HomeEvents

Events

Upcoming Events

As the council hosts new events, check back here for more details. Explore Belonging at Cornell’s site to participate in webinars, lectures and other events offered around the university.

 

Past Events

Community Book Read

On June 3, President Pollack announced the creation of a university-wide Community Book Read of “How to Be an Antiracist,” by National Book Award winner Ibram X. Kendi. To access a copy of the book at no cost, contact URDC chair Gina Giambattista at ggc9@cornell.edu.

The URDC will plan discussion sessions and related activities in coordination with university events and activities that are in development. Look for more details soon.

 

URDC Brown Bag Summer Series

Please join URDC members for a series of brown bag lunch discussions about the CULearn diversity, equity and inclusion modules. Each session will include a brief  overview of two modules, time to connect with colleagues in breakout rooms, and come back to a larger group for open discussion of what we learned and what we can take with us as we tackle the next two modules.

Please mark your calendars for the following dates (each “Module” session will cover the same information, with two different slots to accommodate scheduling). Calendar invitations and Zoom links will be sent separately:

Modules 1&2

  • Wednesday, June 23 @ noon
  • Tuesday, June 29 @ 2:30 p.m.

Modules 3&4

  • Wednesday, July 21 @ noon
  • Tuesday, July 27 @ 2:30 p.m.

Modules 5&6

  • Wednesday, Aug 25 @ noon
  • Tuesday, Aug 31 @ 2:30 p.m.

All University Relations employees are invited to join.

The Opposite of ‘Racist’ Isn’t ‘Not Racist’

UR Division discussion/read – “How to Be an Antiracist” by Ibram Kendi

We hope you can join us for a discussion of the Cornell Community Read “How to Be an Antiracist” by Ibram Kendi – whether you have read (or listened) to all or part of the book, or are just interested in learning more about it.

  • Tuesday, October 27, 9-10
  • Thursday, October 29, 12-1

The book is available in print and as an audiobook. If you need help accessing the book, please let me know.

A few ways to check out the book –

Film Series: Mississippi Burning

“Mississippi Burning” is a 1988 crime thriller based on the 1964 murder of three civil rights workers – including Cornell alumnus Michael Schwerner ’61; their images appear in a stained-glass window in Sage Chapel . The film stars Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe as two FBI agents assigned to investigate their disappearance in rural Mississippi. The investigation is met with hostility by the town’s residents, local police, and the Ku Klux Klan.

Watch it online: YouTube or  Amazon Prime or Vudu or Hulu

Talkback sessions:

  • Tuesday, 9/22 at 3:00 pm
  • Thursday, 10/1 at noon

Additional Reading:

Conviction in 1964 Mississippi civil rights killings brings sense of closure to Cornell | Cornell Chronicle

“I was frightened, and I was devastated,” said Burt Neuborne ’61, recalling the murder of one of his Cornell classmates, Michael Schwerner ’61, and two other civil rights workers at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).

Film Series: The Willard Straight Hall Occupancy

Witness: The Willard Straight Hall Takeover – CornellCast
Film length (approx. 29 min)

  • Tuesday, September 1, 2020
  • Thursday, September 3, 2020

Film Series: 13th

Monday, July 20, 2020
To raise awareness and engage in conversation around systemic racism in the United States, the University Relations Diversity Council has launched a film series.
The first film, the 2016 documentary 13th by Ava Duvernay, examines the history of mass incarceration of people of color in the United States. It is available on Netflix or for free on YouTube.

Brown Bag Lunch Series

A four-week series focusing on the topic of Allyship (all will be at 12:00):

  • Friday 7/17: Allyship Fatigue
  • Friday 7/31: Non-Optical Allyship
  • Friday 8/14: Addressing Privilege
  • Friday, 8/28: Using Privilege as an Ally