Critical Conversations: Racial Justice and the Immigrant Rights Movement
The Binger Center’s Annual Immigration Law Forum brings together lawyers, students, advocates and community members to learn from each other and develop tools to continue the struggle to protect human rights, basic dignity and the rule of law.
This year’s forum will engage lawyers and advocates in critical conversations about race. Sessions will address historical lineages and systemic racism in the immigration system with a focus on anti-Blackness, the identity questions that surround how the immigrant rights movement is defined and intersects with other movements, and how community partners across sectors can come together to support noncitizens and advance racial justice. This online virtual conference will be interactive and action-focused, with sessions throughout the day followed by breakout discussions.
The goal of the forum is to empower participants to re-ground their work to invoke long term systemic change and build networks with advocates across the country.
| Thursday, November 12 | Videos linked from session titles below |
| 9:00 a.m. | Welcome Remarks |
| 9:15 a.m. | An Ongoing Crisis: Tracing the Confluence of Systemic Racism in US Law and Policy This panel is cosponsored by the Immigration History Research Center Moderator: Deepinder Mayell, Binger Center, University of Minnesota Law School Panelists: A. Naomi Paik, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Nekima Levy Armstrong, Wayfinder Foundation |
| 10:30 a.m. | Break |
| 10:35 a.m. | Whose Story Gets Told: Exploring the Power of Identity in Intersecting Movements Moderator: Nadia Anguiano-Wehde, Binger Center, University of Minnesota Law School Panelists: Alfreda Daniels, Black Immigrant Collective; Kevin Reese, Until We Are All Free; Emilia Gonzalez Avalos, Unidos MN |
| 11:50 p.m. | Morning Conversation Group |
| 12:10 p.m. | Break |
| 12:15 p.m. | Lunch Keynote Moderator: Steve Meili, Binger Center, University of Minnesota Law School Speaker: Mayor Melvin Carter, City of St. Paul |
| 12:55 p.m. | Break |
| 1:00 p.m. | Community Action for Racial Justice and Movement Lawyering Moderator: Linus Chan, Binger Center, University of Minnesota Law School Panelists: Paromita Shah, Just Futures Law; Hiroshi Motomura, UCLA; Andre Dukes, Northside Achievement Zone |
| 2:15 p.m. | Break |
| 2:20 p.m. | Conversations on How to Move Forward Post 2020 Elections Moderator: Kathy Moccio, Binger Center, University of Minnesota Law School Panelists: Nana Gyamfi, Black Alliance for Just Immigration; Michele Garnett McKenzie, The Advocates for Human Rights; Jaylani Hussein, CAIR; Oluchi Omeoga, Black Visions Collective |
| 3:35 p.m. | Afternoon Conversation Group |
| 4:15 p.m. | Closing Remarks |