News

Harvard alums explore how diverse communities can effect change

September 23, 2021

This weekend, thousands of Harvard alumni, affiliates, and guests will come together for Unity Weekend, a three-day virtual conference led by — and in celebration of — Harvard alumni of color.

The first-of-its kind weekend will provide alumni a forum to discuss issues at the intersection of identity, inclusion, and impact. The weekend was conceived and developed by the Harvard Asian American Alumni Alliance, Harvard Black Alumni Society, ...

Harvard sociology professor weighs in on census flaws

September 17, 2021

A quick scan of the headlines generated by the recently released 2020 census data will tell you that the white population is in steep decline and that minority groups are on the rise. But associate professor of sociology Ellis Monk says there’s more to the population count than what is being reported by the media.

Monk’s research interests include issues around social inequality and political sociology, and some of his recent work involves understanding...

Harvard art professor analyzes Carrie Mae Weems’ photography

September 16, 2021

The American artist Carrie Mae Weems for more than 30 years has been creating works largely centered on the lives of women, working-class people, and Black people. She is perhaps best known for her photographic projects, including “The Kitchen Table Series” featuring intimate moments around a kitchen table, and “From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried,” based on daguerreotypes depicting enslaved people.

But when Sarah Elizabeth Lewis, an associate professor of History of Art and Architecture and African and African American...

New study says ‘hidden workers’ are being excluded

September 15, 2021

Since business has picked up with the COVID vaccine rollout, record numbers of employers have struggled to find workers. In August, half of U.S. small business owners had jobs they wanted to fill, a historic high, according to a trade group survey; 91 percent said there were few or no qualified applicants. The reasons for this labor-employment mismatch are complex and not fully understood, economists say.

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Sustainability Committee focuses on health and equity to meet goal

September 7, 2021

Ahead of its self-imposed deadline to become fossil fuel-neutral by 2026, the University has engaged its researchers and industry climate leaders to identify and invest in projects that demonstrate how to credibly reduce emissions while also benefiting human health, social equity, and the planet, such as large-scale solar or wind renewable energy, according to the Harvard Presidential Committee on Sustainability. The University will study these projects to...

‘Our Own Worst Enemy’ looks at Americans’ apathy

September 3, 2021

One of the biggest threats to American democracy right now isn’t nuclear war or terrorism, but the growing narcissism and nihilism of the public, says Tom Nichols.

Nichols, an instructor at Harvard Extension School and the U.S. Naval War College, recently released “Our Own Worst Enemy.” The book details how a lack of civic virtue combined with Americans’ expectation that the...

Equity, inclusion, and belonging in the arts

September 1, 2021

As an associate director for the Public Theater in New York City, Emily Knapp ’03 views herself as a doula, but one who, rather than helping mothers during childbirth, facilitates the delivery of artwork. And Knapp believes that an important part of that job for white allies like her who work in the equity, inclusion, and belonging space is being willing to learn at all times.

“For me, it’s really important to think of my role as being in support of their artistry as opposed to their artistry is doing something for me,” Knapp said at a panel hosted by the Office of the Arts and First-...

The book that changed the history of African American literature

March 11, 2021

Henry Louis Gates Jr. was wandering through a rare bookshop in New York City four decades ago when he spied an unusual-looking volume published in 1859. That discovery would change the history of African American literature.

The book is...

Professor’s book inspires film on mass incarceration of poor

March 10, 2021

Most of us have minimal understanding of the criminal justice system but think that felonies are serious, and misdemeanors are not. Alexandra Natapoff would beg to differ. The Lee S. Kreindler Professor of Law at Harvard Law School published a book in 2018 about how the misdemeanor system punishes the poor and people of color, exposing the inner workings of an often-overlooked aspect of the criminal justice system. Now the work, “Punishment Without Crime: How Our Massive Misdemeanor System Traps the Innocent and Makes...

The history and importance of the Black Church

March 9, 2021

Excerpted from “The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song” by Henry Louis Gates Jr. (Penguin Press)

Political activists — including Malcolm X, of course, but especially the Black Panther Party in the latter half of the 1960s — have debated whether the role of the Black embrace of Christianity under slavery was a positive or negative force. There were those who argued that the Black Church was an example of Karl Marx’s famous indictment of religion as “the opium of the people” because it gave to the oppressed false comfort and hope, obscuring the...