What is the definition of democracy? Do we show it here in the United States of America like we’re supposed to? What are the fundamentals of democracy, and are we exhibiting those here?
Questions like these will all be asked during the Building Bridges 2.0: Liberty, Justice and Equality conference held in the USAO Ballroom Monday, Oct. 23 through Wednesday, Oct. 25. It is being presented by the Dr. Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher Center for Social Justice and Racial Healing, a program spearheaded by Dr. Tonnia Anderson, assistant professor of history at USAO.
With keynote speakers like Reginald Betts, a criminal justice advocate and poet from Yale, and Arlie Hochschild, a world-renowned writer and professor at the University of California, Berkeley, interesting conversations are bound to take place.
“The building bridges conference is driven toward looking at the health of American democracy. This is a critical issue due to our status as the torch of democracy of the Western world,” Dr. Anderson said.
She said she believes the United States is backsliding from the ideals that gave our country birth.
“We’re on the same level as Panama and Croatia. Some students and even adults can’t even point out Croatia on a map,” Dr. Anderson said.
What does it mean to backslide from our ideals? That question, among many others, will be considered during the conference as well, giving a sense of importance to these conversations.
Another keynote speaker will be USAO’s own Chelsea Fuston, a senior multidisciplinary studies major with a focus on the relationship between religion and politics. Fuston will speak Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 9:10 a.m.
The conference will also feature 16 other speakers, with their topics including LGBTQ+ struggles and women in politics. Monday saw a number of discussions, including “What Does It Take for Women to Get Elected” with Sara Jane Rose and “Pushing Beyond Politeness” with Suzette Change.
Tuesday will begin at 9:30 a.m. with an introduction from Dr. Anderson, which will be followed with numerous topics, such as the LGBTQIA struggle at 1:05 p.m., trouble in the heartland at 2:50 p.m., and building a movement for justice to wrap up the afternoon at 3:40 p.m. Finally, Wednesday will wrap up the conference. Dr. Anderson will once again welcome attendees at 9 a.m., followed by Fuston. Of the day’s numerous discussions, economic inequality and the American Dream are on the list, as well as “The Defeat of Oklahoma City Housing Jim Crow” with Douglas Catterall and “Conversations that Heal: Initiating Civil Discourse in a Polarized Climate” with Holly Hatfield to end the conference.
For the full list of events, learn more here.
Bea Bourland is a second-year biology and environmental science major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
