The Democratizing Racial Justice Project
Democratizing Racial Justice is a research and creative scholarship project in partnership with community-based organizations in San Antonio. With $5 million in support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, we are able to create a new vision for higher education in our community and beyond.
Who We Serve
Connecting Educators & Students
with the San Antonio Community
Our students, faculty, and community members will work in multiple endeavors and pathways; from internships, fellowships, teaching academies, and more to explore greater understanding. Our educators and students will learn to build and develop meaningful relationships with their local community from diverse backgrounds and origins by taking part in our fight for a just future.
DRJ Partnerships
The DRJ offers scholarly research-based resources via community-based endeavors to envision and realize racial justice. Through site-based collaborations and partnerships, Democratizing Racial Justice elevates co-created community knowledge for just societies, transforms access to the academy for all, and propagates transformative pedagogies in Ethnic Studies and the humanities.
Artists in Residence
Democratizing Racial Justice (DRJ) is honored to announce the San Antonio artists selected for the 2024 DRJ Artists in Residence: Marisela Barrera, Briana Blueitt, Veronica Castillo, Anel I. Flores, Andre Renteria Menchaca, Amalia Ortiz, cruz ortiz, Tanesha S. Payne, Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson, and David Zamora Casas.
News and Events
July 24, 12:00-2:30 pm
Craft a comic to create your own narrative and find your voice through storytelling. Participants will learn to create characters that are self-reflective and through a community lens. Polly will teach workshop attendees how to draw, write, and assemble their own comic, all by using papers, sticky notes, and sharpies! The workshop is open to the public. Previous art experience not required! Registration is limited to 24 participants and will be on a rolling basis. The registration form will close the week of June 21, 2024. Date: July 24, 2024 Time: 12:00-2:30pm Location: REGSS Community Room (DB 3.202), UTSA Downtown Campus
Location: UTSA Downtown Campus, REGSS Community Room, DB 3.202
July 25, 6:00PM
As AI reshapes the creative landscape, one visionary proposes a new direction: a return to the human spirit. Embracing hyper-specificity, intimate communities, and multimedia innovation, the future of art becomes a canvas for personal expression, social connection, and interactive exploration. In this evolving landscape, art transcends mere utility, weaving threads of emotion and experience to ignite the imagination and unite communities in shared expression.
Location: UTSA Downtown Campus, REGSS Community Room, DB 3.202
October 18-19, 2024, 6:00 PM
The event is dedicated to examining and sustaining conversation about what it means to Democratize Racial Justice. After years of Mellon funded work, we want to bring together DRJ collaborators – educators, community leaders, artists, scholars, writers, singers and more – to share perspectives, projects, and final products. The gathering will be anchored by testimonios of work accomplished, conversations about sustaining social justice efforts in these times, and showcasing the amazing products created since DRJ started in January of 2021.
Location: TBD
Library Portal
Our dynamic library portal features a variety of resources for Ethnic Studies educators, future scholars, community members, and enthusiasts alike. Here, you will find a curated collection of teaching guides, community workshops, and meaningful discussions, all focusing on DRJ's mission to document and illuminate the boundless histories of our local community.
