The Future of Racial Equity in America

Alvin Tillery, Ph.D., Director of the Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy and Professor Political Science at Northwestern University, will speak on the topic, The Future of Racial Equity in America.  Dr. Tillery’s talk will begin with a discussion of the concept of systemic racism.  It will then shift to a historical overview of how governmental actions in the middle of the 20th century exploded inequalities between the races on most major socioeconomic indicators.  Dr. Tillery will then briefly trace the historical arcs of the two Black-led reform movements—the Civil Rights Movement and the #BlackLivesMatter Movement—that attempted to provide correctives to these inequalities. He will then argue that the #BlackLivesMatter Movement is in decline and must be replaced by a broader racial equity movement. Finally, he will close the talk by articulating what he believes will be required for this new movement to win in our current political context.

Alvin B. Tillery, Jr.’s research and teaching interests are in the fields of American politics and political theory. His research in American politics focuses on racial and ethnic politics, American political development, and social movements. His research in political theory focuses on American political thought and critical race theory.  His book Between Homeland and Motherland: Africa, U.S. Foreign Policy and Black Leadership in America (Cornell University Press, 2011) won the W.E.B. Du Bois Distinguished Book Award from the National Conference of Black Political Scientists. His papers have appeared in American Political Science Review, Studies in American Political Development, Political Research Quarterly, and Journal of Black Studies, and several other journals. Tillery received his B.A. from Morehouse College and his Ph.D. from Harvard University.