Cabrini Invites Community To Campus Discussion of Race In America

RADNOR TOWNSHIP, PA — Cabrini University's mission is to challenge students to create social justice, and the university on Wednesday afternoon is hosting an in-person panel discussion on race issues in America toward that end.

The discussion, among other topics, will consider the effect on Black women, of the men in their lives being incarcerated at high rates.

Cabrini's second Community Common Hour of the fall 2020 semester will feature a discussion on "Race in America," convening three local social, educational, and legal experts on Wednesday, Sept. 16, from 2-3:30 p.m in Widener Hall.

Moderated by Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Chioma Ugochukwu, Ph.D., the panel will consider inequities in American education, immigration, and criminal justice, as well as recent news tied to these themes.

"We are at a moment in the country that is ripe for the examination of inequities in all aspects of social life," Ugochukwu said. "As an institution with a social justice mission, it seems appropriate that Cabrini ought to participate in the conversations around racial justice and lead in efforts to seek solutions to some of these systemic issues."

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the nation has seen its most deep-rooted divides in race and socio-economic status laid bare, illuminating stark imbalances in many communities’ access to education and healthcare, as well as safe and just policing, Ugochukwu said.

The discussion will feature the voices of three Black women whose work has created positive change for students and their families in the Philadelphia area:

• Keir Bradford-Grey, a Chief Defender with the Defender Association of Philadelphia, who works to eradicate wrongful convictions, while establishing productive re-entry paths for incarcerated people.
• Zakia Y. Gates, PhD, an Assistant Professor of Teacher Education at Cabrini, who leans on a wealth of post-secondary and K-12 teaching experience to guide her research and pedagogy in matters of critical race theory, social justice, and Black female empowerment, among others.
• Andrea Lawful-Sanders, a WURD radio host, WHYY contributor, former superintendent and school board member whose programs advocated for greater student access to higher education and upward mobility, particularly for Black students in Montgomery County.

"These women are right for this critical conversation, because they are well-versed in the issues and will not offer surface solutions," Ugochukwu said. "They are doers who have done their part to effect change and implement policies that have directly and positively impacted Americans and society at large."

A main focus for the panel, in addition to discussing the best paths to positive and equitable educational outcomes, will be to examine the role of education in improving the collective understanding of day-to-day inequalities faced by Black people.

The conversation will also aim to explore the trauma of Black women whose male partners and sons are the victims of police brutality and disproportionately incarcerated.

"It is important to me, as a Black woman, to have this conversation with other women," said Ugochukwu. "Too often, the impact of systemic racism on Black women is not given enough attention; neither is the importance of including Black women in finding solutions. Women withstand the worst of the trauma that results from the killing and incarceration of their intimate partners and sons. They suffer the psychological and economic impact of the fallout from these crises."