CWRU Social Justice Institute

10/07/2026

Join us this weekend!

Saturday, October 10, 2026
8 PM (Runtime: 87 min)

Chagrin Documentary Film Festival 2026
Chagrin Falls Intermediate School Theater
65 Philomethian St
Chagrin Falls, OH 44022

Crime & Parody is a feature-length documentary directed by Ohio native Will Thwaites that will premiere locally at the Chagrin Documentary Film Festival on October 10th, 2026. The film opens with the story of Anthony Novak, an amateur comedian from Parma, Ohio, who was thrown in jail for making fun of the local police department. When his legal battle reached the Supreme Court, The Onion joined his fight for free speech in a case that brought national attention to the importance of constitutional rights. But ultimately, the story of a second police encounter involving Shaker Heights resident Omar Arrington-Bey reveals far more serious stakes when a citizen's constitutional rights are violated. Several scenes in Crime & Parody were filmed at Case Western Reserve University, and the film features contributions from SJI's Director Professor Ayesha Bell Hardaway.

Visit the Chagrin Documentary Film Festival website for more information and to purchase tickets. https://cdff2026.eventive.org/

09/23/2026

This Saturday, September 26th from 12-5 pm we gather to inaugurate PRISM: Seeing Beyond Mass Incarceration at the Cleveland Public Library, Martin Luther King Jr. Branch. PRISM is an interdisciplinary initiative platforming art and justice to end mass incarceration. This event will feature artists and practitioners who have been working to shift systems and conversations.

Refreshments will be served. Registration is encouraged. For more information or to register for this free event visit https://cpl.libcal.com/event/17461919

Check out the lineup below:

12pm: Grounding with Ms. Gwendolyn Garth

12:15pm: Music and Mass Incarceration with Bakari Kitwana and Brittany Benton (DJ Red-I)

**1pm: Keynote Conversation with Gary Tyler and Ayesha Bell Hardaway**

2pm: PRISM: Practices and Perspectives of Public Artmaking with Aaron Williams, Da’Shaunae Marisa, Sherrill Roland and Fanna Gebreyesus

3pm: The Marshall Project: Inside Story with Lawrence Bartley and Louis Fields

4pm: Gathering and Catharsis - A mindfulness meditation, sound bath, and networking hour

Presented by Shooting Without Bullets, Cleveland Public Library, and LAND studio

05/13/2026

Please join the Social Justice Institute TOMORROW for Exploring Wrongful Convictions Through the Arts

**Free Event**

Thursday, May 14, 2026
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Martin Luther King, Jr. Branch
Cleveland Public Library
10601 Euclid Ave
Cleveland, OH 44106

This two-part evening opens with a preview of the 2026 Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival and its theme of Courage, led by two Cleveland Orchestra staff members: Jejuana C. Brown (Senior Director of Inclusion & Community Relations) and Joan Katz Napoli (Jane B. and Eric T. Nord Senior Vice President of Education and Community Programs).

Following this, a panel of local experts including Social Justice Institute Director, Ayesha Bell Hardaway, explore the intersection of courage, the arts, and wrongful convictions, with a specific focus on our Cleveland community.

To learn more about the event, please visit The Cleveland Orchestra website https://www.clevelandorchestra.com/events/community-conversation

04/21/2026

Now Accepting Applications for Social Justice Scholars Fall 2026!

The Social Justice Institute invites CWRU undergraduate students to apply to the Social Justice Scholars (SJS) reading group.

In Fall 2026, selected participants will be responsible for completing assigned readings and participating in each of the five sessions throughout the semester. In consideration of full participation, each Social Justice Scholar will receive a $250 award. Social Justice Scholars agree to be responsible for reading all of the assigned materials, and must attend ALL five discussion sessions. Fall participants can apply to continue as a Social Justice Scholar during the Spring semester (with an additional stipend). Our work in the Spring will build upon learning completed during the Fall semester.

There are a host of present-day societal inequities that deserve our attention and action. In devising a plan of action, it can be difficult to know where to begin. Generally, we know that coalition building and communal care are essential components of liberation. However, how to go about actualizing the work often remains elusive. This cohort of Social Justice Scholars is designed for selected scholars to examine historical liberatory efforts and then begin to explore how they may be relevant to present-day actions. Scholars sessions are led by Professor Ayesha Bell Hardaway. This academic year, SJ Scholars will be diving into Robin D. G. Kelley's Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination, Johanna Fernández's The Young Lords A Radical History, and excerpts from CWRU's own Don Freeman's Reflections of a Resolute Radical.

The five sessions will be held during the Community Hour (12:30pm to 2:00pm) on select Fridays during the semester. Dates TBD.

Applications for Fall 2026 are due by 5 pm on April 24, 2026. Apply at case.edu/socialjustice/scholars

04/13/2026

THIS THURSDAY!

"Community Conversations on Health, Science, and Technology in the Service of Justice" with Professor Lynette Hammond Gerido

Thursday, April 16, 2026
4:30 PM� - 5:30 PM
Case Western Reserve University
School of Law
11075 East Blvd
Cleveland, OH 44106

More information can be found at case.edu/socialjustice/upcoming

03/30/2026

Don't miss this event at the Law School on Thursday!

The 2026 Maya Angelou and Professor Calvin Sharpe Distinguished Lecture Black resistance to white supremacy is often reduced to a simple binary, betwe...