11th Annual Korenman Lecture
Deepa Iyer, South Asian American activisit, writer, and lawyer
America is becoming a nation in
which communities of color will comprise the majority population by 2040. In
her talk, Deepa Iyer, a racial justice advocate and writer, will explore the
racial realities affecting people of color, women, and immigrants and refugees
in America today. She will share stories of struggle and resistance from
communities affected by backlash, xenophobia and Islamophobia. Iyer will
provide ideas for maintaining equitable and inclusive policies and institutions
that reflect the racial realities and intersectional identities of communities
in America.
A book signing will follow the program.
Speaker bio: Deepa Iyer is a South Asian-American
writer, lawyer, and racial justice advocate. Iyer’s areas of expertise include
the post-9/11 America experiences of South Asian, Muslim, Arab and Sikh
immigrants; national security and immigration policies; and racial equity and
solidarity practices. Iyer served for a decade as the Executive Director of
South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) where she helped to shape
SAALT’s work on civil and immigrant rights issues. Her experiences there formed
the basis for her first book, We Too Sing
America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim and Sikh Immigrants Shape Our Multiracial
Future, which received a 2016 American Book Award and was selected as a top
10 multicultural non-fiction books of 2015 by Booklist. Since We
Too Sing America was published, Iyer has been part of over 50 community
conversations around the country on the themes in the book, at college
campuses, non-profit organizations, faith-based institutions among others.
Iyer’s current work includes a collaborative project around rapid response
coordination in the wake of criminalization policies and efforts and a
solidarity project which includes a monthly podcast called Solidarity Is This.
Sponsored by the Gender + Women's Studies Department; the Dresher Center for the Humanities; the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; the Office of the Provost; Student Life's Mosaic Center; the Women's Center; the Global Studies Program; the Media and Communication Studies Department; the Modern Languages, Linguistics, and Intercultural Communication Department; the Africana Studies Department; and the Asian Studies Program.