Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr. will give a keynote speech at UC Santa Cruz on May 22nd at 7:30pm at the Stevenson Event Center. The title of the program is “United Through Love, The Courage to Lead”. The event is free; doors open at 7:00pm and RSVP is required.

One of the nation's most prominent scholars, Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., is a passionate educator, author, political commentator, and public intellectual who examines the complex dynamics of the American experience. Glaude is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of African American Studies at Princeton, serving as the inaugural chair of the department for more than fourteen years. He frequently appears in the media, as a columnist for TIME Magazine and as an MSNBC contributor on programs like Morning Joe and Deadline Whitehouse with Nicolle Wallace. He also regularly appears on Meet the Press on Sundays. Combining a scholar's knowledge of history, a political commentator's take on the latest events, and an activist's passion for social justice, Glaude challenges all of us to examine our collective American conscience.

Glaude’s writings, including "Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul", "In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America", and his most recent, the New York Times bestseller, "Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for our Own", takes an exhaustive look at Black communities, the difficulties of race in the United States and the challenges we face as a democracy.

This special event is sponsored by engaging education (e2), a student-initiated outreach and retention center for student engagement and academic excellence. Since 2004, engaging education has designed and produced outstanding programs that support the recruitment and retention of young people from historically under-resourced communities. As part of its mission to provide a purposeful, transformative, and relevant educational experiences for all students, engaging education hosts an annual Changemakers event that features national social justice leaders. engaging education is honored to have Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr. as its 2025 Changemaker speaker.

Co-sponsors of the program include: Asian Pacific Islander Student Alliance (APISA), Bayanihan, Black Student Union (BSU), Movimiento Estudiantil Chicané de Aztlan (MEChA), Student Alliance of North American Indians (SANAI), SOL Council, Student Media Council, Education for Sustainable Living Program (ESLP), Campus Sustainability Council (CSC), Student Environmental Center (SEC), Communities of Color and Native American Student Press Collective (TWANAS), Thai Student Association, Student Union Assembly (SUA), Lionel Cantú Queer Center, Cultural Arts and Diversity Resource Center, African American Resource and Cultural Center, American Indian Resource Center, Women’s Center, El Centro, CoCurricular Activities Office, Cowell, Nine, John R. Lewis, Kresge, Porter, and Oakes Senates, and the Merrill and Kresge Colleges, and the departments of Baskin Engineering, Community Studies, Feminist Studies, History, History of Consciousness, Latin American and Latino Studies, Legal Studies, Sociology, and the Politics Department: Democratic Discourse and Engagement Initiative, and the Institute for Social Transformation.