FULBRIGHT Association

NEW JERSEY CHAPTER

Ukraine’s Democratic Revolution

& Russian Invasion

with Dr. Sophia Wilson

New Jersey Chapter Speaker Series Friday, November 10, 2023 at 3:00 pm EST, via Zoom

The Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution was far more than mass protests – it was a complex system of social networks working together to preserve democracy. Dr. Wilson will present her forthcoming book, a years-long study of the Maidan revolution. After the police beat and detained peaceful protesters in November of 2013, hundreds of thousands traveled to Kyiv to protest. They cooked food, connected revolutionaries with those offering free rent, and pro bono legal and medical aid. Activists organized marches, vehicle caravans, printed illegal brochures and launched social media campaigns. They argued in courts against due-process violations, fought the pro-Russian police on the streets and debated the meaning of democracy with their countrymen. The Maidan Revolution fundamentally changed Ukraine: 1) It prevented the consolidation of an authoritarian pro- Putin regime. 2) It transformed the Soviet-era social beliefs into the newly discovered concepts of civic duty. 3) It built social networks to resist police violence. MAIDAN, the extensive grassroots social movement, bringing together Ukrainians of various backgrounds, defined the new post-Maidan Ukraine and laid the solid foundation of national resistance to the Russian invasion

Dr. Sophia Wilson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, and President of the American Association for Ukrainian Studies. Wilson received her Ph.D. from the University of Washington; was a visiting scholar at the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute in 2015; taught at the Harvard Ukrainian Summer Institute in 2017 and 2019. She was a Jerome Hall Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Law, Society and Culture at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2012-13. Wilson’s forthcoming book, Maidan: Ukraine’s Democratic Revolution, reveals interactions between the state and the grassroots revolutionary movement, as well as Russian state propaganda about the revolution. Her articles appeared in the Research in Social Movements, Conflicts, and Change, the Journal of Law and Courts, Post-Soviet Affairs, and other academic venues. Wilson has provided analysis and commentary for broadcast and print media outlets regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

To register:

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_U0Z68QSvRaCmpKz3wjJXNA

FULBRIGHT Association

NEW JERSEY CHAPTER

Dr. Herbert N. Richardson, First Black Teacher of Perth Amboy, NJ

Dr. Herbert N. Richardson

Dr. Joyce Richardson-Melech

The New Jersey Fulbright Chapter invites you to join us for an afternoon of oral history-the story of local Perth Amboy icon, Dr. Herbert N. Richardson, the city’s first Black teacher. Dr. Richardson was hired in 1949 as a teacher of music in Samuel E. Shull School. His daughter, Dr. Joyce Richardson, shares her memories of this ground-breaking educator.

Richardson, the son of immigrants from the Caribbean islands of Anguilla and St. Kitts, was the city’s first Black college graduate, earning a Bachelor of Science in Public School Music degree from Virginia State College in 1942. He was also a WWII veteran who served his country by working in communications while in Germany.

Richardson became Perth Amboy’s Supervisor of Music Education in 1968 and Principal of School #10 in 1981, retiring from public education in 1987.

The webinar will be highlighted with photos of Dr. Richardson and musical selections.

New Jersey Chapter Speaker Series Thursday, October 12, 2023 at 3:00 pm EST, via Zoom.

To register: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2fcGxAkYT3KNjjdUnmO0LQ

Dr. Joyce Richardson, Vice-President of the NJ Chapter, was the recipient of the Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminars Abroad Award entitled Inside Mexico: A Journey Through History and Society in 2010. The seminar group traveled through eight different states in Mexico, including Quintana Roo, Yucatan, Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Puebla, and Mexico City. Participants explored local schools, the Universidad de la Tierra, archaeological sites, Chapultepec Castle, the Ballet Folklorico, the Basilica of Guadalupe, the Bibiloteca Palafoxiana, along with various museums and churches of historical significance. The program provided a unique opportunity to gain an insider’s perspective and understanding of the history, values, and challenges that shape Mexican culture while it gave participants a chance to practice Spanish. The participants deepened knowledge on the origins and the impact of current issues such as migration and globalization.

https://newjersey.fulbrightchapters.org/2023/10/08/webinar-dr-herbert-n-richardson-first-black-teacher-of-perth-amboy-nj/?preview_id=21617&preview_nonce=bd96095331&post_format=standard&_thumbnail_id=-1&preview=true