Amid calls to address institutionalized and systemic racism in the United States, the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) is launching a yearlong webinar series, “Racism in America.” The series kicks off with “Policing and Incarceration,” Sept. 16 at 7 p.m.

The event, in partnership with Cornell Law School, will be moderated by Marc Lacey ’87, national editor for The New York Times and the inaugural A&S Distinguished Visiting Journalist. All webinars in the series are free and the public is invited; registration is required.

Co-hosted by the American Studies Program, the series is supported by Alumni Affairs and Development, Diversity Alumni Programs, and eCornell. Other colleges will be partnering on individual events throughout the year.

The series will feature Cornell faculty whose research examines how racism is embedded in U.S. education systems, criminal justice systems, the health care system, electoral politics, the economy and government policies. Panelists will draw upon a variety of disciplines to discuss research-based solutions and best practices for combating racism’s continuing presence and for improving equity.

“The ‘Racism in America’ series will focus on the impact of racism on many of our core systems and institutions that, taken together, are crucial for fully understanding terms like citizenship, democracy, equality and freedom,” said organizer Noliwe Rooks, the W.E.B. Du Bois Professor of Literature in Africana studies and director of the American Studies Program in A&S.

“While it is not uncommon for both institutions and individuals to proclaim their support for ‘diversity and inclusion’ efforts,” Rooks said, “this webinar series will explain why we must reckon with the continuing realities of racism before we can fully move forward as a nation.”

“As the college that’s home to most of Cornell’s academic programs focusing on the study of class, race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality, we felt it was important to bring faculty experts together in a public forum, at this moment, to discuss the far-reaching impact of racism,” said Tricia Ritterbusch Barry, director of communications in A&S. “Our series focuses not only on the effects of institutionalized racism and the history that brought us to this moment, but also asks participants to propose and discuss solutions.”

The panelists for the debut webinar will be: Peter Enns, associate professor of government (A&S) and executive director of the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research; Sabrina Karim, the Hardis Family Assistant Professor of Government (A&S); Anna Haskins, assistant professor of sociology (A&S); and Joseph Margulies, professor of practice in both the Law School and the Department of Government (A&S).

The webinar will address how racism came to be so enmeshed in policing and incarceration in the U.S., and why efforts aimed at ameliorating its impact so often fail. Participants will discuss what is meant by ‘prison abolition’ and ‘police defunding,’ why racism matters and possible ways for the country to move forward. An audience Q&A will follow the panel.

The second webinar, “Residential and Educational Segregation,” will be held mid-November. The spring semester will feature three webinars: “Protest Movements and Civil Disobedience”; “Health Care Inequities”; and “Race and the Economy.”

Linda B. Glaser is the news and media relations manager for the College of Arts & Sciences.