The College of Humanities & Social Sciences (CHSS) hosted the “Let’s Talk About It” series in June and July with a resounding success.

The series was created in response to the worldwide protests surrounding the murder of George Floyd.

“The purpose of this series was to create a safe space for students and other UHD members and community partners to discuss difficult topics surrounding the reasons of how in the year 2020 an unarmed Black man could be murdered by a white police officer while knowingly being filmed,” said Crystal Guillory, Assistant Dean of CHSS. “This was a moment in our nation’s and the world’s history that literally and figuratively set our world on fire.”

In partnership with UHD’s Center for Community Engagement & Service Learning, the nine-week series, hosted its first of conversation on June 4 with more than 50 virtually attendees that included UHD students, faculty, staff, deans, department chairs, administrators across all five colleges, alumni, and friends of the University from across the country as well as board members from the Humanities Education & Research Association in Indiana and California.

Guillory noted a few guests that contributed to the conversations including Kathy Kelly, a member of the International Federation of Business & Professional Women—also known as or BPW—an advocacy organization that focuses on economic self-sufficiency for working women. UHD community partner Janice Freel, founder of the non-profit Women of Honor & Destiny, also participated in the series. Freel’s organization helps women who were recently released from prison to find housing and receive spiritual and psychological counseling, professional development skills and scholarships.

According to Guillory, there are future plans to host Zoom brown bag sessions thanks to a faithful following of UHD Community members who are interested in continuing such timely conversations.