Social Justice Speaker and Discussion Series Continues
Dear Niagara Community,
We are proud to announce that the Social Justice Speaker & Discussion Series will be returning, after spring break, with four exceptional presenters (see the attached listing of events). Between now and the end of the semester we will host journalists, activists, academics, and writers who have spearheaded the anti-war movement, worked within the legal system to protect the rights of activists in the US, reflected on protest movements in post-liberal America, and sacrificed their own well-being to raise awareness about injustices and inequality.
On Thursday, March 21 from 2-3:30 in Golisano 101, Barrett Brown will present on Hacking the Surveillance State (see the attached flyer). Barrett Brown is a US journalist and the founder of Project PM, a crowd-sourced investigation into the cyber-industrial complex. He was an unofficial spokesperson for Anonymous before he renounced his ties to the collective in 2011. He’s written two books, in addition to several articles about politics and journalism in the digital age.
In 2012, the FBI raided his house, and later that year he was indicted on 12 federal charges. The most controversial charge, linking to hacked data, was dropped, but in 2015 Brown was sentenced to 63 months in prison. Reporters Without Borders cited Barrett’s prosecution among its reasons for the US dropping 14 spots on its press freedom rankings in 2014. While in prison, Barrett continued to write a column from jail for The Intercept, for which he has won a National Magazine Award and a New York Press Club journalism award. He is now writing a “combination memoir/manifesto” and working on Pursuance, a software platform that he designed to help journalists, researchers, and activists collaborate.
This event is co-sponsored by the Social Justice House, NUEJAC, and the Communication Studies, Computer & Information Sciences, and Political Science Departments. It is open to the public—all are encouraged to attend!