Racial Justice and Equity

In 2017, a group of UVA deans and other members of the University community offered recommendations in the wake of the Unite the Right rally. Three years later, Risa Goluboff, dean of the law school, spoke with Dean Ian Solomon about what the group learned and how our nation has evolved.

Last week, on the third anniversary of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, three witnesses spoke on a panel moderated by Batten’s dean, Ian Solomon. Now famous around the world, the rally spanned two days and brought white supremacists and counter-protestors together in a violent clash that killed one demonstrator and injured many others.

This week marked the third anniversary of the murder of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, VA. Ms. Heyer was a young woman peacefully demonstrating against crowds of white supremacists who had come to this college town with firearms and Nazi slogans to intimidate people, incite violence and, according to some participants, foment a race war.

The University of Virginia’s Racial Equity Task Force today released its report, titled “Audacious Future: Commitment Required,” outlining 12 key initiatives to improve racial equity at UVA.

Many institutions of higher education are looking to become more inclusive. But what’s the most effective way to do that—at the University of Virginia and elsewhere? Dana Laurens and Michael Dannenberg weigh in. 

“Congressman Lewis exemplifies citizen leadership,” said Allan Stam, former dean of the Batten School. “From his days as a student leader to his co-founding of SNCC to his long career as an elected official, he has selflessly served the public good."

The public session of the University’s Racial Equity Task Force featuring Dean Solomon occurred virtually Friday, over one month after a group of Black student activists and the Black Student Alliance sent separate list of demands to the task force. 

In the wake of past injustices, truth commissions offer divided communities the chance to reach a common understanding of their history. For his Applied Policy Project (APP) at Batten, George Rudebusch (MPP ’20, Law ’20) studied eight historical truth commissions from across the nation.

When it comes to the healthcare you receive, the color of your skin can make a significant difference, social psychologist Sophie Trawalter told an online audience last week.

We all want to change the world, but where do we start? Irma Palmer (BA '10, MPP ‘15) offers some tips and tricks. 

“We’re at the intersection of past and present—and we're teetering a bit,” Batten professor Brian N. Williams told an online audience last week. “Evolution or revolution? Reform or riot? Progress or more protests? Should we defund and divest or deconstruct and reconstruct?”

“It was a huge wake-up call for me,” Ian Solomon told me. “It’s too easy to put the blame on individuals and not recognize what’s below the surface. We put all the blame on a person’s failings, and they do have failings. But my brother did not fail to be a human being, right? It’s easy to dehumanize people for their errors, for their mistakes, for their addictions, for their pasts.”

For the latest edition of Batten’s Expert Chat Series, Dean Ian Solomon led the Batten community in a discussion of the University’s fight against racism and inequity

On Tuesday afternoon, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam appointed Larry Terry – who holds an appointment in UVA’s Frank Batten School of Leadership & Public Policy – to a two-year term on the Virginia State Crime Commission.

On June 6, Dean Solomon appeared on CBC Radio One’s “Day 6” program to discuss his recent essay on the murder of George Floyd, how his brother died in 2011 while in police custody, his hopes for positive action, and more.

A new task force at the University of Virginia will gather, solicit and prioritize recommendations about racial equity, UVa President Jim Ryan announced Wednesday. Among the three members selected was Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy Dean Ian H. Solomon.