CALENDAR

FEBRUARY 2006

February 2 • 79 Springtimes of Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, Tuesday 13th

Room 101 Becker Communication Studies Building • 7pm

The films of Cuban director Santiago Alvarez are inextricably linked to the United States, and nearly all his key works concern some matter of American history: the civil-rights movement, the wars in Southeast Asia, U.S. interventions in the Americas.

79 Springtimes of Ho Chi Minh (1969, 25 minutes) has been called the single most radical document of Alvarez's most radical period. The ferocity of its visual onslaught remains stunning, as does the absolute freedom of its narrative organization.

Hanoi, Tuesday 13th (1967, 38 minutes) was filmed in Hanoi at the height of the U.S. bombing of North Vietnam and depicts the dignity, diligence, and fortitude of a people at war.

The films are being shown as part of the Proseminar in Human Rights Film, sponsored by the Institute for Cinema and Culture, International Programs, and the UI Center for Human Rights. The screenings are free and open to the public. For a list of upcoming screenings in the series, click HERE.

JANUARY 2006

January 17 • Code Word Looting: Dismantling Racist and Classist Language in the post-Katrina Era

Room W01 Pappajohn Business Building • 11:30am-1:30pm

A panel discussion reflecting on the overt and covert messages of difference embedded in the reality of a disaster. Panelists include Vanessa Shelton, School of Journalism and Mass Communication; Rachel Williams, College of Education; Kevin Leicht, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences; and Pamela Valera, School of Social Work. Part of Martin Luther King Human Rights Week 2006.

Sponsored by: UI Office of Equal Opportunity & Diversity and UI School of Social Work

January 17-18 • The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till

Bijou Theater, Iowa Memorial Union • 7pm

This documentary examines the 2004 reopening of the investigation into the death of Emmett Till, who was murdered in 1955 in Mississippi. New York magazine calls it "The most important documentary of the year and an essential tale of what it means to be an American." Free and open to the public. Part of Martin Luther King Human Rights Week 2006.

Sponsored by : UI Center for Human Rights and Bijou Theater

January 18 • Breaking the Silence: Human Trafficking Around the World and at Home

Indiana Room, Iowa Memorial Union • 7pm

The Iowa Human Trafficking Project presents a special screening of the acclaimed documentary, Dying to Leave, and discussion by Alex Orozco, director of the Network Against Human Trafficking. Free and open to the public. Part of Martin Luther King Human Rights Week 2006.

Information: Kate Karacay, 319.354.5174

January 20 • A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice

4th Floor Student Lounge, Boyd Law Building • 3pm

Paul Butler, professor of criminal law, civil rights and jurisprudence at George Washington University Law School, will present a talk based on his most recent article, "Much Respect: Toward a Hip-Hop Theory of Punishment," published in 2004 in the Stanford Law Review. Free and open to the public. Part of Martin Luther King Human Rights Week 2006.

January 22 • Perspectives on the Death Penalty: An Afternoon with Janet Reno

Hancher Auditorium • 3pm

Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno will speak, followed by a panel discussion about the death penalty and the criminal justice system. Free and open to the public; no tickets required.

Sponsored by: UI Lecture Committee and Hancher Auditorium

January 23 • The Death Penalty and The Exonerated panel discussion

Meeting Room A, Iowa City Public Library • 7:30pm

Participants on the panel, moderated by Jim Hayes, will include Kirk Bloodsworth, the first person to be exonerated on the basis of DNA evidence; Jeanne Bishop, a Chicago public defender associated with Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation; and members of The Actors' Gang, a repertory theater company founded by actor Tim Robbins. Free and open to the public.

Sponsored by: Hancher Auditorium

January 24 • College of Law Forum on the Death Penalty

Levitt Auditorium, Boyd Law Building • 12:40pm-1:40pm

Moderated by Professors David Baldus and Emily Hughes of the UI College of Law. Free and open to the public.

Sponsored by: UI College of Law and Hancher Auditorium

January 24-25 • The Exonerated

Hancher Auditorium • 7:30pm

From Tim Robbins' The Actors' Gang comes The Exonerated, a riveting drama about six people wrongly convicted of capital crimes and eventually set free after years on Death Row. The play is a theatrical documentary of undeniable power. There will be a post-performance discussion with members of the cast on both nights. Tickets: online at www.hancher.uiowa.edu or call (319) 335-1160 or (800) HANCHER.

January 27 • Protecting the Rights of Detained Immigrants and Asylum Seekers

Room 275, Boyd Law Building • 1:00pm-2:30pm (session 1) & 3:00pm-4:30pm (session 2)

Session 1, "Immigration Detention: Overview and Community Responses," will provide an overview of the immigration detention system and discuss ways to respond to issues facing detainees. Who are detained immigrants and asylum seekers? Why and where are they being held? How can concerned Iowans get involved in helping individual detainees and working with jails to ensure minimum standards and rights. Open to all interested community members.

