Center for the Study of Race and Democracy (CSRD)

05/28/2026

The Boston Tea Party of 1773. The Salt March of 1930 in colonial India. What links these two events? Waves of Resistance, the upcoming classical Indian dance production by Silambam Phoenix explores the connections between two seemingly disparate tales of resistance and revolution.

Event Details
Date: Sunday, May 31 ,2026 3 p.m. & Monday, June 1, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Location ASU Kerr, 6110 N Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale, AZ
Tickets available at silambamphoenix.org

This event is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, City of Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture, and Arizona State University Center for the Study of Race and Democracy.

05/27/2026

We celebrate Regents Professor Carlos G. Vélez-Ibáñez, one of our most distinguished Arizona State University scholars, educators and mentors and founding director of the ASU School of Transborder Studies as he retires from the university. His 21-year career at ASU impacted generations of students and inspired so many colleagues and communities. Center for the Study of Race and Democracy (CSRD) was honored to be in conversation with Professor Vélez-Ibáñez during the recent CSRD program that brought filmmaker John Valadez to campus to discuss his sobering documentary American Exile on Mexican-American veterans and their ongoing battles to achieve recognition and belonging. We have witnessed the power of the College Assistance Migrant Program, which Professor Vélez-Ibáñez helped to advance at ASU, and we have been honored to engage with its faculty and young learners. We wish Professor Vélez-Ibáñez all the best as he retires from ASU!

05/18/2026

What pushes ordinary people to resist? What transforms citizens into revolutionaries?
Waves of Resistance by Silambam Phoenix explores two powerful moments of defiance: the Boston Tea Party of 1773 and the Salt March of 1930 that took place in colonial India. The real stories—the human motivations, the moral calculations, the courage—lives in the historical details.

Historians Dr. Calvin Schermerhorn of Arizona State University and Dr. Vaswati Ghosh of Paradise Valley Community College will unpack the historical contexts and personal narratives that shaped these pivotal moments of resistance. Join them this evening on Zoom for "Waves of Resistance: Behind the Stories.”

Event Details
Date: Monday, May 18, 2026
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm (MST)
Format: Zoom

This event is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, City of Phoenix Arts and Culture, and Center for the Study of Race and Democracy (CSRD).

05/13/2026

In 1773, a group of British colonists rebelled against their government and its unfair taxation policy by throwing hundreds of pounds of tea into Boston Harbour.

In 1930, people from various communities and backgrounds gathered to march to the sea in Gujarat, India to make salt in defiance of the British tax of salt.

But how did they get here? What pushes the ordinary person to participate in revolution?

Silambam Phoenix has created Waves of Resistance, a classical Indian dance and music production to grapple with these powerful questions. The performances present two tales of two disparate sets of people fighting for their right to self-governance.

Purchase tickets here: http://silambamphoenix.ludus.com/index.php?show_id=200528742

05/11/2026

ASU's Center for the Study of Race and Democracy welcomed filmmakers Eric and Christopher Ewers, for a special screening and community conversation moderated by Prof. Lois Brown.

Eric Ewers and Christopher Ewers, longtime collaborators of documentarian Ken Burns, shared how this film became deeply personal for them, following their award-winning youth mental health documentary Hiding in Plain Sight. Thoreau, they explained, completed a journey they'd started: understanding that we have choices, even when we feel like we don't.
Some of the most powerful moments from the evening included:
The parallel between Thoreau's era and ours: the industrial revolution's acceleration of information mirrors today's social media scroll. As Chris put it, Thoreau saw it coming and wrote about it with urgency.
The night closed the evening with a call to action that felt made for this moment in the year of America's 250th anniversary. Thoreau's invitation isn't just historical. It's personal. It's civic. It's urgent.

"What I began by reading, I must finish by acting." — Henry David Thoreau

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👉 csrd.asu.edu

05/02/2026

We honor the life and legacy of Dr. Gene C. Blue, one of Arizona's most influential and admired civil rights leaders.

Dr. Blue was dedicated to advancing the work and example of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He served as chair of the Arizona MLK Celebration Committee for more than two decades. His leadership helped shape one of our state’s most important traditions of remembrance, reflection, and action. He was committed to the uplift and success of some of the most vulnerable in our communities and his leadership at the Arizona Opportunities Industrialization Center transformed so many lives. His impact will continue to be felt across generations.

We extend our deepest condolences to his family at this time.

05/01/2026

The Center for the Study of Race and Democracy (CSRD) hosted filmmaker Peabody Award-winning filmmaker and professor John Valadez for public screenings and dialogues about his compelling PBS documentary "American Exile."

The film tells the story of Valente and Manuel, two Vietnam veterans who came home changed by war, only to face an unimaginable new battle: deportation from the country they had served. American Exile is a story about service and sacrifice. It's a story about what we owe those who put on the uniform. It's a story about who gets to claim belonging in America.
The film aired on PBS for Veterans Day 2021. News of its impending release prompted a Presidential executive order that began to bring back deported veterans and their families. Hundreds of veterans wrote to say they were coming back. Families were reunited. The impossible had shifted to the possible.That was democracy working.

