All of our Spring 2021 events will be hosted virtually. We will continue to update this page with any changes to our Messina events calendar.
Messina co-sponsored theme-wide and supported events are open to all Loyola community members and the surrounding Baltimore community unless otherwise noted.
January Theme-Wide Events
February Theme-Wide Events
March Theme-Wide Events
April Theme-Wide Events
Messina Supported Events
Fall 2020 Event Recordings
Wednesday, January 20
Martin Luther King, Jr., Convocation: Ibram X. Kendi
New York Times bestselling and National Book Award-winning author Ibram X. Kendi will speak at Loyola University Maryland's annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Convocation on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, at 7 p.m. The convocation, “Uprooting Racism and Inequality: Antiracist Educator and Scholar Ibram Kendi in conversation with Karsonya Wise Whitehead,” will be livestreamed.
Kendi will discuss “How to Be an Antiracist” and other significant actions to uproot racism in a conversation moderated by Karsonya Wise Whitehead, Ph.D., associate professor of communication and African and African American Studies at Loyola.
This event is free and open to all, but advance registration is encouraged.
Recording Available Here
*Available for a limited time*
Sponsored by the Office of Equity and Inclusion and Messina
A theme-wide event
7 p.m.
Tuesday, February 16
Ready for Anything 2021 - Virtual Edition
Hear from alumni about how they navigated their paths to their careers, what they have learned about themselves, and how the Humanities-based core has impacted them in their lives and careers. Also, have the opportunity to explore your own path. Join us at READY FOR ANYTHING - Virtual Edition. This two part event will be interesting, active and certainly, exploratory.
Part 1 -
Listen to young alumni speak about their own personal and professional paths in relation to the skills they developed through the core curriculum.
Part 2 -
Engage in an exploration activity which will help you relate core skills to your real life path.
Recording Available Here
Sponsored by the Career Center and Messina
A theme-wide event
4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, February 17
An Evening with R. Eric Thomas
This talk and Q & A by author R. Eric Thomas will explore themes from his book Here for It: Or How to Save your Soul in America. In this memoir in essays, Thomas describes his experience growing up in Baltimore, navigating the challenges of faith and survival for a young, queer African-American man, code switching in his majority white high school and college, and deciding to return back to his native city.
R. Eric Thomas is also a television writer (AppleTV+’s Dickinson, FX’s Better Things), a playwright, and the long-running host of The Moth in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia.
Recording Available Here
Sponsored by Messina
A theme-wide event
6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 27
Family Weekend: Messina Family Teach-In
How to Retire a Millionaire, and Other Financial Life Lessons
Messina would like to offer parents and families a chance to experience what it is like to participate in a Messina sponsored program. Messina will be hosting a Family Weekend Teach-In including a session on financial literacy.
Learn how taxes work, how to make debt less painful, and why now is the best time to start planning for retirement.
Recording Available Here
Sponsored by the Accounting Department and Messina
A Messina event
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 18
Loyola Welcomes Jose Antonio Vargas, author of Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen, the 2020-2021 Messina Common Text
Jose Antonio Vargas is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, and Tony-nominated producer. A leading voice for the human rights of immigrants, he founded the non-profit media advocacy organization Define American, named one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company. In 2020, Fortune named him one of its “40 under 40” most influential people in government and politics. His best-selling memoir, Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen, was published by HarperCollins in 2018. His second book, White Is Not a Country, will be published by Pantheon Books in 2023.
Recording Available Here
Sponsored by The Office of Mission Integration and Messina
A Loyola Mission Week and Common Text event
7 p.m.
Thursday, April 8
COMLoquium: Ella Baker Day
Black Women's Activism: Then and Now featuring Lisa Snowden-McCray in conversation with Dr. Kaye Wise Whitehead
Ella Baker Day is annual event that occurs at various locations all over the country as a way to honor and celebrate Ms. Baker's lifetime of community organizing and civil rights activism on behalf of communities (and especially women) of color. Ella Baker Day was brought to Loyola for the first time in April 2017. We are excited to present continued annual participation and engagement from both the University and the greater Baltimore community.
This year, Messina and the Karson Institute present a virtual COMLoquium featuring Lisa Snowden-McCray, in conversation with Dr. Kaye Wise Whitehead. Lisa Snowden-McCray is the managing editor and Baltimore Editor of The Real News Network. Prior to her role at The Real News Network, Snowden-McCray was a journalist and editor with Baltimore City Paper, the Baltimore Sun, as well as The Baltimore Beat, an alt-weekly she co-founded.
