Image: Vote to Fight Climate Change, courtesy of Scott Underwood & Howsem Wang.

Student work from Professor Kim Anno's Critical Ethnic Studies course Citizens, Artists, Designers, and Journalists.

On the occasion of the Critical Ethnic Studies 50th anniversary I am teaching once again in the CES program a course that is thrilling for me: Citizens, Artists, Designers, and Journalists. This is a high point in my CCA career in that we are focused on getting out the vote for the 18-35 year olds, as well as presenting the work of cultural and political leaders of color through live and asynchronous visits. Artists and Designers have much to offer the chaotic world that is in our hands presently, particularly on the dialogue of race. Inside my course a real life human rights catastrophe came up with one of our students’ family members arrested by their countries’ military police and no one has heard from him. Members of the class have taken this on now in addition to their course work to help. We have had the Mayor of the City of Berkeley, a Latinx , 32 year old leader speak live to students, Melissa Santos, former organizer of Mi Familia Vota, and now congressional staffer, Jenee Darden, a radio producer, announcer, and journalist with KALW who looks at culture, we have Natalia Retamal Cardenas of La Pena, a cultural hub and performance center, among others who are asynchronous. 

I am reaching out across the college now to engage other sectors of the college to honor CES for the anniversary, and the architecture program also has a 50th anniversary and we are working to partner with us to present the esteemed Mabel Wilson for a lecture on race, monuments, and whatever she thinks is important now. Her books are: Race and Modern Architecture; Begin with the past: The National Museum of African History and Culture; Negro Building Black Americans in the World of Fairs and Museums, among other books. I am beginning to work on other events with VCS and QCC and Critical studies such as a round table on intersectionality at CCA , structural adjustments in collaboration with CES. Also an environmental justice speaker, perhaps, Grace Bull Tail, Univ of Wisconsin on land use, tribal sovereignty and environmental justice. 

Yours,

Kim Anno."

Image: Every Vote Matters, courtesy of Sophie Smith, Zoe Hotzman & Mitchel Kim. Student work from Professor Kim Anno's Critical Ethnic Studies course Citizens, Artists, Designers, and Journalists.

Image: Vota Ahora, courtesy of J Torres & Peter Yang. Student work from Professor Kim Anno's Critical Ethnic Studies course Citizens, Artists, Designers, and Journalists.