This weeklong, international conference, comprised of 54 artists, activists, alumni, students and scholars, draws its inspiration from the United Nations resolution (43/1). Adopted by its Human Rights Council on June 19, 2020, the resolution calls for the "promotion and protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Africans and of people of African descent against excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officers." This multifaceted event, convened by a campus-wide Dartmouth collective, explores this complex, difficult and urgent issue through a series of discussions, art exhibits and films.

Co-hosted by the Hopkins Center for the Arts

View the Symposium Conveners and Sponsors   

About the Symposium

Police violence—however broadly or narrowly conceptualized—is a long-standing, global and multiscalar issue, one lived and suffered on an intersectional basis by people constituted in societies as "suitable enemies:" the symbol and targets of all societal anxieties and ills. The recent cases in Brazil, France, Nigeria, the U.S.A., and Uganda reflect a broader geography of state-driven police violence, largely inflicted on BIPOC peoples worldwide. At the same time, the specificity and resurgence of antiblack racist ideologies and violence "against Africans and people of African descent" have resulted in the United Nations resolution (43/1), adopted by its Human Rights Council. The Council strongly condemned the "continuing racially discriminatory and violent practices perpetrated by law enforcement agencies against Africans and people of African descent," following "urgent debates" on "current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protests." Concurrently, the Council reaffirmed its guiding principles of "promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all," principles central to this gathering.

For questions about the Symposium, please email Trica Keaton, Mary Coffey or Lisa Meehan.

 

Schedule

Opening: Monday, April 5th

All times are ET

7 PM: Welcome Session. Learn More >

• Performance and film by Daniel Bernard Roumain: violinist, composer and Roth Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Dartmouth College

• Keynote Address "The Role of Race: The Practice of Pivoting to Police as Problem-Solvers in Uncertain Times" by Dominique Day, Founder/Director, DAYLIGHT Chair, UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, introduced by Lisa Baldez, Dartmouth College

• Watch this session on YouTube >

Day 2: Tuesday, April 6

7 PM: Police Violence: Mapping, Sound, and Surveillance, moderated by Jacqueline Wernimont, Dartmouth College

• Roopika Risam: Chair of Secondary and Higher Education and Associate Professor of Education and English at Salem State University, Public Scholar and Digital Humanist

• Samuel Sinyangwe: Policy Analyst and Data Scientist, Mapping Police Violence and Campaign Zero

• Daphne Carr: Co-organizer Clevelanders Against Federal Policing, Cuyahoga County Jail Coalition; PhD student working on police sound violence, New York University

• Kirby Phares: Dartmouth '21, Quantitative Social Science and volunteer with MappingPoliceViolence.org

Day 3: Wednesday, April 7

4 PM: Police Violence, White Supremacy, and the Capitol Insurrection: Historical Precedents, Current Responses, and Future Implications, moderated by Julia Rabig, Dartmouth College

• Christopher Everett: Filmmaker of Wilmington on Fire, Communications Manager, Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University

• Ayanna Alexander: Social Justice Reporter, Bloomberg Industry Group

• Simon Balto: Assistant Professor, History and African American Studies, The University of Iowa

7 PM: Keynote Address "Building A World Where Breonna Taylor Would Still Be Here" by Andrea J. Ritchie, Researcher in Residence on Race, Gender, Sexuality and Criminalization at Barnard College, introduced by Mary Coffey, Dartmouth College

Day 4: Thursday, April 8

7 PM: A conversation on the film Rodney King with writer and star Roger Guenveur Smith and Monica White Ndounou, Dartmouth College. Learn More >

• This conversation is free for all to watch on YouTube, no registration is required. Rodney King is available now to watch on Netflix. Symposium attendees will receive a private Netflix screening link upon registration.

