Pitt to present online discussion about race, protests and covid-19

Conversations about race and its role in American history will be had at an online installment of the University of Pittsburgh’s American Experience Distinguished Lecture Series Tuesday evening.

The discussion, “Will Race Always Matter?” is set for 7 p.m. via Zoom. It is free and registration is required.

Larry E. Davis, dean emeritus of the School of Social Work, and Donald M. Henderson, professor emeritus and founding director of the Center for Race and Social Problems, will examine how the nation continues to absorb the impact of protests against police shootings of unarmed black men and women.

They are also expected to discuss how the covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted Black and brown people, according to a release by the university.

“This country is facing probably the greatest racial crisis since the Civil War. Race and the topic of it and issues surrounding it threaten to dissolve the country,” Davis said. “It’s a difficult time for America, it’s at some crossroads, it really has some decisions to make about whether we remain, in some respect, a democracy, given the changing demographics of the country.”

The lecture is sponsored by the Dick Thornburgh Forum for Law and Public Policy and the Pitt Honors College, and co-sponsored by the School of Social Work, Center on Race and Social Problems and Institute of Politics.

It was originally scheduled for the spring, but was postponed with the pandemic.

Chancellor Emeritus Mark Nordenberg said developments in recent months have made the upcoming discussion even more important.

“The African American experience is an extremely important part of the American experience,” Nordenberg said. “Davis has devoted much of his life to the study of race and is one of the country’s most insightful and respected experts on this subject, which is so central to life in our country. His writings include both scholarly publications and works intended for more general audiences.”

More information about the lecture can be found at calendar.pitt.edu.