Emergent Quilombos: Book Talk
2024-12-05 16:30 - 18:00 UTC
Join us for an engaging evening as we welcome Dr. Bryce Henson, author of Emergent Quilombos: Black Life & Hip Hop in Brazil. In this thought-provoking book, Henson delves into the legacy of quilombos—communities of Afro-Brazilian resistance formed by escaped enslaved people—and examines their ongoing influence on contemporary struggles for social justice in Brazil. Drawing on extensive research, Henson explores how these historical sites of resistance have inspired modern cultural movements activism against racial, economic, and environmental oppression. During this talk, Henson will discuss the rich history of quilombos, the intersections of race, space, and freedom, and the cultural practices that sustain these communities.

This event will also include the following additional guest speakers:

Former professor & Founder of MSU’s Department of African American Studies, Dr. Geneva Smitherman
Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Nonfiction Writing Program at Brown University., Dr. Austin Jackson
Host: Assistant Professor & Vice Chair of the UCLA African American Studies Department, Kyle T. Mays

This event is perfect for readers interested in Afro-Brazilian history, critical race theory, and global resistance movements. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions, engage in discussion, and purchase signed copies of Emergent Quilombos!

RSVP HERE: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe2yQewpJyI61k8044QJJ2pyJqzw2kBgq3oBMfnUVFp97Vh4g/viewform

African American Studies Department’s 2024 Job Talks
2025-01-29 11:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Rolfe 2125, Rolfe Hall, #2125, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
This week kicks off the first of the African American Studies Department’s 2024 Job Talks! These job talks are an opportunity for members of the UCLA community to come hear prospective faculty present on a topic they are experts in! Please come and see Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow, Christiana Kelly, PhD., this Wednesday, Jan. 29th! Read more about Dr. Kelly on our website faculty page.

*Please refer to the Black Calendar for other events this month!*

CHEVALIER FESTIVAL
2025-04-06 15:00 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Schoenberg Hall, 2520 Schoenberg Music Building, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Celebrate Chevalier’s masterpieces on Sunday, April 6, 2025, at UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall.
Born in 1745 in Guadelupe on a slave plantation to a Senegalese slave mother, Nanon, Chevalier rose from the humblest of beginnings to conduct the finest orchestras appointed by French royals.
Support Stellar Artists & Young Black Composers who will present timeless classics in the 2025 CHEVALIER FESTIVAL!

When We Free the World: Film Screening
2025-04-25 18:00 - 21:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | James Bridges Theater
The UCLA Department of African American Studies invites you to the Los Angeles PREMIERE of When We Free The World on Friday, April 25, 2025!
Doors Open: 6:00pm,
Program Begins: 6:30pm
Join us for the Los Angeles PREMIERE of When We Free The World. The screening will be followed by a conversation with film producers Kevin Powell and Evangeline Lawson, moderated by Professor Marcus Anthony Hunter.
Free with RSVP (QR Code on Flyer or Link): https://forms.gle/76M7MNtBhebx6PcK6
*Light refreshments will be available*
All are welcome, including the differently-abled/disabled

Power & Alterity in Black Religious Thought
2025-05-13 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Kaplan Hall 365, Kaplan Hall, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Join the Center of Study of Religion for an insightful exploration of “Power & Alterity in Black Religious Thought” with Professor Shamara Alhassan, delving into the profound dynamics shaping Black spiritual expression and identity!

Social & Career Wednesday
2025-05-21 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | African American Studies Department Lounge, Rolfe Hall 1322
Join us to hear from different faculty, alumni & staff about life after UCLA!

UC Regents' Lecturer: Ivy McGregor "Four-Squared™: Unlocking Systemic Change Through Radical Collaboration"
2025-10-08 17:00 - 19:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | The California NanoSystems Institute UCLA, 570 Westwood Plaza,, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Lecturer: Ivy McGregor
Global Strategist, Impact Architect, and Transformational Social Change Leader

About the Speaker
Ivy McGregor is considered one of the most respected voices in Generation NOW innovative strategic impact. With over 25 years of experience in cutting-edge business strategies, Ms. McGregor is a reservoir of knowledge, and a leading transformative collaborator within the realm of global partnerships and known for her lifelong passion of being of service. To read the full bio click here.

