Dear SSJ Forum,


The Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies (ICAS) at Temple University, Japan Campus cordially invites you to our public lecture on February 26, 2019. All ICAS events are held in English, open to the public, and admission is free unless otherwise noted. Following is the event detail. Hope to see you there.



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In the Shadow of Destrehan: Legacies of Slavery
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Tuesday, February 26, 2019 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.)
Temple University, Japan Campus, Azabu Hall, 1F Parliament



Speakers:
Azby Brown, Architect and Design theorist
Catherine Pugh, Adjunct Professor at the Beasley School of Law at
Temple University, Japan Campus



Registration: icas@tuj.temple.edu
* Registration is encouraged, but not required.



Overview:



This event addresses the ways in which the legacies of racial segregation and discrimination have influenced American society, spanning the era of slavery to the post-Civil-War Reconstruction and the imposition of the "Jim Crow" system of legal segregation. In recent years we have seen the byproducts of this system in the criminal justice system, the disenfranchisement of voting rights and the control and exclusion of minorities in public space. While immigration restrictions have been a priority of the Trump administration, the civil rights and life chances of minorities are more broadly embattled, and racial exclusion has remained in various forms and continues to divide American society. The current political moment has turned the spotlight on deeply rooted racial divisions, but there is nothing new in this except that the media has amplified pre-existing racial divides and brought attention to the plight of minorities in contemporary society.



This event examines the legacy of slavery in the U.S., focusing initially on the plantation system in southern Louisiana, with the Destrehan river plantation north of New Orleans serving as a case study for the system of slavery that predominated in this era. Azby Brown, a direct descendant of the Destrehan family, whose patriarch served as the first United States Senator from Louisiana in 1812, and at the direction of President Thomas Jefferson was influential in the transition of the Orleans Territory to statehood, will speak to the racial politics in the South and reflect on his family history and how resistance to racial justice continues to manifest itself today within white society and institutions.



Catherine Pugh will discuss the origin and evolution of Jim Crow laws in the United States (legalized segregation). After slavery was almost entirely banned in 1865 by the 13th Amendment, lawmakers - particularly those in the south - developed Jim Crow laws to enforce racial segregation and protect race hierarchies. Ms. Pugh will discuss their direct influence on not just modern laws, but also on current social and professional norms in the United States.



Speakers:
Azby Brown is an architect and design theorist whose in-depth study of Japan provides inspiration for the future of sustainable urban living. Raised in New Orleans with a background in music, theater, and dance, he studied fine art and architecture at Yale, after which a series of chance opportunities led him to move to Tokyo and build a life and career devoted to smart design. He has written books profiling the ingenuity of space-constrained Japanese architecture and showcasing the bold solutions from pre-industrial Tokyo to fend off environmental and resource catastrophe. Since the 2011 Tohoku disasters, Mr. Brown has been a leading member of SAFECAST, a citizen-science organization that concentrates on collating and summarizing research findings concerning health, the environment, and social issues related to the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster.


Catherine Pugh specializes in criminal defense law, with an emphasis on litigating civil rights and police misconduct matters. She was an Honors Hire for the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, and conducted "pattern and practice" investigations in DOJ's Special Litigation Section. She also served as a trial attorney for the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. Ms. Pugh is a current Adjunct Professor at the Beasley School of Law at Temple University, Japan Campus, and teaches Evidence, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Legal Research and Writing. She also teaches "African-Americans: Equality and the Law" at Temple University, Japan Campus, which considers civil rights laws in education, policing, voting, housing and employment. Mr. Pugh was nominated for The American Society of Legal Writers Scribes Award for her comment What Do You Get When You Add Megan Williams to Matthew Sheppard and Victim Offender Mediation? A Hate Crime Law Prosecutors Will Actually Want to Use. She is admitted to the Maryland State Bar.