Join James Arvanitakas for "The great reversal: how did we go from (almost) universal support for Black Lives Matter to a moral panic over critical race theory?"

In May 2020, the world witnessed in horror as a Minneapolis police officer leaned on the throat of George Floyd with his knee and slowly suffocated him. The murder of George Floyd led to an outpouring of grief with mass vigils, sports stars ‘taking the knee’, high profile organizations vowing to be part of racial healing and the re-birth of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. The protests that started in the United States quickly spread across the world. It is hard to understand that only a year later, this promise of reconciliation has been replaced by a wholescale backlash as witnessed through the moral panic towards critical race theory. Drawing on my 12 months Fulbright Fellowship at the University of Wyoming – based in a deep red state - I unpack the reasons for this great reversal.

BIO:

Professor James Arvanitakis is the Executive Director of the Australian American Fulbright Commission. After successful careers in finance and the not-for profit sector, James pursued a career as an educator. He was the driving force behind several innovative programs at Western Sydney University including the establishment of The Academy and most recently he was the Pro Vice Chancellor (Engagement and Advancement). Professor Arvanitakis spent 12 months at the University of Wyoming as the Milward L Simpson Fulbright Fellow, received the Prime Minister’s University Teacher of the Year Award (2012) and named an Eminent Researcher by the Australia India Education Council (2015) for his research in citizenship, higher education and trust. In 2021, he was named the inaugural Patron of Diversity Arts Australia. In 2022, he was appointed an Honorary Professor at the ANU.