Past Events, 2020-21

Spring 2021

Africa From the Ground Reporting on Cultural Bridges and Human Movement 
May 4, 2021

Salym Fayad discusses his work as a journalist for Latin American media outlets across sub-Saharan Africa, including his coverage of migration from Africa to Europe and of initiatives to increase South-South cultural exchange between Africa and Latin America.

Salym Fayad is an independent reporter, documentary photographer, and cultural producer from Bogota, Colombia, based in Johannesburg, South Africa, since 2008. He has worked extensively in Sub-Saharan Africa covering issues rel​ated to music and popular culture, armed conflict, migration, and human rights. He currently works on a collaborative multimedia project documenting life stories and cultural practices among the Somali community in Mayfair, Johannesburg, and the diaspora. 

The event will be in Spanish and moderated by students enrolled in Better than Fiction: Journalism in Latin America. It is sponsored by President Oliver’s Racial Justice Initiative.

Stop Asian Hate

The Fight Against AAPI Racism & Violence
April 26, 2021

A conversation with Cynthia Choi, co-executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action, a community-based civil rights organization in San Francisco, which aims to advance racial justice, economic justice, education equity, and immigrant rights and Karthick Ramakrishnan, a professor of public policy and political science at the University of California, Riverside, and founding director of its Center for Social Innovation.

True Equity: Color in the Ivory Tower
April 7, 2021

True Equity: Color in the Ivory Tower, the second of the four-part series, will be a frank conversation about the state of diversity at Pitzer College and in higher education will be led by Pitzer Associate Dean and Professor Adrian Pantoja. Panelists include Ahmed Alwishah, professor of philosophy; Mita Banerjee, professor of psychology; Muriel Poston, professor of environmental analysis; Maria Soldatenko, associate professor of Chicana/o-Latina/o transnational studies; and Linus Yamane, professor of economics.

Salmon, Karuk Culture, and Environmental Decline
April 6, 2021

A conversation with Kari Norgaard, Professor of Sociology at the University of Oregon and recent Chair of the Environmental Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association. The talk discussed the topic of her recent scholarship, produced collaboratively with Karuk Elder Ron Reed, which includes the article: “How environmental decline restructures indigenous gender practices: What happens to Karuk masculinity when there are no fish?” and the book, Salmon and Acorns Feed Our People: Colonialism, Nature and Social Action

The talk was sponsored by the Melvin L. Oliver Racial Justice Initiative and was held in conjunction with Sociology 01: Intro to Sociology, Professor Erich Steinman.

Getting to the Core | Imagine What Can Be!
April 2, 2021

With Je Naé Taylor, cultural organizer for the Highlander Research and Education Center.

Series organized by CEC, CAPAS and the Writing Center in collaboration with Margo Okazawa-Rey

Hip Hop and the Poetics of Protest
March 15

A conversation with Derik Smith, Professor of Literature at Claremont McKenna College and chair of the Intercollegiate Department of Africana Studies at the Claremont Colleges, and Pitzer Senior and LYBL Records founder Kaylyn “Kay” Wright, on Hip Hop and the Poetics of Protest.

A Melvin L. Oliver Racial Justice Initiative & Pitzer College Art Galleries Collaboration

Afrolatinidad & Writing: A Conversation with Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro

March 3, 2021

This is an exciting event for everyone interested in knowing more about Afrolatinx cultures. Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro joins us for a conversation about her experience as an Afro-Latinx and queer author.  

This conversation with Ms. Arroyo Pizarro is supported by the Melvin L. Oliver Racial Justice Initiative Committee.

Combating the Prison Industrial Complex: Lessons from the Frontlines

March 2, 2021


Join Tyee Griffith, founding manager of the Justice Education Initiative at The Claremont Colleges, in discussion with Cal Poly Pomona Professor of Political Science Renford Reese.

Protest Songs in the Struggle for Social Justice
How the music of Ramon “Chunky” Sanchez energized the Chicano Civil Rights Movement

February 12, 2021

View the poster [PDF]

Video presentation available at: https://youtu.be/YCsYRFHT53Y

A Melvin L. Oliver Racial Justice Initiative & Pitzer College Art Galleries Collaboration

Radically Imagining Our Futures

Getting to the Core: Radically Imagining Our Futures with Nick Daily

February 5, 2021

Supported by the RJI Center funding and organized by CEC, the Writing Center and CAPAS.

Fall 2020

Bachelor's Degree Pathway for Incarcerated Students


Nationwide Launch of Pitzer Inside-Out Pathway-to-BA for Incarcerated Student

December 10, 2020

Video of the ceremonial “college acceptance letter” and memorandum of understanding signing event with key speakers, including Pitzer College President Melvin L. Oliver, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Superintendent Shannon Swain from the Office of Correctional Education and admitted students from CRC.

The 2020 Election: What Happened, What Comes Next?

The 2020 Election: What Happened, What Comes Next?

November 23, 2020

Watch the video and read the transcript of the event.

PItzer@Home with Father Gregory Boyle

Father Gregory Boyle in Conversation: The Power of Boundless Compassion and Radical Kinship

November 17, 2020

In collaboration with Pitzer@Home

Watch the video and read the transcript of the event.

The Rainbow Wave and the 2020 Election

The Rainbow Wave and the 2020 Election

October 15, 2020

Watch the video and read the transcript of the event.

Racial Justice in Our Time: A Conversation with Activist Scholars

Racial Justice in Our Time: A Conversation with Activist Scholar

September 10, 2020

Watch the video and read the transcript of the inaugural event.