View Recording Here
Sponsored by Messina
A theme-wide event
12:00pm
Wednesday, April 14
One Question: What Makes You Happy?
We have one question for you. Just one. But your answer, a short film, and a conversation with a great panel of speakers will make this an event that you'll keep thinking about.
Sponsored by Messina
A theme-wide event
7:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 22
Julio Fine Arts Gallery presents Masha R. Fard
Masha R. Fard, an Iranian artist and recent graduate of the LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, will present an artist conversation in connection with this year’s common text, Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen. Fard’s painting addresses many parallel themes raised in Jose Antonio Vargas’s book, such as fundamental questions of access—to public and private space, to opportunity, to place and homeland.
Sponsored by Messina
A Common Text event
6:30 p.m.
Asynchronous Event - Available Anytime
Film Streaming: Race - The Power of an Illusion
RACE–The Power of an Illusion asks a question so basic it's rarely raised: what is this thing we call race? Since its release in 2003, the series has become one of the most widely used documentaries ever in formal and non-formal education in the US. Millions of people have used the film to scrutinize their own deep-seated beliefs about race and explore how our social divisions are not natural or inevitable, but made. Now, in 2020, the series remains salient and timely.
To access the free film, please use the following link and your Loyola login information.
Access Race - The Power of an Illusion here!
Sponsored by Messina
A theme-wide event
Asynchronous Streaming
Asynchronous Event - Available Anytime
Film Streaming: Becoming Bulletproof
Messina sponsors an asynchronous, streaming movie night! Becoming Bulletproof is a film about people making a film. A film that will introduce you to a pretty amazing cast of individuals. A film you'll look forward to watching again. Watch to see how a simple movie can offer you an opportunity to think, to connect, to act.
Please note: TubiTV, the streaming platform for this film, is a free streaming service that is ad supported. To access the free film, please use the following link.
Access Becoming Bulletproof here!
Sponsored by Messina
A theme-wide event
Asynchronous Streaming
Asynchronous Event - Available Anytime
Film Streaming: Charm City
Messina sponsors an asynchronous, streaming movie night! Charm City is a candid portrait of citizens, police, community advocates, and government officials on the frontlines during three years of unparalleled, escalating violence in Baltimore. The film highlights the positive actions undertaken by groups and individuals, who come together to rebuild, heal, and forge a better way forward. Official Selection at the Tribeca Film Festival.
To access the free film, please use the following link and your Loyola login information.
Access Charm City here!
Sponsored by Messina
A theme-wide event
Asynchronous Streaming
Messina Welcomes Sarah Smarsh, Author of Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth
Sarah Smarsh is the author of Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth. She has covered socioeconomic class, politics, and public policy.
Common Text Panel Presentation: Dear America and Ethnic Anti-racism
Representatives from organizations working on the US Border and with immigrant communities in the United States discuss the intersections of immigration and racism in their daily work.
Disability Justice Panel (Loyola’s Commitment to Justice Annual Event)
Hear personal and community stories about disability justice and join in discussions on how we all may contribute to positive change on our campus and in Baltimore.
The Bunting Peace and Justice Speaker Series Presents: "Where People Power Meets Peacebuilding"
Dr. Stephan's talk explores the relationship between civil resistance and peacebuilding and makes the case for their synergy, with reflections on the current moment and suggestions for practitioners.
The Refugee Crisis: Why So Many People Are on the Move and What We Can do About It – Lecture by Elizabeth Cullen Dunn, PhD., Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar
In this lecture, Elizabeth Cullen Dunn talks about the causes and effects of mass displacement, why attempts to help keep failing, and what can be done to help both displaced people and their host countries.
The Subtleties of Overt Racism: Continuing the Conversation
A Q&A with Alex Long, Open Society Institute Community Fellow, Director of the McElderry Youth Redemption Boxing Program, and Violence Interrupter for Baltimore Safe Streets Program.
Pop-Up Election Debrief
The Pop-Up Election Debrief event served as an opportunity for students to reflect on the election, what happened, why it happened, and how to move forward.
How to Retire a Millionaire, and Other Financial Life Lessons
Learn how taxes work, how to make debt less painful, and why now is the best time to start planning for retirement.
Common Text Panel Presentation: Baltimore and Immigration
The panel discusses the history of immigration in Baltimore and current efforts underway to welcome and support Baltimore’s newest residents. The panel includes Nick Fessenden (Baltimore Immigration Museum) and representatives from local organizations that serve the Baltimore immigrant community.