The two foundations the inaugural cohort of Freedom Scholars Sept. 15. The 12 were chosen from among scholars at the forefront of movements for social justice. Each will receive $250,000 over two years.

“The Freedom Scholars are leading abolitionist, Black, feminist, queer, radical and anti-colonial studies, critical fields of research that are often underfunded or ignored,” the foundations said in the announcement.

The foundations teamed to create the awards “as a counter to these conditions and constraints, ensuring that scholars can undertake the full range of work necessary to build and sustain freedom movements.”

Francis studies American politics, criminal punishment, Black political activism, racial justice philanthropy and the post-Civil War South. Her 2014 book “” was the winner of the 2015 Ralph Bunche Award from the American Political Science Association. She also is editing a new book series on race, ethnicity and politics for Cambridge University Press.

Francis said she was “thrilled and humbled” by the Freedom Scholars support.

“This grant will allow me to expand the organizing work I do with incarcerated populations and will provide necessary seed funding to launch another project focused on detailing what wealthy institutions owe to communities of color,” she said. “I am committed to conducting research on past injustices and linking that information to public conversations, movement building, and policy proposals centered on repair.”

The Marguerite Casey Foundation seeks to help low-income families and communities. Carmen Rojas, CEO and president, said, “These Freedom Scholars are shifting the balance of power to families and communities that have been historically excluded from the resources and benefits of society.” Calling support for such work “pivotal,” Rojas added: “With Freedom Scholars, we seek to honor the long arc of freedom organized by leaders in our institutions of higher education.”

The Group Health Foundation works to improve health equity. CEO Nichole Maher said, “Grantees have repeatedly told us they are tired of fighting for access to systems and structures that were not created for them. What we want is a new vision and new ideas for what it means for our society to be just, fair and free. The Freedom Scholars are important to this reimagination.”

Other Freedom Scholars announced by the foundations are faculty members at the University of Illinois, the University of Mexico, Northwestern University, Princeton University, City University of New York, the New School and the University of California at Riverside, Los Angeles and Davis.

An associate professor of political science, Francis will be the editor of a new series of books from Cambridge University Press called .

Francis, on leave and at Harvard for the 2019-2020 school year, answered a few questions about the new book series. The study of race and ethnicity, she said, will be “the unifying characteristic” of all manuscripts in the series.

“I am especially interested in highlighting research that has real-world implications and speaks to the political moment,” she said. “A central focus of this series will be to connect this type of research that happens in the academy to public discussions.”

Despite confusion now reigning in United States politics, she said, it’s clear that scholars, students and the public want “rigorous and accessible manuscripts that combine an analysis of the political system with a focus on racial politics.”

Francis studies American politics, race, the development of constitutional law, black politics and the post-Civil War South, and wrote the 2014 book .

Will this series truly stand alone as the only one dedicated to those themes? 

“Yes. Currently, there is not a single book series centered on the diverse subfield of race and ethnicity in political science from a major university press. There are series on ‘social movements’ and ‘political behavior’ and ‘migration,’ as well as many on ‘American politics,’ where most of the scholarship of race and politics is subsumed.

“The absence is stunning and represents a great opportunity, especially in an era when mainstream journalists and well-established political scientists have called for analyses to rethink the role of race and ethnicity.”

That said, Francis mentioned “one notable exception” — the Oxford University Press series “Transgressing Boundaries,” focusing on black politics. But even in 2019, she said, the discipline of political science has no series focusing more broadly on race and ethnicity.

The rise of Donald Trump to the presidency, she said, “and the increasing power of authoritarian regimes abroad (Brazil, Italy, Venezuela)” have in fact increased the need for scholarship that investigates the role of race and equity in politics.”

When will readers begin seeing titles? And what will the process be for you?

“Readers should expect to see titles during fall of 2020 but it will be an incremental rollout with about two to three titles next year and about four to five titles the subsequent three years.

“With my curation of the series, I want to make sure that all of the manuscripts are diverse in terms of what groups they focus on and their methodologies. The goal of this series is focused on publishing important original research on race and  ethnicity that will be of wide interest to students, scholars and the larger public.”

The series aims to “shed light on previously understudied topics and groups.” What are examples?

Francis cites understudied topics such as political disinformation between and about racial groups; problems of race and measurement; racial capitalism; ethnicity and national security; religion and race; black women voters; surveillance; racial regimes in Western democracies; and settler colonialism.

You mention seeking work that speaks to the current political moment. How can academic books react more nimbly to current events?

The most frequent complaint she hears from colleagues about academic publishing, Francis said, is how long it can take from submission to publication of articles and books. Amid a broader discussion on institutional norms, she said, many publishers have committed to a shorter peer review process.

“The Elements series presents a revolutionary approach to an academic book, publishing with its projected 12-week production process after final acceptance. This swift timeline will ensure that important work does not languish and instead will make certain important scholarship is quickly disseminated to colleagues, students and the public.

“The shorter publication timeline opens up many opportunities for scholars of race and politics. Reignited old issues such as white supremacists marching and new topics, including the border wall and the historic number of women of color in Congress, have highlighted the pressing need for scholarship to speak to the quickly changing landscape of race and ethnicity in the United States and abroad.”

The election of Trump, Francis said, underscores how central race and ethnicity are to any analyses of the political system.

“Scholarship will not match the speed of Trump’s tweets,” Francis said, “but the accelerated timeline for review and publication will allow audiences to better understand the quickly shifting political climate.”

