Uniting History and Activism: Defending Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
This is not the first time in American history when people have decided that the country is going in the wrong direction. The abolition movement and women's struggle for the vote are two famous examples where the interests of wealthy white men were defeated by the people.
In those and other struggles, historians have served the interests of wealthy men as the immediate crises faded. History was whitewashed and the insights, strategies, and contributions of African Americans and Latinx people hidden.
Today, Americans are asking: “What can I do to participate in taking the nation back from the wealthy white men?” We need to rediscover the true African American and Latinx history because it can help us decide how to engage in the struggle today.
Professor Ortiz is not just a scholar who seeks out old documents that have been ignored or hidden by white historians. While he does that, he has also uncovered stories of recent courageous and strategic resistance by African American and Latinx people by collecting unwritten oral history accounts. And Ortiz is an activist who continues the tradition of bringing leadership to the struggle for diversity, equality, and inclusion. He organized agricultural workers in California and was the president of the union that represented tenured and untenured faculty when he taught at the University of Florida. Most importantly, Paul Ortiz is an American like you and me who is figuring out what he can do as he watches wealthy white men destroy the American government and society.
On Monday, March 17, 2025, at 7 p.m. ET, Professor Ortiz will lead us through some of the true history of America and discuss the lessons for what we can do today. You won't want to miss this.
Register for the 1 hour Zoom at https://bit.ly/HistoryActivism.
To learn more, read Ken Bedell's review of “An African American and Latinx History of the United States.” It is not necessary to read Professor Ortiz’ book before attending.