A Path Forward

Photo of four people holding signs for Black Lives Matter and racial justice

As an academic community, the most important thing we can continue to do is to fill this moment with the strength of our collective voices.

We must not only condemn the killing of Black Americans and the continued violence against and harassment of people of color, we must use our voices to demand change and take actions to ensure that change begins — and does not stop — with us. Reporting, witnessing and analyzing networks of communion and community, while speaking truth to power, is what we do. And this has never been more important than right now. 
 
We have created this page to provide the USC Annenberg community with a space to come together — to actively, openly and compassionately engage with issues of racial justice. 

To begin, we have a growing body of work that Miki Turner, assistant professor of professional practice, has started with our students to help them seize this moment and to elevate their voices. We are also including the work of our faculty, staff, alumni and wider community, who are using their research, practice, teaching and scholarship to navigate this ongoing crisis.

Photo by Miki Turner.

 

Community Voices

Photo of a Black Lives Matter protest on the street where a person sits on top of a car with a sign that says #BlackLivesMatter

Signs of the times

“These, my friends, are the signs of the times. America is under arrest — literally and figuratively. The senseless slayings of Black people by policeman and ordinary citizens; a president who’d rather deflect than reflect and do his job; a contagion that is killing us physically and spiritually and a nation that can’t get out of its own way long enough to heal from all of wounds of the past and present. These shots were taken in downtown Los Angeles and the Miracle Mile/Fairfax district.” —Miki Turner, assistant professor of professional practice

Photo of a Black police officer in front of a crowd of protesters

The mornings after the nights before

“I decided to do a photographic, journalistic essay as a way to process, highlight and reflect upon some of the aspects of the current crisis. Following scholars like Les Black, the idea is to develop a sociological lens through which to better understand the social world, using our ethnographic eyes and ears. All photos were taken over many, many hours between Friday, May 29 and Sunday, May 31, 2020, in downtown Los Angeles, using a Samsung S8 phone. No filters, cropping or adjustments have been made to the images other than my decision as to what to photograph, when and from what angle.” —Ben Carrington, associate professor of journalism and sociology