Engineered Conflict: Structural Violence and the Future of Black Life in Chicago
Legacies of Racism
April 1, 2026
4:30 PM - 6:00 PM (CT)
Location
Chicago Teachers Union
Address
1901 W. Carroll Ave, Chicago, IL 60612
Cost
Free
Calendar
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Join IRRPP, CTU, and Haymarket for a book talk with David Stovall based on his latest book, Engineered Conflict: Structural Violence and the Future of Black Life in Chicago. Dr. Stovall will discuss themes from the book, such as the displacement and isolation of Black communities and the ways people of color support each other and collectively resist capitalism and white supremacy. Dr. Stovall will be joined in conversation by Elizabeth Todd-Breland.
Date posted
Sep 25, 2025
Date updated
Dec 10, 2025
Speakers
David Stovall | Professor in the departments of Black Studies and Criminology, Law & Justice | University of Illinois Chicago
David Stovall, Ph.D. is a professor in the departments of Black Studies and Criminology, Law & Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). His scholarship investigates three areas 1) Critical Race Theory, 2) the relationship between housing and education, and 3) the intersection of race, place and school. In the attempt to bring theory to action, he works with community organizations and schools to address issues of equity, justice and abolishing the school/prison nexus. His work led him to become a member of the design team for the Greater Lawndale/Little Village School for Social Justice (SOJO), which opened in the Fall of 2005. Furthering his work with communities, students, and teachers, his work manifests itself in his involvement with the Peoples Education Movement, a collection of classroom teachers, community members, students and university professors in Chicago, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area who engage in collaborative community projects centered in creating relevant curriculum. In addition to his duties and responsibilities as a professor at UIC, he also served as a volunteer social studies teacher at the Greater Lawndale/Little Village School for Social Justice from 2005-2018.
Elizabeth Todd-Breland | Associate Professor of History and Affiliate Faculty in Black Studies | University of Illinois Chicago
Elizabeth Todd-Breland is Associate Professor of History and Affiliate Faculty in Black Studies at the University of Illinois Chicago. She is author of “A Political Education: Black Politics and Education Reform in Chicago Since the 1960s” and co-author of “I Didn’t Come Here to Lie: My Life and Education.” Her research and teaching focus on U.S. urban history, African American history, the history of education, and public policy. From 2019 to 2024, Todd-Breland served as a member of the Chicago Board of Education.