Good Trouble Conversations on Race and Justice
Join us for moderated, open and free discussions about current race and justice topics and how we can effect positive change. For more information about the Good Trouble Conversations series, contact the Community for Belonging.
These conversations are inspired by the late Congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis, who passed away in 2020. Lewis, who was beaten by police during the "Bloody Sunday" civil rights march in Selma, Alabama, called on people to "get in good trouble, necessary trouble and redeem the soul of America." He urged young people to speak out, be persistent, and be non-violent in demanding transformational societal change.
Spring 2025 Conversations
Good Trouble Conversation with Dr. Graham-Dickerson
Oppression of a People: Its Impact on Their Health Equity
Discussion on the importance of health equity and why it does not exist in the African American Communities
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 5
Time: 12:30 p.m.
Location: Claver Hall, 328
Description: Dr. Phyllis Graham-Dickerson is a Professor at Regis University, Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions, as Director, Department of Belonging, Health Equity and Social Justice. Dr. Graham-Dickerson has been in the nursing profession for 52 years with 32 of those years in academia. Prior to that time, she worked in the clinical setting providing quality care for vulnerable populations; held a variety of leadership roles in clinical settings that included supervising nurse managed clinics, assistant director of nursing in acute care, Vice-President Patient Care Services and so on. She is a graduate of the University of Colorado where she obtained her PhD in nursing with previous degrees from Boston College with a BSN, and a Master's in Community/Public Health Nursing from Loma Linda University. She has numerous publications, presentations and involvement in research projects on belonging, health equity and social justice including culturally responsive conversations and teaching.
Women's History Month: A Conversation on Radical Empathy in Multicultural Women’s Fiction, with Dr. Lara Narcisi and Dr. Nicki Gonzales
Date: Tuesday, March 18
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Location: Loyola Hall, 5
Description: Dr. Nicki Gonzales and Dr. Lara Narcisi will discuss the latter’s recent book, Radical Empathy in Multicultural Women’s Fiction: From the Library to Liberation. The book calls readers to expe-rience radical empathy through fiction by putting women writers of color’s works in conversa-tion with each other. It forges dialogues between contemporary Asian American, African American, and Chicana writers around intersectional topics of race, gender, and class, aspiring to inspire readers to take action for social justice. Dr. Narcisi and Dr. Gonzales hope to model this same style of academic conversation around topics of race and gender in both their work.
The La Raza Report in Action: Transforming Outcomes for Latine Communities
Date: Thursday, April 10
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Felix Pomponio Family Science Center 212
Description: “Speak up, speak out, get in the way. Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.” (John Lewis, July 17, 2021)
John Lewis embodied the spirit of assertive, meaningful, and deliberate action for ensuring civil rights for all. This spirit guided the Denver Public Schools as they moved to identify those issues that not only impeded but also contributed to the success of Latino students, parents, and staff experiences within the school district.
In November 2022, the Denver Public Schools (DPS) contracted with the Multicultural Leadership Center, LLC (MLC) to conduct a comprehensive research project focused on the question: “What are the barriers and opportunities for Latino students, parents, and staff within the Denver Public Schools.” The DPS Latiné Success Team and MLC Research Team will present both the results of the research and the DPS strategy for addressing the issues identified by the project.
John Lewis, speech to college graduates, 2016You must find a way to get in the way and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. You have a moral obligation, a mission and a mandate, when you leave here, to go out and seek justice for all. You can do it. You must do it.
Community Forum on Race and Justice
We've been here many times before, but this moment feels different. The scale of protests; the intensity of pain being shared by the Black community; the expressions of support and allyship from other historically marginalized communities and white citizens; and the tenor of the calls for justice from public figures, faith leaders, and educational institutions—these give me hope. These forces are pushing us all to reckon with America's original sin of racism and its institutions, policies, and attitudes.
As an American historian, I look to the past to make sense of the present and to hope for the future. Our history is filled with moments of opportunity that we squandered. Moments when we had the chance to prioritize the promises of our founding documents and we didn't. Moments when justice-minded folks almost found unity, but then didn't. Moments when we created programs for change, but then forgot to listen to those most affected by them. My hope is that we seize this moment and come together in the long, hard work of justice and resist the forces that try to divide us. My hope is that we all use our privilege to amplify voices that are all-too-often silenced or ignored in the flurry of activity and emotions of moments like this.
Thank you to all who contributed their words of wisdom and strength here. Making our voices heard collectively is the first step in this movement. Please take a moment to read the messages from our diverse community, then explore our collection of resources to learn about these issues for yourself. I encourage you to reflect on and discern how we can make, seek, and achieve justice together.
Nicki Gonzales, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion
Associate Professor of History, Regis College
Hear Prof. Gonzales discuss historic monuments on Colorado Public Radio
"A New Racial Profile," monotype/silkscreen by Professor Tony Ortega
Get Involved
Voices
Reflections and calls to action from Regis University students, faculty and staff.
Amadia Al-Amin: Feeling unsafe doing ordinary things
Asian Student Alliance: The model minority myth
Asian Student Alliance: We plead for recognition
Barbara J. Wilcots: Do you see me?
Black Student Alliance: Here we are again. And again. And again.
Christopher Pramuk: Elijah McClain, Pray for Us
Fr. Fernando Álvarez-Lara, S.J.: We are asking for breath
Message from then-President Fitzgibbons: Stand against anti-Asian hate
Message from then-President Fitzgibbons: Regis University stands with you
Nicki Gonzales: We can't afford to fail this time
Patrick I. Romero-Aldaz: As an institution, we must live our mission
Regis University Student Government Association (RUSGA): This racism did not begin with the virus
Regis University Student Government Association (RUSGA): Through dialogue we affect positive change
The Regis community, led by RUSGA officers, demonstrated for the Black Lives Matter movement at the Colorado statehouse in June. Then-President Rev. John P. Fitzgibbons, S.J., and other Jesuit priests joined the protest and led prayers. (Photos by Bear Gutierrez)
Elijah McClain, 25 February 1996 – 30 August 2019– posted by my friend, the artist and iconographer, William Hart McNichols. My own meditation on his painting follows.