Challenges to Citizenship in the United States
Challenges to Citizenship in the United States
Elizabeth R. OuYang
Adjunct Professor, Columbia University and New York University
Monday, 25th March 2019, 12:30 – 13:30
Room 723, 7/F., Cheng Yu Tung Tower
Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong
Room 723, 7/F., Cheng Yu Tung Tower
Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong
The granting or denial of citizenship to Africans, Latinos, and Asian Americans in the U.S. has been a malleable concept, shaped by war, labor needs, the economy, and white supremacy. From the infamous 1857 Supreme Court decision refusing to recognize Dred Scott, a person of African American descent as a citizen, followed by the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act to the recent Muslim ban, this talk will examine the challenges to citizenship as America progresses to becoming a majority minority country in 2050.
Elizabeth R. OuYang has been a civil rights attorney and community advocate for more than 30 years. Her areas of expertise include voting, census, immigration, disability rights, media accountability, and combating hate crimes and police brutality. In 2000, Ms. OuYang was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton to serve as special assistant to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. OuYang teaches “Comparative Constitutional Challenges Impacting African, Latino, and Asian American Communities” and “Post 9/11 Immigration Policies” at Columbia University. At New York University, she teaches the comparative constitutional course and courses dealing with managing diversity and inclusion in the workforce. New York University awarded OuYang the 2014 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Faculty Award and Mayor Bloomberg bestowed on OuYang the 2010 American Dreamer Award for Ambassadorship. OuYang was a mentor with Legal Outreach, a program empowering under served teenagers to prepare for moot court debates and college. As president of OCA-NY Asian Pacific American Advocates, a civil rights non-profit volunteer group, OuYang led the community advocacy for justice for Private Danny Chen, a 19 year old soldier found dead in Afghanistan after weeks of racial maltreatment and hazing by his superiors. OuYang founded and continues to supervise OCA-NY’s Hate Crimes Prevention Art Project, now in its 12 successful year. OuYang is a 1986 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts.
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