During his two day residency at ASU, Valadez talked with many about a core belief that runs through all his work: the power of film to help us see each other, to build empathy, to spark change. He reminded audiences about the underreported stories that shape our country. He talked about what it means to be American, not just because of a piece of paper or a bureaucratic designation, but because of service, sacrifice and a willingness to show up for one another.
"Democracy doesn't work unless people make it work," he said. "And that's all of us."
Valadez is inclined to ask questions and he posed many during his visit. He urged everyone to consider their potential for meaningful civic engagement: “Given who you are, given your skills, your talents, your position, your geography, your interests: what are you going to do to participate in building a more just future? What will you do to advance democratic values? What will you do to make sure this country lives up to the promise of freedom and human dignity?”

He exhorted the CSRD audiences to remember that “[E]very generation has its charge. This is ours.” He noted, too, that “For some of us, it might look like picking up a camera and telling stories that haven't been told. For others, it might be voting thoughtfully. Writing. Organizing. Teaching. Listening. Building empathy across divides of difference.”

Ultimately, John Valadez put it simply: "Follow your heart. Be true to yourself ... don't let other people decide what the future is going to be."
Thank you, John Valadez, for reminding us that storytelling is a powerful part of democracy, and that we all have a part to play and stories to tell.
I
f you haven't seen "American Exile," we encourage you to watch it. The film is available on PBS.
If you want to dive deeper into this story and explore resources related to the documentary, visit the Life, Liberty and Pursuits of Happiness program page on the CSRD website.
Missed this event? Want to be connected? Sign up for our newsletter at https://csrd.asu.edu/

04/03/2026

Most people know Henry David Thoreau as the man who lived alone in the woods. But there's a much bigger story.

Thoreau refused to pay taxes to a government that enslaved people and he went to jail for it. His family home was an active stop on the Underground Railroad. His 1849 essay "Civil Disobedience" inspired Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi.
Swipe through our carousel to learn who Thoreau really was. Then join the ASU Center for the Study of Race and Democracy for a free film screening and community dialogue featuring the brand-new Ewers Brothers/Ken Burns PBS documentary on Thoreau's life, with acclaimed actors Jeff Goldblum voicing Thoreau and Meryl Streep, Ted Danson and Tate Donovan voicing key figures in Thoreau's life.

📅 April 7 | ASU MIX Center, Mesa — 7 p.m.
Register for April 7th: https://ow.ly/fqKi50YC2om

📅 April 8 | Paul C. Helmick Center, Tempe — 7 p.m.
Register for April 8th: https://ow.ly/3Msz50YC2on

03/28/2026

American Exile explores the story of decorated Mexican-American Vietnam veterans Manuel and Valente Valenzuela whose activism helped change national deportation policy.

Join Center for the Study of Race and Democracy (CSRD) and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker John Valadez for two nights of free screening and community dialogue.

🗓️ Wednesday, April 1 | ASU MIX Center, Mesa | 5 to 7 p.m.
🗓️ Thursday, April 2 | Paul C. Helmick Center, Tempe | 7 to 9 p.m.

Community organizations will be on-site to connect with attendees and share their resources.

This event is made possible by an outstanding group of co-sponsors and community partners:
ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts | ASU Sidney Poitier New American Film School | College of Integrative Sciences and Arts at ASU | ASU Center for Latina/os and American Politics Research | Latinx Oral History Lab | Promise Arizona- PAZ | Arizona Latino Media Association | ASU School of Transborder Studies | Office for Veteran and Military Academic Engagement - ASU
Free and open to the public. Space is limited. Register Now

03/20/2026

We are so proud of our Director, Lois Brown, who recently had the honor of moderating the panel discussion that followed the first national screening of Henry David Thoreau at the iconic Paramount Studios in Los Angeles.

This extraordinary new PBS documentary, directed by Erik Ewers and Christopher Loren Ewers, brought together a remarkable group of voices for the post-screening panel, including, executive producer Don Henley and founder of the Walden Woods Project, Jeff Goldblum, who voices Henry David Thoreau, Ted Danson, who voices Ralph Waldo Emerson and Beth Witherell, Thoreau scholar and editor-in-chief of The Writings of Henry David Thoreau published by Princeton University Press.
The conversation was rich, moving, and deeply timely. Thoreau's ideas about civil disobedience, nature, and moral courage feel more urgent than ever, and Dr. Brown led that dialogue with the insight and passion that defines her leadership at CSRD.
We are thrilled to announce that directors Erik Ewers and Christopher Loren Ewers will bring the film to ASU for two exclusive screenings. Both are free and open to all.

Tuesday, Apr 7, 2026 7 p.m. ASU ASU MIX Center | 50 N Centennial Way Mesa, AZ 85201
Register Here: https://ow.ly/h7r050YwAtc

Wednesday, April 8 7 p.m. Paul C. Helmick Ctr | Room 101 | 660 S. College Avenue Tempe, AZ 85281
Register here: https://ow.ly/snnb50YwAtb

Photo Credit: Timothy Norris

Join us as we screen this new Henry David Thoreau documentary and talk with its award-winning filmmakers Erik and Christopher Ewers.