Labor Café: Civil Rights@Work: Ongoing Debates over Equality at the American Workplace
Friday, February 21, 5:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.
Geddes Hall, Coffee House
Please join the Higgins Labor Program for the next session of the Labor Cafe, where we’ll engage questions of labor markets, civil rights, DEI, meritocracy, and the role of government in all of this.
Co-Facilitators:
- Ashley Estelle ‘26 (History, Africana Studies, Poverty Studies)
- Eve Kelly, Executive Director, Institutional Transformation and Belonging
- Dani Schwartz ‘25 (Finance, Business & Economic History)
Non-Required Reading/Watching to get the conversation started:
- “What is DEI, and why is it dividing America?,” CNN, Jan 23, 2025
- “‘Thank goodness for them’: Black History Month honors labor leaders amid Trump rollbacks,” USA Today, Feb 7, 2025
- “As Trump Attacks D.E.I., Some on the Left Approve,” New York Times, Feb 6, 2025
- “Clinging to Control,” Chronicle of Higher Education, Feb 12, 2025
- “The War on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” The New Yorker, Feb 8, 2025
- “Trump Is on the Wrong Side of History by Design,” New York Times, Feb 12, 2025
- “Continuing the Work of DEI, No Matter What Your Company Calls It,” Harvard Business Review, Dec 13, 2024
- “Diversity, equity, and Inclusion isn’t What You Think,” Tedx Talks, May 20, 2022
- “Where Trump, Musk and DOGE Have Cut Federal Workers So Far,” New York Times, Feb 13, 2025
- “The Data On DEI,” the Synergist, Mar 2024
Labor Curious? Visit the Labor Café — where ND talks work!
The Labor Café convenes the Notre Dame community for casual conversation on contemporary questions about work, workers, and workplaces. What rights and protections should those who work for others have? What’s the proper role for government in the economy? How should we address enduring problems of inequality, poverty, and lack of opportunity? And what does Catholic social tradition have to say about these labor questions? Participants choose the concrete topics, all people are welcome, and all opinions are entertained.