Episcopal Divinity School

America's Hidden Caste System

On Wednesday, February 24, EDS at Union hosted a virtual panel discussion that focuses on Isabel Wilkerson’s New York Times-bestseller Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. Our panelists will discuss the history and themes explored by the book, and what Ms. Wilkerson describes as America’s hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings that goes beyond race, class, or other factors.
Joining Dean Kelly Brown Douglas on the panel will be Dr. Cheryl Townsend Gilkes, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Professor of African-American Studies and Sociology and director of the African American Studies Program at Colby College, and The Rev. Dr. Joshua Samuel, Visiting Lecturer for Theology, Global Christianity, and Mission at Union Theological Seminary and the author of Untouchable Bodies, Resistance, and Liberation on a theology of liberation among Hindu and Christian Dalits.

The conversation was moderated by Hope Wabuke, a poet, writer and assistant professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Wabuke was asked by NPR Books to review Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.

Just Conversations with Kelly Brown Douglas | Starsky Wilson

On February 11th, 2021, Dean Douglas as she spoke with Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson, President and CEO of the Children's Defense Funds. This interview examined how the Covid-19 pandemic has made the many challenges facing young people - from health to housing to food security - all the more daunting.

 

Please join us for the new EDS at Union's Facebook Live series Just Conversations with Kelly Brown Douglas. In this upcoming series of interviews, Dean Douglas will explore the racialized inequities intrinsic to our nation and our collective responsibility to create a more just future

Just Conversations with Kelly Brown Douglas | Stacey L. Holman

Please join us for the new EDS at Union's Facebook Live series Just Conversations with Kelly Brown Douglas. In this upcoming series of interviews, Dean Douglas will explore the racialized inequities intrinsic to our nation and our collective responsibility to create a more just future.

On Monday, February 15 at 1:15 pm, Dean Douglas as she spoke with Stacey L. Holman of Black Butterfly Productions. They discussed the four-hour series that Holman served the series producer and director, The Black Church: This is our Story, This is our Song. The series will premiere on Tuesday, February 16 and Wednesday, February 17 at 9:00 p.m. EST on PBS.

Sheena Wright

On Thursday, January 28 at 4:30 pm, Dean Douglas spoke with Sheena Wright, President and CEO of the United Way of New York City. They discussed The United Way's work to create long-term solutions that break the cycle of poverty and keep people on the path of self-sufficiency for generations to come. They also talked about Choose Healthy Life (https://www.choosehealthylife.org/), an initiative of Black church ministers who are working to raise awareness and educate the Black community on Covid-19 and other health disparities

Voter Access in the 2020 Election with Ari Berman

In this episode of The Just Vote, Dean Kelly Brown Douglas speaks with Ari Berman, author of the award-winning book Give Us The Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America. They reflect on any issues of voter suppression and access to the ballot experienced during the November 3rd election.

Just Conversations with Kelly Brown Douglas - Zephr Teachout

For this Just Conversation, Dean Kelly Brown Douglas speaks with Zephyr Teachout.

Zephyr Teachout is an author, former political candidate, and associate professor of law at Fordham University. This fall, Teachout enrolled at Union int he Master of Divinity program. In this Just Conversation, they discuss the state of our democracy and some of the constitutional challenges that lie ahead. They also look at voting rights and voter suppression in the 2020 Election, and the potential outcomes to the Trump administration's ongoing litigation efforts.

Just Conversations with Kelly Brown Douglas - Rev. Dr. Ben Chavis

For this Just Conversation, Dean Kelly Brown Douglas will be speaking with Dr. Ben Chavis Jr.

Dr. Chavis is a Union alum and the President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a trade association of the more than 200 African American-owned community newspapers from around the United States. In this Just Conversation, Dean Douglas explores the realities of racialized inequities intrinsic to our nation and the role of media and churches in dealing with those inequities.

Knowledge and Nourishment: Reflecting on the Election

This episode was arranged to hold space for the community to process the election results, and to share directly from the administration where they see Union’s place in the world following the election. President Jones was joined by Executive Vice President Fred Davie, Dean Pamela Cooper-White, and EDS at Union Dean Kelly Brown Douglas.

Suppressed 2020: The Fight to Vote

Dean Kelly Brown Douglas speaks with Union's Vice President of Communications & Marketing Robin Reese, about the award-winning film Suppressed 2020: The Fight to Vote. Suppressed 2020 is a short, powerful documentary that investigates voter suppression in the 2018 mid-term elections. By revealing deeply personal accounts from voters of color from across the state of Georgia, they discover deliberate, widespread voter suppression. Dean Douglas and Robin Reese debrief the film and reflect on continued efforts to suppress the vote, specifically in communities of color, in Georgia and across the nation.

To watch "Suppressions 2020: The Fight to Vote" visit https://www.bravenewfilms.org/suppressed 

 

The Just Vote: The Souls to the Polls with Rev Gregory Lewis

Dean Kelly Brown Douglas speaks with Rev. Gregory Lewis, Founder and President of Souls to the Polls and Pastors United. They discuss his experience fighting Covid-19, Black Lives Matter, and faith leaders’ role in getting out the vote.