Past Events

August 27, 2025 4:00 PM | Banning Books is Banning History, moderated by Charles Coleman, Jr., Union Chapel, 55 Narragansett Ave, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557 September 19, 2025 | House of Diggs: A Conversation on Power, Race, and Redemption in Black Political Life, in conversation with Ben Talton, Sankofa Video Books & Cafe, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001 Invited Lectures “Charles C. Diggs, Jr: America’s Most Consequential Black Congressman,” Department of Political Science, Duke University, April 19, 2024. “Congressman Charles C. Diggs, Jr.: The Politics of Moderation During the Black Power Era,” James Weldon Johnson Institute, Emory University, November 2023. “Congressman Charles C. Diggs, Jr. and the Desegregation of Commercial Air Transportation,” Aviation Adventurers Lecture Series, The Smithsonian Institution Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C., September 2023. “Latino Mayors,” Boston University, City Initiative, December 2019. “The Movement Generation,” Commencement Speaker, 192^nd Graduation Ceremony, Savannah State University, May 2018. “Community Organizing and the Alinsky Tradition,” International Conference on Community Organizing, The University of Lyon, Lyon, France, March 14-16, 2012. “The Election of Barack Obama: A Community Organizing Perspective,” A Forum on the 2008 Election, Providence College, Providence RI, November 14, 2008. “Community Organizing, Urban Youth and Education Reform,” 2008 Youth Organizing Convening: Strengthening Youth Organizing for Education Reform, New Orleans, LA, March 7-9, 2008. “Housing, Education, and Social Capital,” Affordable Housing: What’s Next Nationally and in Nashville,” Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, March 13-14, 2008. “Urban Politics within a Global Context,” A Global Look at Urban and Regional Governance: The State-Market-Civic Nexus, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, January 18-19, 2007. “The Politics of Urban School Reform,” Education Reform Forum: Developing a Roadmap of Collaboration, Providence, RI October 13-14, 2007. “Reforming Urban Public Education Systems,” Roundtable on “Reforming Publicly Funded Youth Systems,” W. T. Grant Foundation, New York, New York, March 13-14, 2003. “Education Equity from the Outside In: Moving Beyond Race and Class to Build Civic Capacity,” The Hager Lecture, Hager-Holloway Forum, St. Louis University, March 7, 2003. “Rethinking Accountability: Organizing for Public Education,” Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, January 24, 2003. “Changing Urban Politics and Urban Communities: A Community Organizing Approach,” Benjamin Hooks Lecture Series, Marcus W. Orr Center for the Humanities, University of Memphis, April 4, 2002. “City Hall and Urban School Reform: Baltimore’s Recent Mayors,” Social Sciences Forum 2001-2002 Lecture Series, University of Maryland Baltimore County, March 12, 2002. “Urban Politics and School Leadership,” “The Role of Politics in School Reform,” Conference Sponsored by the Education Writers Association, Charlotte, North Carolina, November 28-30, 2001. “Mayors and Schools: The Case of Baltimore,” “Mayors, Minorities, and Urban School Reform,” Conference Sponsored by the Russell Sage Foundation, New York, New York, May 18-19, 2001. “The Politics of Curriculum Reform in Baltimore,” Calvert Curriculum Conference, Calvert School, Baltimore, Maryland, June 13, 2000. “Black Social Capital: The Politics of School Reform in Baltimore,” The Woodbourne Foundation, Baltimore Maryland, April 7, 2000. “Mayoral Leadership and School Politics: The Case of Baltimore,” at conference, “School Accountability: The Lessons of Mayoral Takeovers,” Wayne State University, October 14-15, 1999. “Comparing Baltimore’s and Washington, D.C.’s School Reform Experience, at conference, “Education Reform in the District of Columbia: Lessons from Other Cities,” Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C., December 7, 1998. “School Reform and the City-State Connection: Maryland and Baltimore,” at conference, “Mapping the Terrain: Political Science and Educational Research,” sponsored by the Spencer Foundation, Chicago, Illinois, June 10-11, 1998. “Mayoral Leadership and Interest Group Politics: School Reform in Baltimore,” at conference, “Education Reform in the District of Columbia: Lessons from Other Cities,” Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C., March 26, 1997. “Race, Jobs, and Politics: The Challenge of School Reform in Baltimore,” a hearing on the state of Baltimore City Public Schools, Maryland State Board of Education, Baltimore, Maryland, October 1996. Professional Conference Participation “Mr. Africa: Charles C. Diggs, Jr. and the American Anti-Apartheid Movement,” paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists, March 2021, virtual presentation). “A Pension is a Promise: Voters and Municipal Pension Reform,” paper presented at annual meeting of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists, Atlanta, Georgia, March 2019 (with D. Morel, & Jonathan Collins). “A Pension is a Promise: Voters and Municipal Pension Reform,” paper presented at annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington, DC, September 2019 (with D. Morel, & Jonathan Collins). “Public Opinion and Pension Reform” paper presented at the annual meeting of the Georgia Political Science Association, Savannah, Georgia, November 9-11, 2018. “Battle for the Control of Congress: The Election of Charles C. Diggs, Jr.” paper presented at the annual meeting of the paper presented at the annual meeting of the Georgia Political Science Association, Savannah, Georgia November 10-12, 2016 “Battle for the Control of Congress: The Election of Charles C. Diggs, Jr.” paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists, Atlanta, Georgia, March 2015. “Charles C. Diggs, Jr. and the Transformation of African-American Politics,” paper presented at the annual meeting of the Social Science History Association, Baltimore Maryland, November 12-15, 2015. “Improbable Journey: Barack Obama in North Carolina and Virginia,” Southern Political Science Association, Atlanta, Georgia, January 7-11, 2010. Symposium Participant, “Discipline Reflections on Social Context,” American Educational Research Association, Chicago, April 2003. Presenter, “Rethinking Accountability: Organizing for Public Education,” Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, January 2003. Roundtable Participant, “Politics of Education Research: The Next Generation.” A Roundtable at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, 1998. Program Co-chair, 1997 Urban Affairs Association Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada. Section Chair, State and Urban Politics, 1995 meeting of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists, Baltimore, Maryland. Member, Best Dissertation Award Committee, Urban Politics Section of the American Political Science Association, 1994-95. Member, Best Book Award Committee, National Conference of Black Political Scientists, 1995. Panel Chair, “The Politics of Minority-led Urban Regimes.” A panel at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington, D.C., 1991. Panel Chair, “Urban Education: Politics, Race, & Schools.”  A panel at the annual meeting of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists, Baltimore, Maryland, 1995. Roundtable Participant, “Power and Urban Regimes.” A roundtable at the Annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, 1992.