The summit began with an exclusive dinner at the University of Michigan Museum of Art on October 4. The event featured a panel discussion surrounding political polarization was moderated by Oral Pottinger ,Partner at Mayer Brown, and featured Lynette Clemetson, Director of the U-M Wallace House Center for Journalists, and Morgan Harper, Director of Policy & Advocacy at the American Economic Liberties Project. 

The summit reconvened Thursday, October 5 at the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan. Panel discussions included:

  • Repairing our Democracy
  • Criminal Justice Reform
  • Future of Work & the Role of Education
  • The Case for Reparations

 

 

The first panel, Repairing our Democracy, featured David Willbrand, Chief Legal Officer at PACASO, in conversation with the Secretary of State of Michigan, Jocelyn Benson. They discussed Benson’s background, how she decided to venture into politics, and any advice the Secretary could offer as we navigate a tumultuous time in our democracy. For inspiration, Secretary Benson points to her parents, both special education teachers, who taught her the importance of “having a voice in everything your community does.” After studying law and engaging with civil rights work across the U.S. and U.K., Secretary Benson notes that she felt a calling to pursue political office, to be one of “the leaders that folks on the front lines were calling for… to see if the political process could be used for good.”  In pursuing that good, the Secretary emphasized the “real” work that the Michigan Secretary of State is doing to measurably improve citizens’ interactions with government, including decreased wait times and increased efficiency at branch locations across the state. “We can’t ask people to believe in government,” Benson says, “if it doesn’t work for them.” Making simple changes that impact people’s perception of their government is an important step on the way to building trust in government, but our goals and aspirations, the Secretary says, should go beyond that. We all must work together to envision “what the post-Trump era is going to look like, and how we’re going to reunite” into a “multiracial, multiethnic democracy.” There is hope, Secretary Benson argues, for a brighter future. “Truth is on our side, justice is on our side… History is on our side, and the vast majority of the American people are on our side.”

 

 

The second panel, Criminal Justice Reform, included remarks from Jarrett Adams, author and lawyer who previously served time in prison on a wrongful conviction, Marc Howard, founder and President of the Frederick Douglass Project for Justice, Christopher Swanson, Genesee County Sheriff, and the Hon. David Coar, retired U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. Conversation touched on all aspects of the criminal justice system, from policing, to courts, to jails and prison, to the integration of formerly incarcerated individuals back into their community. Genesee County Sheriff Swanson affirmed that police officers themselves must be willing to step up and “change the culture” of policing. “Every one of us has to take the lead…not wait for someone else to do it.” Swanson’s own response in Genesee County includes founding the I.G.N.I.T.E. program, which focuses on transforming prison culture into educational opportunities, and declaring that “this place is not for incarceration, it’s for education.” Sheriff Swanson notes that violence in Genesee County institutions has dropped 97% since the start of the program. The Hon. Judge David Coar provided further insight on how victims end up in the criminal justice system to begin with, stating that the system’s “interest in finality is more important than actual innocence. I think that’s wrong. I think that’s absolutely wrong.” Once sentenced, “even if they are not guilty…they can’t put their lives back together.” With mistrust and malpractice occurring in all stages of the American justice system, Adams urges the audience to think of this issue as “more of an atmosphere thing than a race thing,” in the sense that “the rhetoric” of criminal justice reform “must change…and in order to do so, everyone must be included… All of us have to convene.”

 

 

The third panel, Future of Work & the Role of Education,  featured Frank Tramble, VP of Communications, Marketing, and Public Affairs at Duke University, in conversation with Aimée Eubanks Davis, founder and CEO of Braven, and Elizabeth Moje, Dean of the U-M Marsal Family School of Education. Both Eubanks Davis and Moje have a background in teaching, sixth grade and high school respectively, though each pointed to higher education as a “very significant” factor in students’ long-term success. Still, there are improvements to be made to the higher education system as social and generational changes occur across the country. Aimee Eubanks Davis recalls of her time teaching sixth graders in Louisiana, “I didn’t think higher education was quite ready for the demographic of students we were working with,” particularly first-generation and lower income students. As a solution, Dean Moje asserts that “we need teachers committed to justice, equity, and inclusion” at all levels of education. Workplaces that students occupy post-graduation are also in the process of changing, with some tools like generative artificial intelligence seeping in to impact both job markets and the educational landscape. Each of the panelists saw opportunities for pause, but also real benefit if the tools are used responsibly. “I am very excited about [AI],” says Dean Moje. “I see this as changing the face of teaching, and assessment in particular.” Eubanks Davis adds that “The bottom line is that young people will use it. It’s about how they’re taught to use it,” asking critical questions about the ethics of artificial intelligence. Regardless of challenges, Dean Moje urges us to view education as an opportunity for growth at all levels, an experience rooted in “human thriving” and “human flourishing.”

 

 

The fourth and final panel, The Case for Reparations, featured Earl Lewis, founder and Director of the U-M Center for Social Solutions, in conversation with Lauren Hood, Associate Professor of Practice in Urban and Regional Planning at U-M’s Taubman College, Shawn Spruce, host of Native American Calling, and Brad Bottoms, Data Scientist for the U-M Center for Social Solutions. Lewis began the conversation with statistics from the Pew Research Center that indicate that 77% of Black Americans support reparations to the descendants of enslaved people, compared to only 18% of white Americans. Most respondents did not believe that they would see reparations in their lifetime. Yet still, the work of reparative justice is ongoing and takes many forms. For Spruce, opinions on reparations vary within the Native American community by generation. “My generation thought…let’s get over it,” but with younger individuals, there is more of a recognition that something reparative ought to be done. With younger Native Americans, “there’s this attitude of anger… but ultimately, the goal is healing.” The idea of healing became a central theme of the panel. Lauren Hood, co-chair of the City of Detroit Reparations Task Force, detailed the issues the task force faces as they try to generate their report. “I keep trying to drive home,” Hood says, “that there’s healing that needs to happen in that room before we get to that report… We have to heal ourselves in the process.” Part of the healing process, Hood mentions, is that “Black folks in Detroit are carrying a lot of shame about the way things are… we need to internalize that this is not our fault.” And indeed, Brad Bottoms explained the way that corporations remain complicit in harm to minoritized communities. “The quicker we deal with this issue, the better, because this is an issue that’s compounding over time… Some of the institutions that were directly involved [in profiting from slavery] are still operating in this country.” Though these corporations are not solely responsible, Bottoms indicates that they ought to be held accountable, an initiative that the Center for Social Solutions is currently pursuing through its Reparations, Accountability, and Responsibility Index (RARI). While much work remains to be done, Spruce reminds us that “healing is within reach… It’s possible, and it’s on the horizon.”


View a recap and exclusive interviews from this event HERE.