Day 5: Friday, April 9

3 PM: Hood Gallery Talk: The Soul Has Bandaged Moments by Kensington Cochran '20
 
5 PM: Art and the Transfiguration of Police Violence, moderated by Kimberly Juanita Brown and Mary Coffey, Dartmouth College

• Nicole Fleetwood: Professor, American Studies, Rutgers University

• Iyabo Kwayana: Dartmouth College in conversation with artist Mikael Owunna

7 PM: Keynote Address: "I AM a child": A Girl-child's Truth and the Lies of Law Enforcement, by Nikki Jones, Professor of African American Studies at University of California, Berkeley, introduced by Deborah King, Dartmouth College

Day 6: Saturday, April 10

9 AM: Protesting Police Violence and Anti-Blackness: The View from Africa, moderated by Laura Edmondson, Abigail Neely, and Adedoyin S. Ogunfeyimi, Dartmouth College

• Moses Ochonu: Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of History at Vanderbilt University

• Stella Nyanzi: A multiple award-winning medical anthropologist with specialization in sexual and reproductive health, sexual rights and human sexualities in Uganda and the Gambia. She self-identifies as a radical queer feminist scholar, social justice activist, human rights defender, non-violent protester, poet, Facebooker, and opposition politician.

• Abiodun Sanusi: Abiodun Sanusi is a Nigerian investigative and citizen journalist, writer and human rights activist. He self-identifies as a nonconformist and sociopolitical reformer. On August 5, 2020, he was arrested by the Nigerian secret police (DSS) and was detained in solitary confinement for four days. He has been a leading voice against police brutality, and he participated in the recent infamous #EndSARS protest. He was attacked by the police and military on the night of October 20, 2020.

11 AM: Police Violence, Racial Profiling, and Class Action in a "Raceblind" France, moderated by Trica Keaton, Dartmouth College

• Omer Mas Capitolin, Founder of Community House for Supportive Development (Maison communautaire pour un développement solidaire)

• Slim Ben Achour, Attorney, specializing in equality and discrimination in France

• Lanna Hollo, Senior Legal Officer, Open Society Justice Initiative

• Judith Sunderland, Associate Director, Europe and Central Asia Division, Human Rights Watch

• Videos: Equality Betrayed: The Impact of Racial Profiling (L'égalité trahie: l'impact des contrôles au faciès)  by Open Society Foundations (4:18m) and Abusive Police Stops in France Target Black and Arab Children as Young as 10 by Human Rights Watch (4:39m)

 
2 PM: A Dream Deported: Race, Crime, and Removal in Transnational Haiti, moderated by Chelsey Kivland, Dartmouth College

• Gladys Mayard: Founder of Centre de Recherche et de Service Socio Humanitaire (CRESHM) and Director of the Deportation Research Collective based at Dartmouth College and Université d'État d'Haïti.

• Mackenson Jean Louis: Director of DipsOrg, Deportees in Progress Services Organization and member of the Deportation Research Collective based at Dartmouth College and Université d'État d'Haïti

• James Fortuna: Graduate Student in Anthropology at Université d'État d'Haïti and Member of the Deportation Research Collective at Dartmouth College and Université d'État d'Haïti

• Sheen Kim '23: Undergraduate Student at Dartmouth College and member of the Deportation Research Collective linked with the Université d'État d'Haïti

• Rothschild Toussaint '23: Native of Haiti, Undergraduate Student at Dartmouth College, Member of the Deportation Research Collective Linked with the Université d'État d'Haïti. 