About the UC Regents’ Lecturer
The Regents of the University of California have established the Regents’ Lecturer Program to bring distinguished leaders from non-academic fields to engage with the broader university community, enrich our instructional program and increase students’ exposure to a diverse range of successful professionals, artists and others.

Reception will begin at 5:00pm.
Lecture will begin at 6:00pm.

RSVP at the linked event website!

Funkentelechy: Langston Hughes' Blues Vision in Ryan Coogler's Sinners—Toward a Kinetic Aesthetic
2025-11-06 11:00 - 12:50 (America/Los_Angeles) | Lani Hall, 445 Charles E. Young Dr East 2520 Schoenberg Music Building, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
This talk will highlight the ways in which Langston Hughes and Ryan Coogler represent and exemplify salient elements of the blues ethos, while doing so nearly a century apart in nonmusical mediums. Central in this regard are the comparatively high degrees of significance that Hughes and Coogler attribute to dancing in blues aesthetics. Additional focus will spotlight the artists’ representations of blues-based values and their methods of stimulating and/or simulating common elements of blues-based music. Parallels between Hughes’s depictions of dancers and Coogler’s funk sub-motif, which includes P-Funk’s symbolism, will be briefly discussed as well.

BOOK EVENT: The Coroner's Silence w/ Terence Keel & Cerise Castle
2025-11-13 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Reparations Club, 3054 South Victoria Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90016, United States
WHO & WHAT: Join Rep Club for a discussion on The Coroner’s Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence with author Terence Keel & moderator Cerise Castle.
WHEN: Doors at 6:30pm, event promptly at 7pm.
WHERE: Reparations Club, 3054 S. Victoria Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90016
HOW:
TICKET w/ BOOK: This ticket guarantees a seat including a signed book available for pick up at the event.
FREE RSVP (No Book Included): This Free RSVP DOES NOT include a copy of the book and entry is based strictly on capacity at the door. Books may be available for purchase in-store.
SIGNED BOOK ONLY: Can’t make it IRL but still want a signed copy? Order directly from their site!
Please email us at questions@reparations.club if you have any additional needs, questions, or accessibility concerns.

