Year of Purpose Kick-Off with Robin D.G. Kelley

As we begin the new school year, join us for our Year of Purpose kickoff on Wednesday, August 30 at 5pm PDT/8pm EDT for a group discussion.

Robin D.G. Kelley’s article Black Study, Black Struggle: Black Studies Against the Long Shadow of Facism was banned from the AP African American Studies course after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis attacked the original course framework early this year. Kelley joined us during our summer freedom school and recorded a talk with the same title as his article. In the video, he goes on to define Black Studies and in defining it, shares with us what drives the political struggle over power.

Participants will watch the pre-recorded video and then on August 30, join National BLM at School, Robin D.G. Kelley, and folks from our network in a shared group discussion of questions and thoughts that came up during and after watching the video. Share your ideas on how we can push back on the criminalization of education and empower students to interrupt and challenge power. Come ready to share!

About
Robin D.G. Kelley has spent a career bringing to life the stories of Black labor organizers and anti-capitalists who are often left out of history books. He recently edited the book, “Our History Has Always Been Contraband: In Defense of Black Studies,” with Colin Kaepernick and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor published in May 2023. Dr. Kelley is the Gary B. Nash Professor of American History at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).