<p>Dr. Frank Leon Roberts is an activist, professor, and political organizer based in Harlem, New York. The proud son of two formerly incarcerated parents, he is currently an Assistant Professor at Amherst College.</p><p>Roberts is the founder of Black Lives Matter Syllabus—the nationally acclaimed, open access curriculum that provides resources for teaching BLM in classroom and community settings. As a professor, he previously held teaching appointments at The New School for Public Engagement, NYU, CUNY, and Princeton.</p><p>In addition, he is working on a book titled<i> The Black Lives Matter Syllabus: Key Writings from the Movement for Black Lives </i>with Alicia Garza, one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement. He is also at work on a new book on author James Baldwin.</p><p>Dr. Roberts’ career as a grassroots political organizer has spanned two decades. He began his career as a teenager, mobilizing disenfranchised voters in the wake of the 2000 Bush/Gore Election. In 2004, Frank co-founded the National Black Justice Coalition, based in Washington, D.C. He then went on to serve as the special assistant to civil rights attorney Johnnie Cochran, whom he worked with on the early legal movement for racial reparations.</p><p>Dr. Roberts is a past winner of NYU’s Michael Parkes Distinguished Alumni Award; the MLK Trailblazer Award; the Roddenberry Fellowship; the 2022 Award for Outstanding Achievements in Social Justice Teaching at The New School; and a Ford Foundation Fellowship. </p>
Social Activist and Professor of the Nation’s First #BlackLivesMatter Course
<ul><li><Strong>Why We Can’t Wait: Black Lives Matter and the Remaking of Dr. King’s Dream </Strong></li><li>In 1963, while imprisoned in a Birmingham jail cell, Dr. Martin Luther King wrote Why We Can’t Wait, a stirring call to action that spoke of the power of everyday people to transform American democracy. Two generations later, the bold and confrontational activism of the Black Lives Matter movement continues King’s legacy---while simultaneously rejecting the classist, homophobic and patriarchal tendencies that plagued his generation. In this rousing talk, political organizer Frank Leon Roberts reflects on how Black Lives Matter is remaking American democracy---and King’s dream—for a new generation.</li><li><Strong>A Litany for Survival: Black Lives Matter in the Age of Trump</Strong></li><li>In 2015, veteran political organizer and NYU professor Frank Leon Roberts began teaching the nation’s first Black Lives Matter course on a college campus. Based on the award-winning pedagogy of his original curriculum #BlackLivesMatterSyllabus, Roberts provides audiences with riveting tools for engaging BLM in the context of our contemporary politically charged climate. In this original and inspiring talk, Roberts not only makes the compelling argument that #BlackLivesMatter is a human rights movement that is making the world a better place for all people (not just black people)—he also shares important insights about how progressives can resist (and survive) the resurgent “backlash” of neo-fascism and white nationalism currently shaping American politics. This talk is essential for anyone wanting to get a better sense of how to conceptualize BLM as a movement--- as well as anyone interested in learning more about the role that students, educators, and college campuses can play in contributing to political resistance movements.</li></ul>