Critical Race Symposium Guide: Speakers

Keynote Talk: Dr. Whitney N. Laster Pirtle, “Applying Critical Race Theory, Racial Capitalism, and Structural Gendered Racism to Covid-19 Pandemic Inequities.”

Whitney N. Laster Pirtle is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and McArthur Foundation Chair in International Justice and Human Rights at the University of California, Merced (UC Merced). She received her B.A. from Grand Valley State University, and earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from Vanderbilt University. At UC Merced, she has affiliations with Public Health and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies departments and directs the Sociology of Health and Equity (SHE) Lab. Her research explores issues relating to race, identity, inequality, health equity, and Black feminist praxis. She is currently completing a book manuscript that explores the formation and transformation of the “coloured” racial group in post-apartheid South Africa and continues to produce research on racial disparities in Covid-19, and recently published a piece in Gender & Society titled “Structural Gendered Racism Revealed in Pandemic Times.” In addition, her co-edited volume Black Feminist Sociology: Perspectives and Praxis is forthcoming with Routledge Spring 2021. She won the 2020 A. Wade Smith Award for Teaching, Mentoring, and Service from the Association of Black Sociologists. 

Keynote Talk: Dr. Della V. Mosley, “Scholar-Activist Lessons Learned through Academics for Black Survival and Wellness.”

Della V. Mosley is an Assistant Professor in the American Psychological Association (APA) accredited Counseling Psychology Program in the Psychology Department at University of Florida. She created and leads the Wellness, Equity, Love, Liberation, and Sexuality (WELLS) Healing and Research Collective. She is the cofounder of Academics for Black Survival and Wellness (#Academics4BlackLives). Dr. Della is a Black, queer feminist, scholar, activist, and healer committed to liberation. Her research focuses on facilitating the wellness of Black and/queer and transgender People of Color (QTPOC) and is undergirded by Black feminist-womanist-paradigms and liberating methods of inquiry. She uses practical, evidence-based, and culturally mindful approaches to fight oppression and facilitate healing and liberation of Black and QTPOC folx. She has published in top-tier journals, has been invited to speak internationally, and is engaged in radical social justice advocacy work. Dr. Della is an APA Minority Fellow, co-authors the Psychology Today blog, “Healing through Social Justice” with the Psychology of Radical healing Collective, and recently served as the Presidential Task Force Co-Chair for the American Psychological Association Society of Counseling Psychology. 

Guest Speaker and Moderated Panel Facilitator: Dr. Jioni Lewis, “How to Disrupt Racism and Anti-Blackness in Academia."

Dr. Jioni Lewis is an Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of Maryland, College Park in the Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education. Her research is focused on investigating the influence of discrimination on the mental and physical health of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), with a specific focus on the impact of gendered racism on women of color, as well as radical healing, coping, and resilience strategies. She has received several national awards for her scholarship and advocacy, such as the 2019 Emerging Contributions to Research Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race and the 2020 Emerging Leader for Women in Psychology Award from the American Psychological Association. 

Community Talk: Dr. Enkeshi El-Amin and The Bottom, “Radical Community Engagement”