The coronavirus pandemic crisis, which has disproportionately impacted Black and Brown communities coupled with the Black Lives Matter demonstrations against police brutality after the death of George Floyd, cast the coming presidential election as a defining moment for the future of our democracy.
The question remains: How can a Black and Brown coalition save and shape American democracy in this election and beyond?
That question will be answered by Ian Haney López, the Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Law at the University of California Berkeley, who specializes in critical race theory. Lopez will deliver the keynote address at The PuLSE Institute Literary Circle, an online conversation series with authors whose books are making impact in the literary world on Monday, October 26, 4-5:30pm. His address will be followed by a Q&A session which will be moderated by Bankole Thompson, the editor-in-chief of The PuLSE Institute. To register for the forum which is free and open to the public visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/berkeley-law-professor-ian-haney-lopez-to-keynote-pulse-literary-circle-tickets-125738472155.
Lopez will discuss his latest book, Merge Left: Fusing Race and Class, Winning Elections, and Saving America, where he explains how the political manipulation of coded racism has evolved in the Trump era, while also offering an evidence-based approach to neutralizing political racism and building cross-racial solidarity.
The PuLSE Literary Circle is a high profile forum conversation and keynote with authors whose books on issues of social change are making indelible impact across the global literary landscape. The thrust of the forum is to promote critical literature that represents a diverse cultural landscape in the age of a multiracial democracy.
“Ian Haney López is a remarkable voice in the world of critical race theory and how our shared political interests can form a greater coalition in determining the future of our democracy,” said Attorney Tina M. Patterson, the president of The PuLSE Institute. “His thorough analysis on the damaging effects of race in politics explains the current setting of our divisive political climate, but his equally compelling analysis on shared class settings provides a hopeful and practical solution for a greater understanding of how to shape policy that will allow for more equitable and expansive socioeconomic opportunities for all, especially traditionally marginalized Black and Brown populations.”
Patterson added, “The PuLSE Institute is honored to host Professor López for this event and to expose his crucial work to our diverse audience as we continue our mission to support anti-poverty policies and strive toward a more equitable and just society.”
López, who teaches in the areas of race and constitutional law and the author of several books, is one of the nation’s leading thinkers on how racism has evolved since the civil rights era. His current research emphasizes the connection between racial divisions in society and growing wealth inequality in the United States. In Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class (2014), López detailed the fifty-year history of how politicians exploit racial pandering to fracture social solidarity and ultimately to convince many voters to support rule by the rich.
He is also the author of White by Law as well as Racism on Trial, books that respectively critique the legal construction of white and Latinx racial identity.
He has been a visiting law professor at Yale, New York University, and Harvard, and holds a master’s degree in history from Washington University, a master’s in public policy from Princeton, and a law degree from Harvard.