* * *

Other book notes:

“Afterlife of Reproductive Slavery” honored: The latest book by , 91̽��professor of English, has received one award and an honorable mention for another from the .

Weinbaum’s “,” has been awarded the , given to a monograph that addresses women and labor issues from intersectional perspectives. There is a $2,000 cash award. The book, published in March by Duke University Press, also received an honorable mention for the association’s Gloria E. Anzaldúa prize, for feminist contributions to women of color/transnational scholarship.

“American Sabor” shares best history award: “” by Marisol �������í�Dz�-�Ѿ������Ի岹, Shannon Dudley and Michelle �Ჹ�������-�ʲ�����á��, has of best historical research in recorded rock and popular music for 2019 from the . Sharing the history award with “American Sabor” is “Bing Crosby: Swinging on a Star: The War Years, 1940-1946,” a second biography of the famous actor and crooner, by Gary Giddins.

is an affiliate assistant professor and a professor, both of ethnomusicology, in the School of Music. is a professor of gender, women and sexuality studies, and adjunct professor of music. Before it became a book, “American Sabor” was an exhibit at the Experience Music Project, now the Museum of Pop Culture, in 2007.

Robin Stacey history book honored twice: 91̽��history professor has received two honors for her book on Welsh history, “,” which was published in 2018 by University of Pennsylvania Press.

The University of Wales has awarded Stacey its annual . One of three annual awards from the university, it is named for and funded by a bequest from Hull, who taught at Harvard University. And Jesus College, part of the University of Oxford, has named Stacey recipient of its annual , named for a renowned and archivist.

“My thanks to everyone involved,” Stacey said, “including the specialists at the University of Pennsylvania Press who did such a good job with its production.”

, 91̽�� associate professor of political science, has been named a with the . The institute is a multidisciplinary research and advocacy policy center within the NAACP’s (LDF).

Francis studies American politics, race and the development of constitutional law, with an emphasis on the establishment of rights and citizenship and black political activism. In her work with the institute, she will research present-day voting rights challenges in the context of the history of southern politics, as well as the development of the southern criminal justice system after the Civil War. She is also at work on a new book about that post-war era, examining the role of the criminal justice system in the rebuilding of southern political and economic power.

Francis is the author of the 2014 book “,” which won honors from the American Political Science Association and the National Society of Black Political Scientists. The book tells the story of how the NAACP’s early campaign against state-sanctioned racial violence shaped the modern civil rights movement.

“LDF has been a leader in the fight for racial justice because of its bold and innovative vision,” Francis said. “I’m excited to join TMI and further build the institute’s social science research capacity.”

James Cadogan, director of the institute, said Francis’s research and expertise will be indispensable to their work on racial justice and equality. Sherrilyn Ifill, the LDF’s president and director-counsel, said Francis’s research on civil rights, social movements and political activism in the African-American community will offer us vital perspective as we continue to reimagine how best to achieve equal justice in this country.”

Francis is one of three Thurgood Marshall Institute fellows and her term is for a year, ending in February, 2019.

Michael McCann, 91̽��professor and chair of political science, called Francis “an extraordinary scholar whose research is changing how we understand black resistance to racial subjugation and struggles for civil rights over the last 150 years.”

Her appointment to the yearlong fellowship, McCann said, “will bolster the contributions she is making to the advancement of social justice.”

###

Based on a from the LDF. For more information about Francis and her work, contact her at meganmf@uw.edu.

Immigrant rights, environmental concerns and racial, class, gender and sexual justice will be the focus of a daylong conference hosted by the at the 91̽��.

The conference, gathering activists, academics, union leaders and policymakers, is titled “.” It will be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, March 10, in Kane 225, the Walker-Ames Room.

, 91̽��associate professor of political science, will moderate a panel discussion on “Transforming Politics as Usual: Electoral Politics.” Participants will be Dulce Gutiérrez of the Yakima City Council, Rosalinda Guillen of Community to Community Development, Washington State Rep. Bob Hasegawa (D — Seattle) and Nikkita Oliver of the Seattle Peoples Party.

, 91̽��assistant professor of sociology, will moderate a panel discussion on “Retaking Ownership of the Company Town.” Participants will be Kshama Sawant of the Seattle City Council, Nicole Grant of the M. L. King County Labor Council, KJ Moon of the Democratic Socialists of America and Matt Remle of Mazaska Talks.

Author and activist will moderate a panel discussion on “Challenging Strategies for Advancing Social Justice Unionism.” Others participating are Faye Guenther of the United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 21; Eunice How of UNITE-HERE, Local 8; Dean McGrath of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 23; Sandy Restrepo of Colectiva Legal del Pueblo; and Rev. John Stean of the Ebenezer A.M.E. Zion Church in Seattle.

The welcoming and closing remarks will be by , 91̽��professor of political science and director of the Harry Bridges Center. Lynne Dodson of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO will provide some opening remarks, followed by the opening keynote address by activist and author Bill Fletcher, Jr. The lunchtime keynote address will be by Kent Wong, author, activist, and director of the UCLA Labor Center.

The conference is dedicated, promotion notes say, “to conversations among local activists on ways to join commitments and collaborate on transformative projects fighting for social justice, racial justice, gender justice and workers’ empowerment in the current political moment.”

###

For more information, call 206-543-7946 or email hbcls@uw.edu. Press interested in attending or interviewing participants may contact organizer Michael McCann at mwmccann@uw.edu.