Events

Conversations for Our Shared Future: New York City

Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Brian Moynihan, Chair & CEO, Bank of America, and local leaders discuss how access to critical resources can shape communities across the nation. Moderated by Soledad O’Brien.

Conversations for Our Shared Future: Cleveland, OH

Local leaders discuss how access to critical resources can shape communities across the nation. Moderated by Soledad O’Brien.

Reckoning with Our Racial Past in Los Angeles

December 1-17, 2023

Three downtown Los Angeles museums presented a collaborative series of public programs in connection with the Smithsonian initiative in December 2023. With programs that ranged from symposia and panel discussions to films, food, and family activities, Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past in Los Angeles highlights the dynamic, challenging, and multicultural nature of the arts in Los Angeles.

Conversations for Our Shared Future: Charlotte, NC

Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Brian Moynihan, Chair & CEO, Bank of America, and local leaders discuss how access to critical resources can shape communities across the nation. Moderated by Soledad O’Brien.

National Education Summit: Towards A More Equitable Future

This two-part deep dive discussion explores how race has informed each of our lives, regardless of our individual racial or ethnic identity. The panel reinforces ways to support teachers in thinking about the power of dialogue in building a more equitable future with and for their students. A video series introducing operational definitions and key concepts for consideration about race and its implications in education is premiered.

2023 MAC Conference Keynote: The Power of Museums

View the program originally streamed live on March 1, 2023.

The Power of Museums: A Conversation with ICOM Vice-President Terry Nyambe and Museums Association of the Caribbean (MAC) Co-President Dr. Shani Roper. Moderated by Curator and former NAGB director, Amanda Coulson. Program was sponsored by Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past.

National Conversation on Race

View the program, originally aired on December 1, 2022. 

An exploration of how events during the last two years have impacted and shaped the ongoing legacy of race and racism in the United States.

Let’s Talk: Our Shared Future Through Education

View the program, originally aired on June 27, 2022. 

Join Soledad O’Brien and representatives from the National Council for the Social Studies, National Council for Teachers of English, National Science Teachers Association, and National Council for Teachers of Mathematics to discuss their joint position statement "The Freedom to Teach."

From ‘Our Divided Nation’ to ‘Our Shared Future’ Museums and the Advancement of Equity and Understanding

View the program, originally aired on October 27, 2021. 

The launch of the Smithsonian’s Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past initiative and the creation of two new museums by Congress, the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum and the National Museum of the American Latino, present unique moments to explore how museums can help foster courageous new will and promote opportunities for all.

The Other Slavery: Histories of Indian Bondage from New Spain to the Southwestern United States

View the program, originally aired on September 24, 2021.

The Smithsonian held a virtual symposium that explores the hidden stories of enslaved Indigenous peoples, focusing on the legacy of Spanish colonization in the Americas and Asia and its impact on what is now the southwestern United States. Experts from a range of academic disciplines, including Indigenous studies, anthropology, and history, will examine untold stories of coerced labor and peonage and the long-term impact of Indian slavery. This program seeks to give a comprehensive “first voice” to these hushed stories and living legacies.

Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past Forum

View the first forum, originally aired on August 26, 2021

The first Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past forum was a virtual program about racial inequities in wellness and wealth in the U.S. From race science to COVID-19, physical and mental health, and challenges to wealth building, we explored how we arrived where we are today and how we can imagine a new way forward together. The forum is captioned in English and Spanish. We hope you enjoy the program and join us for future forums and events.