4 PM: Police Violence in Brazil, organized and moderated by Christen Smith, University of Texas, at Austin and Kimberly Juanita Brown

• Christen Smith: Associate Professor of Anthropology and African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin

• Amarílis Costa: Lawyer, Professor of Law and Public Management, President of the Undergraduate, Graduate and Research Commission of the Brazilian Bar Association, São Paulo State Chapter (Advogada, professora de Direito e Gestão Pública, presidenta da Comissão de Graduação, Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa da OAB-SP)

• Martine Jean: Visiting Fellow and 2019-2020 Mark Claster Mamolen Fellow, Harvard University

Closing: Day 7: Sunday, April 11

3 PM: Police Violence: The Lived Experiences of Dartmouth Alumnae and Students, moderated by Angela Brizant (OPAL) and Felicia Swoope (Artivism), Dartmouth College 

• Khymaya A. Perkins '20: Emerging Leader Development Program at Vanguard. Proud member of the Union County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Board Member on the Dartmouth Women's Rugby Advisory Board, and Director of Strategy and Operations for the 2020 Class Executive Committee

• Miles M. Battle '21: Dartmouth College Senior, Sociology/African and African American Studies, Brother of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Member of the Dean of the College Student Advisory Board, Member of Palaeopitus Senior Society among other activities.

• Monik W. Walters '19: First Black Female Student Body President, NAACP Co-President, COSO, Palaeopitus, D-Step, Ujima, Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. - East Kings County Alumnae Chapter, Freelancer/Brooklyn Community Volunteer, Dartmouth Association of Alumni - Executive Committee of ThisDayAndTheNext

5 PM: Closing Session: Artivism Artist Cypher with ARRAY's LEAP, the Law Enforcement Accountability Project. Learn More >

• Jocelyn Jackson: Founder JUSTUS Kitchen, co-founder of the People's Kitchen Collective (PKC)

• W.J. Lofton: Poet, writer, editor, director and songwriter centering his work on the intersections of Black queer identity

• Steven John Irby: co-owner, co-founder and director of Street Dreams Magazine

• The 4th and upcoming artist grantee will be unveiled at this event.

• The Artivism Artist Cypher is free for all to watch on YouTube, no registration is required.

Watch Events Related to the Symposium 

Available on demand

• Hop Film: Women in Blue shines a spotlight on the women within the Minneapolis Police Department. (Free, on demand April 5–19)

• Hop Film: Wilmington on Fire unpacks the truth behind the little-known 1898 Wilmington Massacre, the only successful coup d'etat on American soil. (Free, on demand April 5–19)

• Arab and Black Representations in the film Colorblind: Banlieue Representations in French Cinema by Lobna Jbeniani '23.  For instructions on viewing the film, please email Trica.Keaton@dartmouth.edu or Lobna.Jbeniani.23@dartmouth.edu

• Daniel Bernard Roumain: composer, violinist, activist and Roth Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Dartmouth - Requiem for the Living, In Color and 8:46

Symposium Conveners & Sponsors

Conveners

Lisa Baldez
Angela Brizant
Kimberly Juanita Brown
Mary K. Coffey
Laura Edmondson
Johanna Evans '10
Jessica Hong
Amelia Kahl
Trica Keaton
Deborah King
Chelsey L. Kivland
Iyabo Kwayana
Abigail H. Neely
Adedoyin S. Ogunfeyimi
Donald E. Pease Jr.
Julia Rabig
Sydney Stowe
Felicia Swoope '91
Jacqueline Wernimont

Sponsors

African and African American Studies • Anthropology • Art History • Consortium of Studies in Race, Migration, and Sexuality (RMS) • Dartmouth House Communities (Allen, East Wheelock, North Park, School, South, & West) • Dartmouth Library • Digital Humanities and Social Engagement (DHSE) • English and Creative Writing • Ethics Institute • Film and Media Studies • French and Italian • Geography • Hood Museum of Art • Hopkins Center for the Arts • John Sloan Dickey Center • Latin American, Latino, & Caribbean Studies • Leslie Center for the Humanities • Master of Arts in Liberal Studies Program (MALS) • Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program • Offices of the Associate Dean of Faculty for the Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies • Office of Pluralism and Leadership (OPAL) • Offices of the President, Provost, and Deans • Shabazz Center for Intellectual Inquiry • Sociology • Women's Gender, & Sexuality Studies

Photo courtesy of Enrico Riley and Jenkins Johnson Gallery