OHIO community welcomed to take part in Examining the Scales of Justice virtual conversation

The Ohio University community is invited to attend “Black Lives Matter: Examining the Scales of Justice,” a conversation with Sharon Cooper, on Friday, July 31 at 11 a.m. The event is sponsored by Ohio University’s Division of Diversity and Inclusion and Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. 

The virtual event will take place on Zoom and feature a discussion and Q&A session with Cooper, a social justice advocate, speaker and sister of Sandra Bland. To receive details on how to join the session, register by Wednesday, July 29 at ohio.edu/scales-of-justice.

Cooper is one of Bland’s four surviving sisters. Her untimely death and the suspicious circumstances surrounding it while in police custody sparked activism across the nation in 2015. 

“We are excited to have Sharon Cooper talk to the OHIO community at this crucial time in the fight against racial injustice,” Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Dr. Gigi Secuban said. “We hope this will bring a broader understanding to what is happening nationally and to be able to take away key actionable items that the OHIO community can implement.”

Cooper is a DePaul University alumna, with a bachelor’s in sociology and pre-law with a minor in African and Black diaspora studies. In the wake of her sister’s death, she has traveled across the country speaking about policies that serve as barriers to the progression of communities of color.

Cooper has appeared or been featured in CNN, Nightline, MSNBC, The View and USA Today. She is also a member of the #SheWoke Committee, a collective of seven national women leaders who share a vision of advocacy, equity, and sisterhood that served as the catalyst and inspiration for the first ever Congressional Caucus on Black Women & Girls.

“We also hope this conversation will help the OHIO community shift and see how racism can really impact a community. These issues start as ideological concepts and then turn into aggressions,” OHIO Heritage College Chief Inclusion Officer Dr. Tanisha King said. “We hope people will be open to the conversation and be willing to learn more about allyship. Not only that, but that it will help people to be able to recognize subtle forms of microaggressions and racism and be ready to act against it.”

Following Cooper’s talk, she will have a fireside chat with Dr. Lisa Harrison, associate professor in the Patton College of Education. The discussion will be open to the public and will be moderated by King.  

In addition to the virtual event with Cooper, the Division of Diversity and Inclusion has recently developed Commit to Care + Act, a central location for campus programming designed to provide education, resources and support for OHIO faculty, staff and students related to racial equity and social justice. To learn more and get involved, click here. 

“Hopefully this can be the start of many conversations and participants will be encouraged to delve into other diversity trainings on campus. At the end of the day, we want people to be educated advocates and committed supporters for an inclusive community,” Secuban said.

Learn more about the virtual conversation and Cooper on the Division of Diversity and Inclusion’s website.