Keynote Speakers

Azadeh Shahshahani (she/her) is the legal and advocacy director for Project South and an internationally renowned human rights attorney. She has worked for a number of years to protect and defend immigrants and Muslim, Middle Eastern, and South Asian communities. She previously served as president of the National Lawyers Guild and director of the National Security/Immigrants’ Rights Project for the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia.

Bree Newsome (she/her) is an activist, community organizer, filmmaker, and musician. She first garnered national attention for her daring act of civil disobedience in June 2015. Following the white supremacist mass shooting at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, Bree climbed the flagpole at the South Carolina statehouse and pulled down the Confederate flag as a protest against its racist symbolism. Her arrest galvanized public opinion and led to the permanent removal of the flag. 

Dr. Monica C. Bell is a Professor of Law & Associate Professor of Sociology at Yale University. Bell works at the intersection of law and sociology, using sociological tools to explore a wide variety of legal questions, mostly those focused on race and class inequality. Some subject matters that Bell has focused on include policing, structural and interpersonal violence, safety and security, welfare and public benefits, and housing and residential segregation.