2021-22 Symposium: Beyond the Rhetoric: Civil Rights & Our Shared Responsibility

On behalf of the Rothko Chapel and our Board of Directors, thank you for The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation’s generous past support and endorsement of Rothko Chapel’s mission.

The mission of Rothko Chapel is to create opportunities for spiritual growth and dialogue that illuminate our shared humanity and inspire action leading to a world in which all are treated with dignity and respect. Undergirding this mission is an affirmation of the importance of spirituality as the bedrock for creative practices, individual and community transformation, and collective action. As a sacred art space, the Chapel is committed to human rights and serving as a rallying place for all. Central to this mission is the commitment to support those who are marginalized and to strengthen our collective efforts to address the world’s most divisive, urgent, and difficult problems. In recent years, our programming has focused on critical issues with regional, national, and international implications including income inequality, mass incarceration, immigration reform, and racial inequality. In conjunction with the Rothko Chapel’s 50th Anniversary and commitment to furthering social justice in Houston and beyond, the 2021-22 Symposium will explore the current state of human rights in the United States and how individuals, grassroots initiatives, and policy makers can work together to create a more equitable future for all.

The Symposium launched in the fall of 2021 with four virtual lectures exploring both the historical contexts and contemporary conditions surrounding LGBTQIA+ rights in America, Indigenous perspectives on the concepts of human rights, Immigration and poverty. The conversations started during these discussions continue this spring from March 31-April 1, 2022 in a virtual symposium that examines the multifaceted understandings and approaches to human rights and civil liberties in the United States with a particular focus on how individuals, grassroots initiatives, and policy makers can work together to create a more equitable future for all.
Questions that this series is exploring include: How have civil rights historically been understood and applied in this country? Who are the beneficiaries of current civil rights advocacy and who has been left out? Are there civil rights and liberties that are particularly at-risk today? How can we become more effective advocates and activists as we work to address broader injustice and create an equitable society? How can we rethink our approaches to the concept of rights, responsibilities, and civil liberties? And how can we sustain our passion for social justice and long-haul activism?

The virtual symposium will include a total of seven interactive sessions including panel discussions, conversations, and opportunities for breakout discussions. Confirmed participants include the highly acclaimed civil rights lawyer, advocate, legal scholar and author of “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness”, Michelle Alexander; Guardian columnist, social movement lawyer and author of “Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom,” Derecka Purnell; Senior Lecturer in Leadership, Organizing and Civil Society at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University Marshall Ganz; and Lawyer, Professor and President of the Texas Civil Rights Project Mimi Marziani; with additional participants to be confirmed.

One of the Rothko Chapel’s greatest strengths is the ability to plan and deliver exceptional programming highlighting diverse artistic and spiritual media that focuses on critical issues of the day. These seven conversations will form an integral launching point for future Rothko Chapel programming, furthering opportunities for collaboration as our audiences become more engaged and knowledgeable in the issues facing the world today. A key aspect of the Chapel’s mission is to foster dialogue between people across religious, economic, and political spectrums, inspiring action through the power of art and contemplation, and providing a rallying place for all.

Our modest endowment funds approximately half of our annual budget, so the Chapel relies on contributions from individuals and foundations to provide full funding for these vibrant and important programs. Rothko Chapel, like many organizations today, are struggling to meet fundraising goals amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, along with meeting budgetary goals due to the increased production costs associated with shifting programming online. A generous $10,000 grant from the Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation will help ensure that we are able to meet our goals as the Chapel strives to expand our service and outreach to the community, inspiring thousands of people to action in the hope of creating a more just and compassionate world.