Schedule
14th Annual Ray Warren Symposium
Legacy: Race and Remembrance
November 8–10, 2017
Watzek Library Exhibits:
Watzek Library has several exhibits exploring the idea of “Legacy: Race and Remembrance.” On the top floor of the library, Lewis & Clark’s Special Collections will display for the first time its collection of material relating to Edward Curtis. Additionally, the Watzek Library atrium will exhibit Vanport: A Story Lived. A Story Told from Nov. 4 to Nov. 11. Please read more about these exhibits here.
Saturday, November 4
2 p.m., Fir Acres Black Box Theatre
Special pre-symposium event
Staged reading of Cottonwood in the Flood, followed by panel discussion
Written by Rich Rubin; directed by Damaris Webb
Free Admission
Wednesday, November 8
7 p.m., Council Chamber, Templeton Campus Center
Keynote Presentation
Visible Legacies: Cultural Continuance through Art
Cultural practitioner Sulu’ape Keone Nunes and multimedia artist Wendy Red Star will discuss the ways they blend the past and present to sustain community memories and cultural traditions for the future.
Moderated by Magalí Rabasa, L&C assistant professor of Hispanic studies
Welcoming remarks by L&C students Alexander Castanes ’18 and Gabriela Nakashima ’18, symposium co-chairs
Thursday, November 9
9:30–11 a.m. Stamm
Living Memory: Trauma, Disease, and Healing
Panel description: How do people heal from turbulent events or powerful changes that dramatically alter their communities? What might be the role of memory in helping people recover and heal from racialized trauma? How does trauma get passed down intergenerationally, and how do the descendants of trauma survivors cope with and reconcile those pasts? This panel will explore various methods of healing that engage directly with memory loss and recollection.
Moderator: Diana Leonard, L&C assistant professor of psychology
Raina Croff, assistant professor of neurology at Oregon Health and Sciences University, medical anthropologist, project leader of Sharing History through Active Reminiscence and Photo-Imagery (SHARP)
Yukiyo Kawano, artist and third-generation hibakusha (nuclear bomb survivor)
Adam Becenti (Diné), community development specialist, National Indian Child Welfare Association
11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Smith Hall, Albany Quadrangle
Race Across Disciplinary Boundaries: Student Research Presentations
Join us for an interdisciplinary discussion with L&C students who will share original research projects addressing issues of race and ethnicity. Bring your lunch. Coffee and cookies will be provided.
Moderator: Maya Litauer Chan, L&C ’19
Sadie Bender Shorr’18, Hispanic Studies major, “Performance and Collective Cultural Resistance in the Sonoran Borderlands”
Hector Brandt’18, History major, “Why’s the Rum Always Gone?: Exploring the Haitian Revolution”
Glenna Gee-Taylor’18, History major, “Denver Model Cities, Resident Participation, and the Black Power Movement in Denver”
Eva Gellman, ’18, English major, “To See and be Seen: Literary Artistry, Visual Artistry, and America’s Slave Past”
Lauren Krumholz’18, History major, “Unraveling Security: U.S. Internment of Latin Americans during World War II”
Merrill Liddicoat ’18, SOAN major, “‘Working for love’: The Resilience of Native American Fishing Communities along the Columbia River”
1:30–3 p.m., Stamm
Let Me Tell You a Story: Memory and Intergenerational Dialogue
Panel description: A bedtime story can lull a child to sleep. A tale of perseverance can bring communities together. A memoir can allow you to understand another person’s life. Stories are powerful instruments capable of shaping who we are, the things we believe, how we act and what we envision for the future. This panel will discuss the compelling ways people communicate their personal and communal stories of race and ethnicity to make them available for future generations. What stories deserve to be told? How are stories among different communities shared? How can youth be engaged in these intergenerational dialogues to help them formulate their personal identity and connect them to a legacy of memories?
Moderator: Kristin Fujie, L&C assistant professor of English
Rose High Bear, co-founder, Wisdom of the Elders
Damaris Webb, performer, theater maker, and co-founder and director of Vanport Mosaic
S. Renee Mitchell, poet, artist, performer, writer, and teacher at Roosevelt High School, with Roosevelt High School student and storyteller
3:30–5 p.m., Stamm
What it Means to Be a Pioneer: Reckoning with Our Institutional History
Panel description: In commemoration of Lewis & Clark College’s 150th birthday, this panel is an opportunity to explore some of the questions that colleges and universities around the country have been grappling with: Whose land was this, and how did it become the site of our campus? Whose names are on our buildings and our institution, and why? What is our connection to slavery and colonialism? What history are we associated with, and what has that meant for the experiences of people of color at our institution? By taking up these questions, we hope to create a better idea of how we can use knowledge of Lewis & Clark College’s institutional history to help us walk together into a just future.
Moderator: Elliott Young, L&C professor of history and director of ethnic studies
David G. Lewis, PhD, member of the Grand Ronde Tribe, anthropologist, ethno-historian, archivist, and adjunct professor at Chemeketa Community College
Hannah Crummé, L&C head of special collections and college archives
David Shapiro, L&C ’17
Terrell Mwetta, L&C ’19
Michael Ford, L&C associate vice president for campus life (retired, 2014)
7 p.m., Council Chamber, Templeton Campus Center
Keynote Presentation
Jelani Cobb, historian and award-winning New Yorker staff writer.
Welcoming remarks and introductions by L&C students Christen Cromer ’18 and Michelle Waters ’19, symposium co-chairs
Friday, November 10
9:30–11 a.m, Stamm
Sites of Memory
Panel Description: Memories are often tied to specific locations where certain events transpired and different communities resided. These sites of memories sometimes become a focus of attention as people struggle to determine the most appropriate and meaningful way to mark the space. This panel will explore the meanings of specific sites in Oregon and elsewhere in the U.S., asking which histories and places are chosen for commemoration and how historical memories are represented and created.
Moderator: G. Mitchell Reyes, L&C associate professor of rhetoric and media studies
Valerie Otani sculptor and Hillsboro’s public art supervisor
Lydia Grijalva, interim executive director, Know Your City
Katy Barber, associate professor of history, Portland State University
Marc S. Rodriguez, associate professor of history, Portland State University
11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Stamm
Seeking a Path Forward: Reparations, Forgiveness, and Reconciliation
Panel description: Racism is fundamentally a violent system—able to inflict deep physical, economic, and emotional wounds onto whole populations. While people who experience racism may begin to heal, the memory of suffering leaves scars that, if left unaddressed, may never fade. This panel will address questions of how to reconcile those memories and how those who inflict these painful memories can be forgiven. Is this forgiveness even possible? What effect might reparations have on our societal memories of race? How do we forgive, yet not forget, so that we and those that come after us may live happy, liberated lives?
Moderator: Joel A. Martinez, L&C associate professor of philosophy
Natasha Marin, conceptual artist, “Present-Day Reparations: The Pros/Cons of Building Digital Communities”
Kilong Ung, author, founder of Golden Leaf Education Foundation
Eddyne Ukunze, L&C Roméo Dallaire Scholar
1:30–3 p.m., Stamm
Tracing Memories: Deriving Meaning from Ancestral Roots
Panel Description: Uncovering familial legacies can be both beautiful and harrowing at the same time. The process of discovering a family history has the potential to uncover painful legacies marred by racism, yet it also has the potential to resolve unknowns and ground ourselves in meaningful connections with our ancestors. This panel will discuss questions about the experience of tracing family lineage and how that undertaking can enrich or create a sense of identity. How does knowledge of ancestry inform notions of kinship? How do communities record the past so that it can be accessed by future generations?
Moderator: Kabir Mansingh Heimsath, L&C visiting assistant professor of anthropology
Christine DeVillier, genealogist
R. Gregory Nokes, author
Anita Johnson Chase, educator and personal genealogist
3:30–4:30 p.m., Frank Manor House
Social Justice Tour
The Social Justice Tour highlights instances of student activism and social justice throughout the history of Lewis & Clark College, calling attention to the positive changes that have resulted from collective action by students, staff, and faculty. By emphasizing Lewis & Clark’s active history, this tour aims to empower current students to act on behalf of bettering the college community and to show that L&C is a dynamic and changing institution. The tour begins at the Frank Manor House. No registration required.
3:30–5 p.m., Thayer
Workshop: Memories of Race and Building Our Legacies: A Dialogue
In this interactive workshop, participants will explore memories of race through personal lived experiences. When did we first understand our racial identities? How do we make sense of this part of our lives in the present? How does race intersect with the rest of our life story? Can we build a legacy at Lewis & Clark within our own spheres of influence? Come to share your stories with other participants through a series of meaningful one-on-one dialogues. Maximum 30 participants. First-come seating.
Facilitated by Angela Buck, L&C interim director of Inclusion and Multicultural Engagement, Elvira Ruan ’18, IME student life intern, Emma Franco Cecena ’20, IME peer educator, and Marissa Marquez ’19, IME peer educator
7 p.m., Agnes Flanagan Chapel
Race Monologues
Each year a different group of L&C students writes an original series of personal narratives to share their feelings, experiences, and understandings of race, ethnicity, and identity.
Featuring L&C students Renee Allums-D’Espyne ’18, Jennifer Anderson ’19, Dimetrius Casares ’18, Liza Clairagneau ’21, Elizabeth Gillingham ’20, Maya Hernandez ’19, Samantha Hernandez ’18, Arunima Jamwal ’21, Miranda Mora ’19, Bradley Ralph ’19, Latroy Robinson ’18, and Maiyio Taylor-Jackson ’21
Doors open at 6:40 p.m. Seating in the Chapel will be limited to the first 460 people who arrive. Please also note that the doors will be closed at 7 p.m. Latecomers will not be seated.