Gandhi Center Events
FALL 2022 EVENTS
Sept 21 | 10-2 | Gandhi Center Open House | Darcus Johnson Hall
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Sept 22 | 3:00-5:00 | Beitzel Symposium | Student Success Center 1075
Sept 22 | 7:00 | Us Kids | Grafton-Stovall Theater
Sept 23 | 1:00-4:00 | Beitzel Symposium | Student Success Center 1075
Sept 23 | 7:00 | Music Fundraiser | Pale Fire Brewing
Sept 24 | 6:00-7:00 | Gandhi Center Award Ceremony | Festival Ballroom
The Gandhi Center at JMU will honor David Hogg and March for Our Lives (MFOL) with the Mahatma Gandhi Center National Nonviolence Award on Saturday, September 24 from 6:00pm-7:00pm in Festival Grand Ballroom. Tickets are free and open to the public, but registration is required.
On February 14, 2018, David’s life changed forever. As a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, he lost friends, classmates, and teachers. Committed to becoming an agent for change, he resolved that no other young person should have to experience the tragic impact of gun violence.
He joined with friends from high school to co-found March for Our Lives, now one of the world’s largest youth-led movements. Five weeks after the shooting, March for Our Lives mobilized one of the biggest demonstrations in the nation’s history.
Over a million citizens turned out for marches against gun violence in 2018, making MFOL one of the largest youth-led movements since the Vietnam War. After the Uvalde tragedy, MFOL hit the streets again with chapters organizing protests across the nation.
A prolific voice on social media with more than a million followers, David uses his platform to promote civic engagement, activism, and voting. As a speaker, he informs, challenges, and energizes, empowering his generation to resist apathy and become catalysts for positive social change.
The inaugural National Nonviolence award was bestowed upon Honorable John Lewis in 2020 for his legacy of promoting nonviolent strategies to enact social change. Mr. Lewis passed away before formally accepting the award in July 2020.
The Gandhi Center chose MFOL to receive the second National Nonviolence award due to their commitment to education, civic engagement, and nonviolent direct action. From the website, “Whether organizing a walkout at a high school, lobbying for better safety measures on campus, writing statewide legislation, or showing up at school board and city council meetings, our chapters make change.”
Previous award winners of the Mahatma Gandhi Center Global Nonviolence Award include Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Former U.S. President and Nobel Peace laureate Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter.
Parking:
Guests may park in Ballard Deck or Lots C12, D3, D6, and R4. See the parking locations here:
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SPRING 2022 EVENTS
Feb 2 | 7pm | Virtual Film Screening/Q&A with activist/artist
Please join us for the virtual film screening of the documentary Truth Tellers, and a Q&A with artist/activist Robert Shetterly. This is a free event but registration is required (the link to register and receive the Zoom information is below).
“Artist/activist Robert Shetterly has painted 255 portraits of Americans, past and present, who had the moral courage to confront issues of social, environmental and economic justice. These Americans Who Tell the Truth have been exhibited throughout the United States for almost two decades. Truth Tellers is both a story of Shetterly’s art and activism and a history lesson in what it means to be a citizen of a democracy. In bringing Shetterly’s message to a wide audience, Truth Tellers will spark a national conversation on truth telling.”
Attached is the poster for the event (which features Shetterly's painting of Bayard Rustin). Here is a link to the film website, which includes a trailer and additional information.
Learn more through the JMU Calendar Link. Registration is required to get the Zoom link—please register with this link.
The event is being held in honor of the life and legacy of Dr. Terry Beitzel.
Partners co-sponsoring this event include: the Department of Justice Studies; the Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence; the African, African-American, and Diaspora Studies Center (AAAD); the Center for Multicultural Student Services, Community Service-Learning, the Cohen Center for the Humanities, and the Honors College.