About the Book:
FOR READERS OF HIS NAME IS GEORGE FLOYD AND UNDER THE SKIN
A LANDMARK INVESTIGATION INTO FORENSIC MEDICINE THAT EXPOSES THE SYSTEMATIC CONCEALMENT OF STATE-SANCTIONED VIOLENCE THROUGH DEATH INVESTIGATIONS
Each year, police officers kill over 1,000 people they’ve sworn to protect and serve. While some cases, like George Floyd’s and Sandra Bland’s, capture national attention, most victims remain nameless, their stories untold. The Coroner’s Silence reveals a disturbing truth about these cases: coroners and other death investigators are often complicit in obscuring the violent circumstances of in-custody deaths.
Through rigorous research—including critical records analysis, public health studies, and interviews with victims’ families—this book unmasks the systemic failures within forensic medicine. Terence Keel shows how incomplete autopsy reports, mishandled medical documents, and strategically lost evidence effectively shield law enforcement from accountability.
The Coroner’s Silence uncovers how the current system of death investigation operates as a mechanism of institutional safeguarding. By highlighting the structural powerlessness of coroners and their disconnection from the communities most affected by police violence, Keel demonstrates how bureaucratic processes can render human suffering invisible.
True accountability requires more than procedural reform. It demands a fundamental reimagining of how we investigate, document, and understand deaths at the hands of state institutions. The Coroner’s Silence is a crucial intervention that challenges us to confront the deeply ingrained mechanisms that perpetuate systemic violence.
TERENCE KEEL is an award-winning scholar, the founding director of the BioCritical Studies Lab, and a professor of human biology, society, and African American studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of Divine Variations: How Christian Thought Became Racial Science and co-editor of Critical Approaches to Science and Religion. Keel has received fellowships from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health.
CERISE CASTLE is a Los Angeles-based journalist specializing in culture, civil rights, criminal justice, and human interest stories. She wrote the first history of deputy gangs inside the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. She also created, produced, and hosted A Tradition of Violence, a podcast detailing the history and criminal activity of deputy gangs. That reporting earned her the 2022 International Women in Media Foundation’s Courage Award, the American Journalism Online Award for the Best Use of Public Records, and the American Mosaic Journalism Prize. Castle has been a Poynter Fellow at Yale University and led research at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy. She is currently a Visiting Research Associate at the University of Chicago, and working on her forthcoming book on deputy gangs.
Castle has also produced and hosted segments for the Emmy-award-winning nightly news program, VICE News Tonight, NPR, and the nationally syndicated radio program Marketplace. Castle has also produced podcast series for Audible, iHeartMedia, and Wondery. Her reporting and commentary have been featured in ABC, Autre, Capital & Main, The Daily Beast, The Los Angeles Times, The LAnd, Los Angeles Magazine, MTV, NPR, Salon, and Vanity Fair.
Refund Policy: At Rep Club, we are committed to providing a valuable experience for all attendees. However, we understand sometimes plans change. Below is our refund policy for ticket purchases:
Refund Eligibility: Requests for refunds must be made no later than 14 calendar days prior to the event date via Eventbrite only.
– After this deadline, no refunds will be issued, except under extraordinary circumstances (see “Force Majeure” below).
– Refunds will only be issued to the original purchaser via the original method of payment (i.e. Eventbrite).
Non-Refundable Items: Processing fees and service charges are non-refundable, unless the event is canceled by the organizer (i.e. Rep Club).
Event Cancellation or Rescheduling
– If the event is canceled by the organizer, a full refund will be issued to all ticket holders, including any fees paid.
– If the event is rescheduled, your ticket will automatically be valid for the new date. If you are unable to attend the rescheduled date, a refund request can be made within 7 calendar days of the rescheduling notice.
No-Show Policy If you do not attend the event and have not contacted us by the refund deadline, unfortunately no refund will be issued.
Contact Them If you have any questions regarding this refund policy, please contact us at questions@reparations.club.

LYRICS FROM LOCKDOWN
2025-12-12 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, 6067 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, 90036
The internationally-acclaimed, multimedia theatrical event returns to LA for a one-night-only performance!

Created by Tony Award–nominated theater maker, activist and author Bryonn Bain, LYRICS FROM LOCKDOWN brings to life the humor, heartbreak and resilience of those impacted by mass incarceration, through hip-hop theater, spoken word poetry, comedy, calypso, classical, blues, breathtaking visuals and music. The performance will be live streamed to prisons and correctional facilities.
For more information, visity: www.LyricsFromLockdown.com
Synopsis
Witness the hijinks of a dysfunctional Caribbean immigrant family in Brooklyn, and the genius and gallows humor of folks who face the imprisonment of their loved ones. LYRICS FROM LOCKDOWN is a one-man show bringing 40 characters to life, telling two unbelievable true stories using hip-hop theater, spoken word, blues, calypso, comedy, and a video DJ.
Talkback
A talkback featuring Bryonn Bain, lead producer Claudia Peña, and people experiencing incarceration attending the livestream!
Rave reviews!
Legendary organizing icon Dolores Huerta says “Everyone in America should see this show!”
The New York Times hailed it as “truly polished, meaningful and entertaining.”
Hip hop founder DJ Kool Herc said “A legend in the making!”
Anna Deavere Smith describes this tour de force as “…every moment on stage is a thing of beauty.

