Africana Studies Seminar to Address Present-Day Racism

Shakyra Diaz of the American Civil Liberties Union to speak Oct. 4 at The College of Wooster

WOOSTER, Ohio — Shakyra Diaz, policy director of the Ohio American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), will present a lecture, titled "Racism 2011: Surveillance, Capture, and Detention," at the second Africana Studies Seminar of the fall semester on Tuesday, Oct. 4, at The College of Wooster. The event, which is free and open to the public, begins at 11 a.m. in the Center for Diversity and Global Engagement, which is located in Babcock Hall (1315 Beall Ave.).

Diaz focuses on public policy campaigns, legislative advocacy, coalition building initiatives, and impact programming. During her time at the ACLU she has guided initiatives that have successfully reversed long-standing racially disparate practices and have resulted in sentencing reform. She has also developed impact programs that give voice to Constitutional concerns around the state, including hip-hop as a form of political activism, reproductive health care access for Latinas, ineffective gang initiatives, failed and biased drug law policies, selective enforcement, youth and police relations, the school-to-prison pipeline, anti-immigrant policies, and sentencing reform.

Prior to joining the ACLU Diaz was the project director and program coordinator for Youth Opportunities Unlimited. She also served as retention specialist and education specialist for Case Western Reserve University's Upward Bound Program, which prepares high school students for college.

Diaz is a member of the Employment Ex-Offender Work Group for the Ohio Re-Entry Coalition and member of the Board of Directors of Hispanic Umadaop. She is also the vice-chair of Citizens for a Safe and Fair Cleveland. She earned her undergraduate degree in communication sciences and sociology with a concentration on social inequity from Case Western Reserve University.

Additional information about the seminar is available by phone (330-263-2044) or e-mail.