'Seeking Justice in Arizona' series addresses civil rights
The Seeking Justice in Arizona lecture series kicks off on Sept. 15, when Phoenix attorney David C. Tierney will address "Mississippi Civil Rights in the Mid-Sixties: Lessons for Today," at 4 p.m., in the Farmer Education Building, room 320, on ASU's Tempe campus.
The annual lecture series is sponsored by Justice and Social Inquiry in the School of Social Transformation, an academic unit of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The series brings the campus and community together to explore justice issues of national concern that have special importance to Arizona.
Tierney, a partner in the firm of Sachs Tierney since 1974, practices primarily in commercial construction law and as a mediator/arbitrator. A former Peace Corps volunteer, he chairs the Restorative Justice Resources Council, is past chairman of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the State Bar, and president of the Arizona Coalition for Tomorrow. Tierney's community involvement has earned him numerous awards, including an Arizona Hon Kachina Volunteer Award in 1998 and the Judge Learned Hand Award from the American Jewish Committee in 2011.
October's lecture will feature Robin Reineke, a doctoral candidate and NSF Foundation Fellow in cultural anthropology at the University of Arizona. Reineke, who researches transnational migration, forensic human identification, and "race" and human variation, is working on a project with the Office of the Pima County Medical Examiner to identify the remains of 600 deceased individuals found in southern Arizona over the last decade. Her lecture, titled "When Just Practices Are Optional: The Decentralization of Identifying Migrant Remains," will be held at 4 p.m., Oct. 26, in the Education Lecture Hall (EDC) room 117.
On Nov. 16, the series concludes with a lecture by Rebecca Tsosie (Yaqui), professor and Willard H. Pedrick Distinguished Research Scholar in ASU's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, on "The Politics of Inclusion: Indigenous Peoples and American Citizenship." It will be held at 4 p.m., in EDC 117. Tsosie has served as executive director of ASU's renowned Indian Legal Program since 1996 and has published widely on issues related to tribal sovereignty, environmental policy, and cultural rights – most recently about Native rights to genetic resources.
All lectures are free and open to the public and include time following the formal remarks to interact with the speakers. For more information contact Jennifer.Brown@asu.edu in the School of Social Transformation, 480-727-8714.