Atlas Week Events
The 22nd Annual Sam and Marilyn Fox Atlas Week program will be held April 3-9, 2022. Please see the full schedule of events below.
Monday, April 12
Leah Clyburn on Environmental Racism
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Attend on Zoom
Join SLU’s Center for Service and Community Engagement and SLU’s Wilderness Adventure Club to hear speaker Leah Clyburn, organizer of Beyond Coal and Sierra Club Missouri, discuss environmental racism and how Missouri environmental policies and procedures have affected the black and brown communities in Saint Louis. Read the official Sierra Club report on environmental racism in St. Louis and get a taste of the topics that will be discussed.
The Global Impact of BLM with Djamila Ribeiro
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
The School of Social Work welcomes Assessoria Djamila Ribeiro, a Brazilian author, philosopher and leader of Black Lives Matter activism, specifically as it pertains to the intersection of gender and race. Djamila Ribeiro will share their experience and expertise to contextualize the Black Lives Matter movement as an international occurrence. Following Djamila Ribeiro’s presentation, St. Louis activist Mina Aria and Saint Louis University student leader Aric Hamilton will detail tangible ways to become involved with BLM in St. Louis and within the SLU campus community.
Colorism in South Asia: How Minority Ethnic Groups in Pakistan Face Discrimination Due to Their Skin-tone
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Attend on Zoom
Password: 390297
The Pakistani Student Association hopes to educate the SLU community on the effects that colorism has within both the South Asian society and at large. Colorism has worked to create not only social division but class division as well. With Pakistan having the most amount of people who are a part of the African-diaspora in South Asia, there are some minority ethnic groups in Pakistan that face social and systemic economic discrimination on the basis of colorism. Not only does this event hope to educate audience members on the impact colorism has made - especially in Pakistan - but also to ignite a sense of introspective reflection on how colorism impacts one’s world-view and/or day-to-day interactions. This event will be a mix of educating audience members through using various mediums, including videos, while also incorporating some (virtual) interaction.
Coffee and Conversation on Corporate Activism
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Corporations are quick to jump on political and social bandwagons, but do you think they should? Are their efforts helping movements or profiting off of performative activism without action? Join Political Round Table to discuss these questions and more as we talk about corporate activism on April 12!
Brown Skin, White Minds: Filipino -/ American Postcolonial Psychology
6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Attend on Zoom
Password: FSA
In this event hosted by the Filipino Student Association, Dr. E.J.R. David will present his work on how colonialism and its inherent racism may lead to colonial mentality among many oppressed peoples. The presentation will also explore the adverse psychological implications of colonial mentality through the lens of the Filipinx experience.
Dr. David is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Alaska Anchorage. He was born in Metro Manila, Philippines, and his research interests often encompass the intersection between psychology, ethnicity and oppression. He has presented in various states on ethnic minority, Asian American, and Filipino American psychology since 2002. To learn more about Dr. David and his published works, visit his website.
Tuesday, April 13
Post-Covid Global Health
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Attend on Zoom
Password: INMED
The COVID-19 pandemic has decimated populations through illness, augmented racism and has undercut the structures of society necessary to maintain health. In the aftermath of the pandemic, health leaders will need to undertake broad approaches to improve disease intervention, build healthy cross-cultural relations, and also address education and economic growth. This presentation challenges the participant to apply these broad concepts and supplies examples of effective pandemic relief coupled with community development.
Underrepresented, Understudied, Underserved: Gaps and Opportunities for Advancing Justice in Rural Disadvantaged Communities of California
What Does Social Justice Mean to You? A Collective Autoethnography
4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
APIDA Allyship of the Black Community
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Attend on Zoom
Password: 176680
This event will be a community discussion about how Asian Americans can be allies to the Black community and the history of the relationship between the Black community and the Asian American community, both negative and positive. The discussion will be led by a researched presentation in addition to a panel of speakers from the Asian American Association, Black Student Association, the Center for Global Citizenship, and other knowledgeable individuals.
Wednesday, April 14
The Economic Impact on People of Color
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
The Dean's Student Advisory Board for the School of Business will be evaluating the effects of loan accessibility for people of color in Saint Louis and the United States. This presentation will detail the pre- and post-COVID-19 effects of loan accessibility and will feature two guest speakers from Habitat for Neighborhood Business.
Alex García: A Pathway to Citizenship - Social Justice, Human Rights and Diversity in our Saint Louis Community
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Attend on Zoom
Password: 750810
Alex García, an undocumented immigrant from Honduras, has been living in sanctuary at Christ Church UCC in Maplewood for over three years in immigration limbo. Recently the Inter-Faith Council on Latin America (IFCLA) made a short documentary (30 mins) about Alex's situation. The Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures will be screening this documentary, which will be followed by a presentation. This event brings to light social justice, equity and inclusion in relations to asylum seekers and immigration in the St. Louis area. It also sheds light on the Latino community, their identities and their role and relevance in the composition of the population in the Saint Louis area. It also brings to the forefront the role of churches in the protection of human rights when they are questioned (or threatened) by governments. The documentary’s filmmaker and members of IFCLA will be present to discuss their experience and answer questions.
Thursday, April 15
Conversations on Race, Inequality and Celebration
12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
What is important when having conversations about race, inequality and celebration? Discussions about these topics are happening increasingly often, but what is most imperative to remember when having them? Political Round Table wants to answer these questions with your input. Stop by the clock tower on April 15 to give your thoughts for an interactive project.
Intersectional Advocacy
6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Attend on Zoom
Password: identity
This event, hosted by the Filipino Student Association and Pilipino American Unity for Progress, Inc. (UniPro), is an interactive workshop centering around identity issues that marginalized communities (BIPOC, LGBTQ, AAPI) face, but with an emphasis on the Filipinx American experience. In this workshop, we will reflect on our experiences and learn to recognize how rights, privileges and power materialize in our own identities. We will define the meaning of intersectionality and how our social identities are interconnected, overlapping with independent systems of power that put those in certain communities at a disadvantage. We will further discuss how we can commit to moving forward, advocating within our communities, and advocating for ourselves as well as others. UniPro is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to organizing, building, and empowering the Pilipino American community through education, advocacy, and collaboration. Through their chapters in New York, San Diego, Chicago, Seattle and Texas, they work across state lines, generations, demographics, issues and topics to break down the barriers that stand between communities and progress. Ultimately, UniPro asks Pilipino Americans to critically answer, “How do you define Progress?”
Friday, April 16
Billiken World Festival Food Truck Rally
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Location: TBD
Virtual Billiken World Festival
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
The Billiken World Festival is a celebration of global diversity and features performances from student organizations on campus such as K:ODE, Astha Acapella, XQuizit, RAAS and many more!
Twenty-First Annual Atlas Week Signature Symposium
5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Register for the Signature Symposium
The Atlas Week Signature Symposium is a keynote address presented by internationally renowned speakers who have dedicated their lives to issues of political and social justice. The Signature Symposium speaker for Atlas Week 2021 is race and gender justice activist Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu. This event is free and open to the public.