Join us for our virtual 2021 Community MLK Celebration event, a conversation with the author of New York Times Bestseller, I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness. Austin Channing Brown will speak to the task of building community out of chaos in this discussion moderated by Jaronda Miller- Bryant, Program Director of Engaged Scholarship at the Maxine Platzer Lynn Women’s Center.

I’m Still Here shot to the top 20 of Amazon’s bestsellers list, leading in its categories for months, and has received acclaim from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and more. It has also been featured in OnBeing, The Chicago Tribune, WNYC, The Religion News Service, with Shondaland declaring it, “[a] deeply personal celebration of blackness that simultaneously sheds new light on racial injustice and inequality while offering hope for a better future.” It was also selected as a book of the month for Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine book club.

Register here for the link to join this event via Zoom. If the Zoom webinar is full or you are otherwise unable to access it, view the livestream on our Facebook page. 

Please share this page or use our Facebook event to invite students, colleagues, or friends.

I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness is available from the UVA Bookstore.

Thank you to all of the UVA offices whose support makes this event possible!

Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:
   Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights
   Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Department of Women, Gender & Sexuality
School of Nursing

Austin Channing Brown is a speaker, writer and media producer providing inspired leadership on racial justice in America. She is the author of I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness and the Executive Producer of web series The Next Question. Her workshops and lectures are incisive, fun, disarming and transformative. By using an intentional mix of humor, pop-culture, story-telling, and audience engagement, she awakens people to the current realities of systemic racism and the everyday actions which allow racism to thrive. Austin evokes thought, feeling and action as she celebrates Blackness and the possibility of justice in our organizations and communities.  

As a media producer, Austin creates content that centers the experiences of Black women, dismantling the foundations of white supremacy. Her nationally-celebrated first season of The Next Question included Macarthur Genius Nikole Hannah-Jones, NYT bestselling authors Brene Brown, and Jasmine Guillory, and more. Alongside her co-creators Chi Chi Okwu and Jenny Booth Potter, the hosts examine complex topics affecting social justice while simultaneously celebrating the humanity of their guests.

Austin has a Bachelor of Arts in business management from North Park University as well as a Masters in Arts in social justice from Marygrove College in Detroit. Austin’s professional career began in the non-profit sector including homelessness/housing, youth engagement, fund development, and church operations.