Social Justice Conversations: Intergenerational Reflections on Activism

The Social Justice Conversations Oral History Project (SJCOHP) is an intergenerational initiative that aims to capture the stories and reflections of elder social justice activists and foster connections between them and the next generation of activists and scholars. From April 2023 to March 2024, the NMAAHC Oral History Initiative collaborated with nine talented young scholars to conduct 16 oral history interviews with veteran activists in Washington, DC, Jacksonville, Florida, the California Bay Area, and Atlanta, Georgia.

This special program will include exclusive clips from these interviews as well as dynamic intergenerational panel discussions with project participants. Interviewers and narrators will delve into key moments from the conversations, share their experiences, and reflect on the critical role of social justice work, both in the past and in the future. Among our panelists, we will feature esteemed social justice veterans, including Dr. Joyce Ladner, W. Paul Coates, and Dr. Frank Smith.

Photo: Photo of Joyce Ladner from the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Jeannine and Matt Herron