Events

2024 - 2025 Events

Tuesday, March 11, 2025 | 12 - 1 p.m. | King Hall, Rm 1301 via Livestream

Join us for an insightful discussion on the U.S. Supreme Court’s role in perpetuating racial inequality throughout American history. While the Court’s stance briefly shifted during the Civil Rights era (1950-1972), it has largely supported systems of racial injustice, from slavery to Jim Crow, and continues to contribute to structural racism today. This talk will explore the historical impact of racial inequality on African Americans, with a particular focus on the persistence of structural racism since 1970.

Since 2011, William Wiecek has been a visiting Professor of Law at UC Davis, Pacific McGeorge, Arizona State University, and the University of Kentucky. He has written or edited twelve books on American constitutional history, including The Dark Past: The US Supreme Court and African Americans, 1800-2015 and Birth of the Modern Constitution, 1941-1953, which is the twelfth volume in the Holmes Devise History of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Monday, March 10, 2025 | 12 - 1 p.m. | King Hall, Rm 1301 via Livestream

Movement Lawyering has been described as "work in deep collaboration with social movements" that attempts to harness the power of working people and organized communities to help bring about transformational change. A former attorney working at the US/Mexico border using a movement lawyering approach will describe her experiences. We will also discuss the benefits, challenges, and importance of this type of work, now more than ever, in both the immigration context and beyond.

Chelsea Sachau (UC College of Law San Francisco, 2020) was the former Managing Attorney of the Border Action Team at the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project. From 2020 - 2024, Chelsea and the Border Action Team provided critical legal education and empowerment, direct representation, and strategic advocacy to asylum-seekers displaced at the Arizona/Sonora border. During that time, Chelsea confronted border policies like the Remain in Mexico program, Title 42, asylum bans, and other limitations on access to asylum. Chelsea first came to the Florence Project as a border legal intern in the summer of 2018, during the Zero Tolerance policy of family separation. Chelsea is currently an associate attorney at Harrison & Pai, PLLC based in Bellingham, Washington, where she continues to focus on immigration representation. Chelsea was first inspired to be an immigration attorney based on the experiences of her grandmother (a Holocaust survivor) and her mother-in-law (a Maya former asylee) as she sought to provide similar opportunities for others fleeing persecution. Most of all, Chelsea is inspired every day by her clients and their resiliency in the face of what feels like insurmountable obstacles to seeking protection. 

A Conversation with Author Arline T. Geronimus on the Physical Impact of System Oppression on the Body

Tuesday, March 4, 2025 | 12 - 1 p.m. | King Hall, Rm 1301

Join us for a discussion with Dr. Arline T. Geronimus on her latest book, Weathering: The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life in an Unjust Society. Health equity is often discussed as a matter of gaining access to institutional health care, but what roles do racism and classism play in health outcomes for marginalized populations or demographics? Dr. Geronimus has not only revealed important contributing factors to health disparities, but she also focuses on hope. We welcome the UC Davis community and community members at large to join us in a thoughtful conversation that impacts us all. Moderated by Professor Katherine Florey.

Dr. Arline T. Geronimus is a renowned public health researcher, professor, and author of Weathering: The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life in an Unjust Society, called a “monumental” book by Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to be an Antiracist. Fusing science and social justice, Geronimus explores the ways in which systemic injustice erodes the health of marginalized people. Until now, there has been little discussion about the insidious effects of social injustice on the body. Weathering shifts the paradigm, shining a light on the topic and offering a roadmap for hope. Weathering is the selection for the 2024-2025 UC Davis Campus Community Book Project, whose annual theme is heath equity and justice.

Testimonio as Healing Praxis in History Classrooms

Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025 | 12 - 1 p.m. | King Hall, Rm 1301 and via Livestream

The Aoki Center invites you to a talk that is drawn from a larger qualitative research study with Central American-American educators, during which they shared their own testimonios and collectively read the testimonios written by Central American migrant youth to imagine how we might use testimonios in our teaching practice.  Our research is grounded in LatCrit theory, and builds upon testimonio research that has uplifted the histories and experiences of Latinx youth. We add to this research by putting it in conversation with healing-centered pedagogy (Ginwright, 2015; 2018). Ultimately, we argue that testimonios can aid in dismantling oppressive narratives and build new ones focused on Latinx youths’ joy, strengths, and successes. In doing so, they provide opportunities for history classrooms to act as spaces of radical care and healing. 

Dr. Yianella Blanco is an assistant professor in the School of Education. Her research focuses on the teaching and learning of Latinx histories and experiences in k-12 schools, especially those of Central America(ns).  She graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University in 2022 with a Phd in Social Studies education. Prior to that, she worked as a high school social studies and special education teacher in New York City. Her work with young people inspires her research and sustains her spirit as she continues to search for liberatory and humanizing educational practices. 

Community Debrief On Immigration Policy & Advocacy

Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025 | 12 - 1 p.m. | King Hall, Rm 1301 and via Livestream

The Aoki Center invites you to join us for a community debrief on the Trump Administration's recent executive orders and agency regulations. What can we expect? How can we fight back? The discussion will be moderated by Aoki fellow Giselle Garcia and our panel will include three of King Hall's immigration law experts: Amagda Pérez, Raquel Aldana, and Kevin Johnson.

Aoki Critical Perspectives on 1L Courses

The Aoki Center is excited to host the Critical Perspectives on 1L Courses series, a deep dive into foundational law school subjects through critical and interdisciplinary lenses. This year’s series will focus on Criminal Law, Property, and Constitutional Law, encouraging students to think critically about these core courses’ frameworks and assumptions.

Focus on Criminal Law

Professor Eric Fish

Wednesday, January 22nd, 2025 | 12 - 1 p.m. | King Hall, Rm 1301 and via Livestream

 

Focus on Property Law

Professor Karrigan Bork

Monday, January, 27th, 2025 | 12 - 1 p.m. | King Hall, Rm 1301 or via Livestream

 

Focus on Constitutional Law

Professor Courtney Joslin

Wednesday, March 19th, 2025 | 12 - 1 p.m. | King Hall, Rm 1301 or via Livestream