Beyond the Clinic, Beyond the Classroom: Black Families Rewriting Possibility in Autism Care
2026-01-21 11:30 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Black Forum, 153 Haines Hall, Los Angeles, CA, 90303, United States
Please join us for an upcoming research talk by Dr. Stephanie Keeney Parks, Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of African American Studies

*Lunch will be provided. In-person attendance is strongly encouraged; a Zoom option will be available for those unable to join us in-person.*

When We Free the World: Film Screening & Discussion
2026-02-17 17:30 - 18:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Broad Art Center, Room 2160E, 240 Charles E. Young Drive, North Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Description:
The Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies invites you to the Los Angeles screening of When We Free The World on Friday, April 25, 2025!
Doors Open: 5:30pm,
Screening Begins: 6:30pm
Join us for a screening of When We Free The World, anew documentary film on Black manhood in America. The screening will be followed by a conversation with film producers Kevin Powell and Evangeline Lawson, moderated by Professor Marcus Anthony Hunter.
*Light refreshments will be available*
All are welcome, including the differently-abled/disabled
Free with RSVP: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/qd3grph/lp/06fb0751-0f88-4a8a-8edf-378ec497a72c

SINNERS: A Film Screening
2026-03-06 15:00 - 18:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Lani Hall, 445 Charles E. Young Dr East 2520 Schoenberg Music Building, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Join us for a special screening of Sinners, preceded by an intimate mini-panel on the rich, chilling history of Black Horror. From the shadows of the past to the hauntings of the present, we’re diving deep into the metaphors behind the monsters.

Afro-Indigenous Solidarity & the Power of Music
2026-04-23 16:00 - 17:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | UCLA Meyer & Renee Luskin Conference Center—Optimist Room, 425 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Hosts:
Moderated & Co-Hosted by Professor Kyle T. Mays (UCLA)
Co-Hosted by Author & Professor, Bryce Henson (Texas A&M University)
Featuring Guest Speakers:
Bassist, Singer, & Composer, Esperanza Spalding
Vocalist, Actor, Activist, & Educator, Julia Keefe

Event Description:
In times of increased state violence, the arts and creative expression are needed more than ever. This conversation centers Black and Indigenous art, in particular music, to imagine how we might imagine and find moments of solidarity through art and culture. This conversation will feature Grammy award winning artist, Esperanza Spalding and Indigenous jazz vocalist, Julia Keefe, to reflect on the impotence and meaning of art in these times, and how art can serve as a source of solidarity between Black and Indigenous communities.

*Parking in UCLA Structure 8 available for pay-by-plate space
Seating is limited and will be offered on a first come, first served basis

FILM SCREENING: The Cry Of Jazz
2026-05-07 15:00 - 16:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Kaplan Hall 193, Kaplan Hall 193, Los Angeles, CA, 90095
This documentary by Edward Bland frames jazz as a profound structural mirror of African American history. By interweaving scenes of urban life with intellectual debate, the film critiques the superficial appropriation of the art form and asserts that jazz is inseparable from its racial and cultural origins.

Department of African American Studies Commencement 2026
2026-06-13 11:30 - 13:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Fowler Auditorium, 308 Charles E Young Dr N, Los Angeles, CA, 90024
Celebrate Excellence: 2026 UCLA African American Studies Commencement
Join us for a momentous occasion as we honor the resilience, brilliance, and achievements of our graduating class. This year’s theme centers on “Honoring our Past, Empowering our Future,” celebrating the rich heritage and bright prospects of our scholars.
This ceremony is more than just a graduation; it is a community gathering. It’s a time for families, friends, and faculty to come together and recognize the profound academic journeys and cultural contributions of our students. Expect an afternoon filled with inspiring keynote speakers, traditional performances, and the official conferring of degrees.

Ticket Information
We know you’re eager to secure your seats! Please note the following:

Ticket Sales Open: Early May 2026.
How to Purchase: Links will be sent directly to graduating students’ UCLA emails and posted on the Department website.
Allocation: Each graduate will be guaranteed a base number of tickets, with a waitlist available for extras on a first-come, first-served basis.

*Note to Graduates: Ensure your contact information is updated in the MyUCLA portal to receive the registration link the moment it goes live.