Session 2, "Ensuring Legal Rights for Detained Immigrants," will train participants on how to conduct legal orientation presentations (or "Know Your Rights" presentations) and legal screening for detained immigrants and asylum seekers in civil detention in Iowa. Session 2 is geared toward law students, pro bono attorneys, paralegals, and accredited representatives.

Information/registration: Amy Weismann, 319.335.0483 or amy-weismann@uiowa.edu

Sponsored by: UI Center for Human Rights, Justice for Our Neighbors, Heartland Alliance's Midwest Immigrant & Human Rights Center.

 

January 28 • An Afternoon with Rev. Roslyn Satchel

Minnesota Room, Iowa Memorial Union • 2-3:30pm

Rev. Satchel, Executive Director of the National Center for Human Rights Education in Atlanta, Ga., will lead a discussion on reproductive health care as a human right. Free and open to the public.

Sponsored by: WRAC, NOW, Iowa City Human Rights Commission, UI Center for Human Rights, UI Dept. of Religion, UI Dept. of Women's Studies, Bethel AME Church, UI Medical Students for Choice, Dr. Colleen Kennedy, Dr. Jill Vibhakar, Sandy Eskin

DECEMBER 2005

December 1• Careers for Change Lecture Series

Room 340, South Commons, Blank Honors Center • 5pm-7pm

Laura Dowd is the president and founder of Local Foods Connection, a non-profit organization that purchases fresh organic produce and meat products from small family farmers and donates these goods to low-income families.

Sponsored by: UICHR

NOVEMBER 2005

November 2 • Celebrate Voting: Women at the Grassroots

Green Assembly Hall, Levitt Center for University Advancement •

12:00 noon - 1:30pm

A luncheon celebrating the contributions of Eastern Iowa women who worked at the grassroots in the 1960s and 1970s to promote political engagement and civic participation in their local communities. *

 

• Celebrate Voting: Voting around the World

Commons Room, 302 Schaeffer Hall • 4:00pm

Panel of international students at UI discussing the history of and current challenges to voting rights in their respective societies and in the U.S. *

 • Careers for Change Lecture Series

Room S401, Pappajohn Building • 5:00-7:00pm

Mark Grey, Director of the Iowa Center for Immigrant Leadership & Integration speaks to the contributions of immigrants to Iowa and the human rights implications of meatpacking industry labor practices

Sponsored by: UICHR

November 3 • Celebrate Voting: Talk of Iowa

WSUI AM 910 & WOI Radio Group statewide broadcast •10:00 am

Host Ben Kieffer will discuss issues relating to electronic voting, and interview local, statewide, and national experts on the topic. *

• Celebrate Voting: New Voting Machine Demonstrations

Iowa City Public Library • 10:00am-4:00 pm

Vendor Representatives of newly adopted electronic voting machines in Johnson County will demonstrate how they work and test them out.  Possible demonstrations in Linn County as well. *

 

• Celebrate Voting: Julian Bond

Boyd Law School Auditorium • 4:00 pm

Activist Julian Bond gives a talk, Civil Rights: Now and Then to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. *

 

• Celebrate Voting: Meet & Greet Dinner

African-American Historical Museum and Cultural Center of Iowa,

Cedar Rapids • 6:30-8:30pm

Julian Bond will be the featured guest at an informational dinner for the Cedar Rapids community. *

 

November 4 • Celebrate Voting: Make Your Voice Count

West High School Auditorium • 8:30-9:30am

Johnson County and Linn County High School government students are invited to interact with Julian Bond and discuss the right to vote.  Government teachers will assist their students to prepare questions for Bond. *

 

• Celebrate Voting:  Talk of Iowa

The Java House Coffee Shop • 10:00-11:00am

A WSUI AM 910 & WOI Radio Group statewide live broadcast with live audience.  Host Ben Kieffer interviews Julian Bond.  Musician Scott Ainslie will also perform. Free and open to the public. *

 

November 9 - Julie Otsuka

W10 (Buchanan Auditorium), Pappajohn Building • 7:30pm

Julie Otsuka, selected author for the 2005 "One Community, One Book - All Johnson County Reads" gives a public lecture.

Sponsored by: UICHR

* Celebrate Voting is a joint initiative of Iowa Secretary of State Chet Culver, the Iowa State Historical Foundation, the Iowa Department of Human Rights, the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, the NAACP State Conference, the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, ID Action, and League of Women Voters of Iowa.  For more information Click HERE.