President Karol V. Mason recently joined Newark Mayor Ras Baraka to discuss “From Advocacy to Equity—Is It Time to Rethink Activism to Achieve Our Goals” at the National Urban League’s (N.U.L.) 2022 Virtual Legislative Policy Conference. President Mason expressed her concerns about the challenges our country faces, yet conveyed her unwavering optimism for the future.
“Much like John Jay College, the National Urban League prides itself on bringing together elected officials, community leaders, corporate partners, and key stakeholders to discuss policy issues that directly impact African Americans and historically underserved communities,” said Mason. During her panel discussion, President Mason expressed the need for an intergenerational connection to move the needle forward on vital justice issues. “We have the tools from the Civil Rights Movement and we have new tools that the young people know how to use. The challenge is harnessing that protest to move it to impact. One thing I hope we all see is that protests mean that we still have hope and expectations for change,” said President Mason. She went on to highlight the College’s most recent work developing a framework for a Culturally Affirming, Inclusive, and Anti-Racist Curriculum. “Here at John Jay College, I encouraged our students in the post George Floyd era to really protest me, because I needed their voices to really push our community on these issues. As a result of their protest, our university community as a whole adopted seven principles of an anti-racist curriculum, allowing us to reshape and rethink how we’re educating our young people and preparing them to go out in the world and make change.”
This year’s N.U.L.’s Legislative Policy Conference featured an impressive group of leaders, including U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock (GA); U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley (MA); U.S. Representative (OH) and Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Joyce Beatty; U.S. Representative Lauren Underwood (IL); U.S. Senator Charles “Chuck” Schumer (NY); and Mayor of Newark, NJ, Ras J. Baraka. See the entire N.U.L. 2022 Virtual Legislative Policy Conference here.
