Austin Bar Equity Committee Hosts Media Events

EQUITY COMMITTEE SPOTLIGHT

Virtual Book Club Discussion Scheduled for Nov. 12, 2020

The Austin Bar’s Equity Committee has planned several multi-media participation events in the coming months, leading up to a day-long Equity Summit scheduled for May 14, 2021.

The first was a Virtual Viewing Party held on Oct. 27. Participants gathered together on Zoom to watch the award-winning film “13th,” a thought-provoking documentary directed by Ava DuVernay about the criminalization of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom. A short discussion followed the film, facilitated by Drew Williams, a member of the Austin Bar’s Equity Committee leadership team.

The Austin Bar’s Equity Committee has planned several multi-media participation events in the coming months, leading up to a day-long Equity Summit scheduled for May 14, 2021.

On Thurs. Nov. 12 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., Mindy Gulati will host a Virtual Book Club discussion on “So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo. Please read the book on your own prior to the discussion. Visit austinbar.org to RSVP and receive the Zoom link to attend the Virtual Book Club discussion.

On Jan. 6, 2021, join us for a joint AYLA/Austin Bar Virtual Book Club discussion on “How to Be an Anti-Racist” by Ibram X. Kendi. Registration for this event will open after Thanksgiving.

The last media event will be held on Thurs., March 11, 2021. The content for this event is TBD.

Would you like to join the Equity Committee, or do you have questions for the committee? If so, contact Nancy Gray at nancy@austinbar.org. AL

EQUITY COMMITTEE MEDIA RECOMMENDATIONS

The following are recommended resources to help broaden our perspectives on issues of race and equity in our society. More recommendations can be found at austinbar.org/anti-racist-resources.

BOOKS

“So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo (Join us for a virtual discussion of this book on Thur., Nov. 12. from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. RSVP at austinbar.org)

“How to Be an Anti-Racist” by Ibram X. Kendi (Join us for a virtual discussion of this book on Wed., Jan. 6, 2021.)

PODCASTS

1619: Nikole Hannah-Jones was awarded the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for The New York Times Magazine’s groundbreaking exploration of the legacy of Black Americans starting with the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in 1619.

Code Switch: An NPR podcast about race and culture (particularly recommend the series on cross-racial friendships).

MOVIES/DOCUMENTARIES

A Most Beautiful Thing: This documentary chronicles the first African-American high school rowing team in this country—made up of young men, many of whom were in rival gangs from the West Side of Chicago—all coming together to row in the same boat.

13th: In this award-winning documentary directed by Ava DuVernay, scholars, activists, and politicians analyze the criminalization of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom.