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Democracy Works: The Clumsy Journey To Antiracism

Candis Watts Smith

This week, we are bringing you another interview that we hope will give some context to the discussions about racism and inequality that are happening in the U.S. right now.

Our guests are Tehama Lopez Bunyasi, Assistant Professor at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University and Candis Watts Smith, associate professor of political science and African American Studies here at Penn State. She was recently named the Brown-McCourtney Early Career Professor in the McCourtney Institute for Democracy.

Bunyasi and Smith are coauthors of a book called "Stay Woke: A People’s Guide to Making all Black Lives Matter," which looks at the history of structural racism in the U.S. and gives people the tools they need to become antiracists. We talk about the clumsiness associated with changing patterns of thinking and behavior and how that’s playing out across our online and offline lives and among both individuals and companies.  

Jenna Spinelle is the Communications Specialist for the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State. She is responsible for shaping all of the institute's external communication, including website content, social media, multimedia, and media outreach.