Initiative for Race Research and Justice to host ‘Was Whoopi Right? A Webinar Panel Discussion about Race and Jewishness’

The Initiative for Race Research and Justice at Vanderbilt Peabody College will host a virtual panel discussion to address actor Whoopi Goldberg’s recent comments about race, Jewishness and the Holocaust. 

The free event is scheduled for Thursday, March 24, at 6:30 p.m. CT; registration is required. 

In early February, Goldberg, co-host of The View, was temporarily suspended from the TV show because of her comments about the Holocaust and race. She later apologized for her remarks on air. The discussion will touch on Goldberg’s initial comments and their reverberations in the Jewish community and beyond.  

Moderated by Jacob Bennett, RRJ associate director, the panel includes: 

  • Kiyomi Kowalski, social justice advocate, Marine Corps veteran and chair of the Social Justice Collective and Anti-Racism Task Force for the Board of Jewish Education at Valley Outreach Synagogue in Calabasas, California 
  • April Powers, the first equity and inclusion officer in the history of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators 
  • Oren Jacobson, a civic entrepreneur, organizer, thought leader, policy adviser and consultant focused on helping communities and organizations build the strength and capacity necessary to improve people’s lives