2026 CDS Forum

Join us for the 16th Annual Critical Diversity Studies Forum, "Educate to Liberate: How Learning Sets Us Free," on Tuesday, September 29th, 2:40–4:25 PM in Presentation Theater.

"Educate to Liberate: How Learning Sets Us Free” asks us what it means to pursue knowledge, creativity, and collective learning in a time marked by censorship, attacks on DEI and the humanities, anti-immigrant policies, technological disruption, and growing social inequities. Together, we will explore how education, storytelling, art, and community can help us confront injustice, sustain one another, and imagine more liberatory futures.

This year’s Forum will feature Ruby Ibarra, a rapper, spoken word artist, and director most notably recognized by her performances that center her experiences as a Filipina American immigrant woman growing up in the SF Bay Area. Ibarra's powerful lyrics address colonialism, immigration, colorism, and misogyny, putting community and culture at the forefront of her art. In May 2025, Ibarra was declared the winner of NPR's 2025 Tiny Desk Contest.