Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity, WUSTL

09/02/2026

Join us for the Sawyer Seminars, convened by WashU's Department of African & African American Studies and the Center for the Humanities! The seminar examines how Black studies can help sustain academic freedom and reimagine democratic higher education. It unfolds through a yearlong series of themed conversations that bring together faculty, students, community partners and national leaders. Collectively, participants will examine how Black studies — an interdisciplinary field that draws from disciplines such as anthropology, education, history, literature, political science, psychology and sociology to understand structures of power, inequality and resistance — is a vital framework for understanding the past, navigating the present and shaping the future of higher education.

Seminars take place monthly, September 2026 through May 2027, each featuring public events and smaller convenings of university and community members.

Register for each seminar here: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/sawyer-seminar-lecture-series-4859460

08/31/2026

CRE² is proud to announce the appointment of Raphael W. Bostic as the 2027 CRE² Distinguished Fellow in Residence for Civic Leaders and Scholars.

One of the nation’s most distinguished economists and public intellectuals, Dr. Bostic has devoted his career to advancing the understanding of the forces that shape economic opportunity, housing, wealth creation, regional development, and social mobility.

​The CRE² Distinguished Fellow in Residence Program for Civic Leaders and Scholars brings exceptional civic leaders to WashU whose work exemplifies the Center’s commitment to advancing rigorous scholarship while engaging the most consequential issues confronting our society.

Read more about the appointment here: https://cre2.wustl.edu/bostic/

The Spring 2027 residency is co-sponsored, in part, by the George and Carol Bauer Leaders Academy, the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy, the Department of Economics, the Olin Business School, the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement, the Clark-Fox Policy Institute and the Department of African & African American Studies.

08/26/2026

Join us for a lecture with CRE²’s 2026–27 Postdoctoral Fellow, Brandon Romero!

On September 30, Romero will present research examining the relationship between policing, crime, and political participation, with particular attention to Black voter turnout.

What is the effect of police on the political lives of Americans? Extant studies suggest that scaling back police presence may increase political participation among Black Americans by reducing police surveillance and harassment. Romero theorizes that police indirectly affect voter turnout through their effects on crime, and that Black Americans are uniquely positioned to benefit from reductions in crime.
Save the date—we look forward to seeing you there.

https://cre2.wustl.edu/calendar_event/romero/

08/25/2026

Welcome to the Fall 2026 semester!

We are excited for another semester of conversations, programs, and opportunities. Take a look at some of our upcoming events, and stay tuned for much more throughout the semester!

Visit the events page on our website for more information.
https://cre2.wustl.edu/calendar_event/2026-morrin-lecture-a-conversation-with-branden-jacobs-jenkins/

08/24/2026

CRE² is pleased to announce the appointment of Julia D. López, PhD, MPH, LCSW, as the Center’s inaugural Faculty Lead for School of Medicine Engagement. This new leadership role reflects CRE²’s commitment to strengthening its collaborations across the Medical Campus.

Dr. López is Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Assistant Professor of Public Health at Washington University School of Medicine. Her research examines the social and structural determinants of health, with particular attention to HIV prevention and treatment, health equity, implementation science, and community-engaged approaches to improving health outcomes among historically marginalized populations.

As Faculty Lead, Dr. López will serve as a strategic bridge between CRE² and the School of Medicine, helping to identify opportunities for collaboration, elevate innovative scholarship, foster new partnerships, and expand the Center’s engagement with faculty, trainees, postdoctoral researchers, and initiatives across the Medical Campus with colleagues on the Danforth Campus.

08/17/2026

We’re back! 👋

CRE²’s social media pages are active again, and we’re excited to reconnect as we begin a new semester!

Stay connected with us on Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and Facebook for updates about upcoming events, opportunities, community highlights, and other updates throughout the semester.

06/26/2026

Our social media pages will be taking a brief break in July and early August.

Please note that we will not be posting updates or monitoring direct messages here during this time.

You can still easily reach us through our website: https://cre2.wustl.edu/

Thank you for your understanding. We look forward to connecting with you back here in August.

06/25/2026

Upcoming Fall 2026 Courses: Take a look at some of the race, and ethnicity related courses that will be taught by CRE² faculty affiliates.

In “Race and Ethnicity in the Middle East and North Africa,” Assistant Professor Mona Kareem Husain and students will study how peoples of the region have debated issues of race and racialization, from the Abbasid era to the contemporary moment. The course will highlight the legibility and urgency of race as an analytics in Middle East studies. In considering pre-modern and modern conceptions and experiences of race and ethnicity across the region, the class will understand how race and ethnicity have functioned as a technology of power and hierarchization, and their intersectional role in forming categories of caste, nationality, or even gender and sexuality.

06/24/2026

The engaged city community fellow Damon Davis is featured in St. Louis Magazine for The Lost Tapes Archive, a digital project preserving the art, music, media, and creative history of Cherokee Street and South St. Louis from 2010–2025.

Developed through the Engaged City Fellowship—a collaboration between CRE², the Sam Fox School’s Office for Socially Engaged Practice, and the Center for the Humanities at WashU—the project uses cultural asset mapping to document the people, places, and creative communities that have shaped the region's cultural landscape.

To submit to the archive click here: https://form.jotform.com/261326195375057?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio

The vibrance and creative energy of Cherokee Street is a hard thing to try to capture, but local artist Damon Davis is giving it his best shot with a new project entitled The Lost Tapes Archive. Produced as a result of Davis’ role as an Engaged City Community Fellow through Washington University, ...

06/23/2026

Congratulations to former CRE² interim director Gerald Early, the Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters in WashU Arts & Sciences, who has been nominated for a 2026 Dan Jenkins Medal for Excellence in Sportwriting.

Gerald Early, the Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters in WashU Arts & Sciences, has been nominated for a 2026 Dan Jenkins Medal for Excellence in Sportwriting.