Past Events

On Tuesday, March 30, the Strauss Center will host Tess Owen, senior reporter at VICE News who covers extremism, hate crimes and gun control, to talk about her reporting on domestic extremist movements.

This keynote panel of the 24th annual Barbara Jordan National Forum provokes a conversation about how we can create an America that lives up to its promise of the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to everyone regardless of race, status or religion. Leading the conversation will be Rodney Ellis (MPAff '77), Harris County Commissioner; Ranjana Natarajan, director, Civil Rights Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law; and Mercedes Fulbright, organizing director, Texas Working Families Party. Watch the discussion.

Join the LBJ School for a three-part series on the Latino landscape, unpacking what happened in 2020; demography and what so many people get wrong about destiny; what lies ahead; and the ongoing transformation of what it means to be Latino/a. Session 3: Is Demography Destiny? Latinos, The Census, & What Lies Ahead, with Mark Hugo Lopez, moderated by Dr. Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, assistant dean for civic engagement and lecturer at the LBJ School.

While a new administration inspires optimism, it remains important to not fall into complacency. As host of "The Next Four Years" podcast, the Washington Post's Eugene Scott spoke on "An America as Good as Promised," how that looks in the context of a new administration, and what work still needs to be done. WATCH this conversation — part of the 24th annual Barbara Jordan National Forum.

Steve Ballmer, former Microsoft CEO and founder of USAFacts, discussed the 2021 State of the Union in Numbers report, a digital resource to give Americans a data-driven overview of the nation across many different barometers.

Beto O'Rourke, former member of Congress and LBJ adjunct assistant professor, and Will Guzman, author of "Civil Rights in the Texas Borderlands," reflect on the life and legacy of physician Lawrence Nixon, a community and civil rights leader in El Paso. In 1923, Nixon challenged the law that banned Black Americans from voting in the Democratic primary. His victory in two subsequent Supreme Court decisions paved the way for dismantling all-white primaries across the South.

Despite America's most sacred ideal of egalitarianism, racial inequality has been a fact of American life throughout our history. Despite historic civil rights advancements, systemic inequity continues to be ingrained in our society—including in our own communities—holding us back from our promise. How can we all make a difference? "The Path to Racial Equity," a series of six free virtual programs beginning on Thursday, Jan. 14 at 5:30 p.m. CT, will draw on experts who will examine the issues surrounding racial inequity in Austin and offer simple, practical steps each of us can take to be part of the solution.

Dr. Varun Rai, LBJ School associate dean for research and director of the UT Austin Energy Institute, will moderate a conversation and panel with Mary Streett, bp senior vice president, and Dr. Joshua Busby and Dr. Aldo Flores-Quiroga, members of the LBJ School faculty. The discussion will highlight low-carbon efforts in the U.S. and abroad; the roles of private, nonprofit and public actors; and what's ahead for climate and energy policy in the Biden administration.

For decades, polls have shown that a majority of Americans want to replace the Electoral College with direct election of the president by popular vote. Yet since the election of 2000 the issue has become partisan, so that a constitutional amendment would be unlikely to get the necessary supermajority in Congress. The National Popular Vote campaign is an effort to make the Electoral College obsolete without a constitutional amendment, by getting a critical mass of states to agree to allocate their Electoral College votes to the winner of the national popular vote.

The LBJ School, the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy (CSRD), the LBJ Foundation, BookPeople and Huston-Tillotson University present a special program to honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. Peniel Joseph, LBJ School professor and CSRD director, discussed his critically acclaimed book, 'The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.' on Monday, Jan.18, 2021. Dr. Colette Pierce Burnette, president and CEO of Huston-Tillotson University, moderated.