Join us for an enlightening free Social Justice Program featuring speakers who will address the pressing issue of reparations for descendants of former slaves in the United States. This complex topic will be presented from various perspectives, encouraging thoughtful discourse and fostering understanding to move beyond knee-jerk reactions and toward meaningful engagement.

Speakers:

Jean-Pierre Brutus, PhD., Senior Counsel, Economic Justice Program, NJ Institute for Social Justice.  Dr. Brutus is a senior counsel in the Economic Justice Program at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. He leads the Institute’s reparations advocacy. He was a member of the Reparations Narrative Lab and represented the Institute as a community fellow on the Rutgers- Newark Crafting Democratic Futures Project on community dialogues on reparations. Prior to joining the Institute, Jean-Pierre worked at Legal Services NYC, where he represented Bronx tenants facing eviction as part of New York City’s right to counsel program. Jean-Pierre is a graduate of Georgetown University. He earned his PhD in African American Studies and JD from Northwestern University.

Kelly Harris, PhD., Senior Staff Director, Center for Africana Studies, University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Harris holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Clark Atlanta University, an MA in Black Studies from The Ohio State University, and a BA in African American Studies from Temple University. A Philly native, Kelly was Associate Professor of African American Studies at Chicago State University prior to serving as Director of Africana Studies at Seton Hall. Kelly has tremendous experience (re)building Africana Studies programs. He also remains an active researcher, with scholarly interests at the intersection of African politics, globalization and neoliberal development, and an emerging interest in 19th century Black social scientists.