel, U.S. Senate, UCLA Law JD ‘18
Saúl Sarabia, Founder and Director, Solidarity Consulting and Academic Coordinator, UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, UCLA Law JD ‘96
Moderated by Sunita Patel, Professor of Law, Faculty Director, David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy, and Faculty Director, Veterans Legal Clinic, UCLA School of Law
This panel convenes distinguished alums, advocates, and scholars to examine innovative approaches for implementing critical race studies in professional practice. This discussion will illuminate how legal advocates are reimagining racial justice work in response to rising anti-CRT sentiment and increasing authoritarian tendencies within contemporary American political culture. By connecting theoretical foundations with experience, this panel bridges academic scholarship and advocacy practice. Speakers will demonstrate how CRT principles inform strategic decision-making, coalition-building, and long-term movement sustainability, providing attendees with actionable frameworks for translating critical race scholarship into meaningful social transformation across diverse professional contexts.
American Agitators Screening at Columbia | Monday, October 27 at 6:30pm ET
American Agitators is a documentary that captures the remarkable story of organizing for social change in the U.S. through the work of Fred Ross Sr. and many other iconic organizers, such as Dolores Huerta, Fred Ross Jr., and many current ones, all of whom have devoted their lives to the pursuit of justice and equality. AAPF partner John Heffernan, who leads the Right to Learn Coalition, serves as executive producer on this timely documentary about the importance of community-based organizing. Join the Columbia University Labor Lab and Columbia World Projects Center for Political Economyfor the screening of the film at the Lee C. Bollinger Forum on
Monday, October 27th at 6:30pm ET
Hot Off the Press: The News You Can Use
Vote for AAPF for the 5th Annual Anthem Awards!
We’re excited to share that we’ve been named finalists for two Community Voice Anthem Awards, and we need your votes to win! Click here to vote for our Intersectionality Matters! with Kimberlé Crenshaw podcast, which has been nominated for the episode "Bloody Sunday, 60 Years Later". We were also nominated for our Story of Us Dispatch, which you can vote for here. It is a multimedia time-capsule of our 2025 Sundance Film Festival Story of Us event “The Role of the Artist in the Age of Censorship,” equipped with educational resources and performance footage of André Holland, Cassandra Freeman, DeWanda Wise, Dewayne Perkins, and Imani Lewis. Voting ends on Thursday, October 30th!
Intersectionality Matters! With Kimberlé Crenshaw: How Anti-Blackness Destroys Democracy
On the latest episode of Intersectionality Matters! with Kimberlé Crenshaw, Melanie Campbell, Evelynn Hammonds, Lisa Coleman, and Kaye Wise Whitehead join our host to discuss the country’s slide into autocracy, and how anti-Blackness has served as a catalyst for the dismantling of American rights and freedoms. Crucially, they also unpack what can be done. Listen here.