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Feb 3 | 12pm | Virtual Shelf Life
In partnership with the Virginia Center for the Book at Virginia Humanities, the Racial Terror Project in JMU Justice Studies, and the Maryland Center for the Book at Maryland Humanities presents Charles L. Chavis, Jr. (The Silent Shore: The Lynching of Matthew Williams and the Politics of Racism in the Free State) as he shares a more complete narrative of a human life taken by lynching in Salisbury, Md., in 1931. Chavis worked from previously undiscovered documents to reconstruct the full story of one of the last lynchings in Maryland, including the politically-driven aftermath which led to the state’s Interracial Commission, a pioneering force in the early civil rights movement.
Please register to take part on Zoom or simply make plans to watch the livestream on Facebook.com/VaBookFest. This event will offer closed captions and an accompanying live transcript using Zoom’s built-in automatic speech recognition software (ASR). To request live-captioning accommodations, please write vabook@virginia.edu no later than seven days before the event. A video recording from this event will be provided soon after completion and an accurate transcript will be available at a later date, at VaBook.org/watch.
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February 16-19 | 12th Annual African, African American & Diaspora Studies (AAAD) Interdisciplinary Conference: “Voices of Race, Modes of Advocacy” | Virtual
The AAAD Studies Center presents the 12th Annual AAAD Studies Interdisciplinary Conference virtually February 16-19. “Voices of Race, Modes of Advocacy” features keynote speaker, Dorothy Roberts and featured speaker, Andrea Ritchie.
February 16 | 10-11:15am | Featured Speaker: Andrea Ritchie | Virtual
February 16 | 11:30-1pm | Sisters in Session Plenary Panel | Virtual
February 16 | 3:00-4:30pm | CVPA Presentation | Virtual
February 16 | 5pm | Furious Flower Poetry Reading: Khadijah Queen | Virtual
February 17 | 10-11:30am | ODU Plenary Session | Virtual
February 17 | 4-5:30pm | Mary Awkard Fairfax Exhibit | Simms Center in Harrisonburg (In-Person)
February 18 | 10-11:30am | Keynote: Dorothy Roberts | Virtual
February 19 | 10-11:30am | ASW Panel | Virtual
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Feb 24 | 3-4pm | Virtual
Gandhi Center - Bystander Intervention to Stop Police-Sponsored Violence and Anti-Black Racist Harassment
Register in advance for this webinar
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Description:
In this interactive session, we will train people on how to safely intervene in the face of police violence and anti-Black racism using Hollaback!’s 5D’s of bystander intervention. We’ll start by talking about the types of violence and racism Black folks are facing right now — from microaggressions to murder — using a tool we call the “spectrum of racism.” We’ll talk about how anti-Black racism is so ingrained into the fabric of our society that we see it present in all forms, from everyday tasks or activities to larger societal institutions. We’ll discuss the deep impact harassment, violence, and constant threat of violence has on Black communities. You’ll learn what to look for and the positive impact that bystander intervention has on individuals and communities. We’ll talk through five strategies for intervention: distract, delegate, document, delay, and direct; and how to prioritize your own safety while intervening. We’ll also talk about what to do if you’re a person of color worried the violence will turn on you and how to avoid being a “White savior.” We’ll have time at the end for practice, and you’ll leave feeling more confident intervening the next time you see police sponsored, anti-Black harassment or violence.
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March 3 | 4-5:30pm | Beitzel Lecture Series | Wilson Auditorium
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April 7 | 4-5:15pm | Virtual
Gandhi Center - Bystander Intervention to Stop Anti-Asian/American and Xenophobic Harassment
Register in advance for this webinar
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Description:
This interactive training will teach you Right to Be’s 5Ds of bystander intervention methodology. We’ll start by talking about the types of disrespect that Asian and Asian American folks are facing right now — from microaggressions to violence — using a tool we call the “spectrum of disrespect.” You’ll learn what to look for and the positive impact that bystander intervention has on individuals and communities. We’ll talk through five strategies for intervention: distract, delegate, document, delay, and direct; and how to prioritize your own safety while intervening. We’ll have time at the end for practice, and you’ll leave feeling more confident intervening the next time you see Anti-Asian/American harassment online or in person.
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April 7 | Beitzel Symposium | 6-7:30pm | Virtual
