Project Censored Director Mickey Huff is scheduled to give a keynote speech about "fake news" on Tuesday, Apr. 4 in the Student Center Ballrooms as part of the third annual Social Justice Week at Sonoma State University. The annual conference this year features 30 free events including lectures, film screenings, panel discussions and more scheduled on the Sonoma State campus April 3-7.
"The idea of fake news is not new," says Huff, chair of the History Department at Diablo Valley College and director of the nonprofit Project Censored. "Project Censored has been saying for 40 years now that corporate media is not giving us the full story."
Part of this talk will focus on what he calls the "weaponization of language" and how the term "fake news" itself is now being used as propaganda. "'Fake news' has many definitions over the years, up to the recent definition as a weapon by President Trump to shout over the lectern at the media," says Huff.
Huff says he will present ways to verify if a story is true, or how much of it is true. "What we're getting into here is news literacy, and we're trying to remind people there are some checklists you can use for information integrity," he says.
Other keynote presentations include journalist and hip-hop radio host Davey D, Peace and Freedom Party presidential candidate Gloria La Riva, and a panel on U.S. international relations with Sonoma State faculty members.
Nationally syndicated Hard Knock Radio host, multimedia journalist and adjunct San Francisco State professor Davey D speaks on the topic of culture, race and civil rights on Monday, Apr. 3 at 7 p.m. in the Student Center Ballrooms.
Gloria La Riva received 100,000 votes in California in the 2016 election. She has run for president twice as the candidate for the Peace and Freedom Party and twice for the Party for Socialism and Liberation She speaks about challenging Fascism and Imperialism on Wednesday, Apr. 5 at 7 p.m. in Stevenson 1002.
A diverse group of Sonoma State faculty members holds a panel discussion on U.S. international relations in the era of Trump on Thursday, Apr. 6 at 7 p.m. in Darwin 102. The panel includes English Professor Chingling Wo, Criminal Justice Professor Diana Grant, English Professor Tim Wandling, Chicano and Latino Studies Professor Ron Lopez and Criminal Justice Professor Napoleon Reyes.
Speakers at Social Justice Week in previous years have included author David Talbot, Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin, artist and former Black Panther Party member Mama Charlotte Hill O'Neal and many others. The conference has been organized for the past three years by Sonoma State's Social Justice and Activism Club.
About Project Censored
Project Censored was founded at Sonoma State University in 1976 by Dr. Carl Jensen as a media research program with a focus on student development of media literacy and critical thinking skills as applied to the news media censorship in the United States. Each year the organization researches, vets and compiles the top 25 most censored and under-reported news stories in the country and offers scholarly analysis and critiques for an annual book published by Seven Stories Press.
Since its founding, Project Censored has trained over 2,500 students in media literacy and has received numerous honors, including two Firecracker Alternative Book Awards, the 2008 PEN Oakland National Literary Censorship Award, and in 2013 became part of the National Coalition Against Censorship.
Monday, Apr. 3
Social Justice Week Kick Off
All events in Student Center Ballrooms unless otherwise noted
11 a.m.: Sponsors and Organizations Tabling (Seawolf Plaza)
1 p.m.: North Bay Jobs with Justice: Higher wages movement, $15 an hour minimum wage, and unionization
2:30 p.m.: "Sonoma County Law Enforcement in the Time of Trump and What It Means for You," Police Brutality Coalition
4 p.m.: Global critical media literacy panel by Project Censored: Mickey Huff, Nolan Higdon, Mary Cardaras and Nick Baham III
7 p.m.: "Culture, Race and Civil Rights Now," Davey D
Tuesday, Apr. 4
Domestic Affairs
All events in Student Center Ballrooms unless otherwise noted
10 a.m.: "Drone Warfare and the American Empire," Toby Blomé, Code Pink
Noon: "Today's Relevance of Martin Luther King Jr's 1967 'Beyond Vietnam' Speech and the Military-Industrial Complex," Veterans for Peace
2 p.m.: "Cannabis in context: Understanding Prohibition, Decriminalization, Legalization and Your Rights," Nicole Wolfe, SSU Sociology Professor
3 p.m.: "Stories That Inspire Following Your Heart Even When Fear is Present," Linda Sartor, author of "Turning Fear into Power"
4 p.m.: "Rental Housing Crisis in Sonoma County," organized by SSU Investigative Sociology Research Group
7 p.m.: "Censorship and Fake News," Mickey Huff, Project Censored
Wednesday, Apr. 5
Women's Rights
All events in Tuscany Casentino Room unless otherwise noted
10 a.m.: Healthcare panel discussing Women's Health and Single Payer for All, organized by Investigative Sociology Group
11:30 a.m.: Immigrant Rights Panel discussing DACA Sanctuary Cities and Campuses, organized by Investigative Sociology Group
1 p.m.: "Women's rights/LGBTQ," Activism and Awareness at SSU
2:30 p.m.: The School Box Project: Providing mobile, trauma-informed education and support to children and families in refugee camps
4 p.m.: "Maestra," film on how Cuba built full literacy after 1959, with Commentary by Cuban Revolution Teacher Blanca Monett
7 p.m.: "Challenging Fascism and Imperialism," Gloria La Riva, Peace and Freedom Candidate for President (Stevenson 1002)
Thursday, Apr. 6
Foreign Affairs
All events in Student Center Ballrooms unless otherwise noted
10 a.m.: "Voice of Fukushima" film, Fukushima Action Network and John Bertucci
Noon: Hip-Hop performance, SSU Student Bobby Ramirez (Seawolf Plaza)
12 p.m.: "Environmental Justice," panel discussion, Elaine Wellin, SSU Sociology Professor, and panelists
1:30 p.m.: "Justice for Palestine - Two States or One?" North Coast Coalition for Palestine
3 p.m.: "How to Engage Electoral Politics in an Age of Emerging Fascism," David Cobb, campaign manager for Green Party Presidential Candidate Jill Stein
4 p.m.: "Human Rights and Islam," Petaluma Islam Center
7 p.m.: U.S. International Relations in the Era of Trump, panel discussion, SSU faculty members Chingling Wo, Diana Grant, Tim Wandling, Ron Lopez and Napoleon Reyes (Darwin 102)
Friday, Apr. 7
Social Justice Week Final Day
Events held in the Cooperage unless otherwise noted
10 a.m.: "Networks for Peace and Justice in Sonoma County," Peace and Justice Center
Noon: "The Privatization of Education," Marian Killian, public education advocate
2 p.m.: "Socialist Action and Building to Revolution," Jeff Mackler
3 p.m.: "The Time is Now," Michael Nagler, Metta Center for Nonviolence
4:30 p.m.: "Lessons from the Occupy Movement," Occupy Sonoma County
7 p.m.: Penny Rosenwasser, author of "Hope into Practice: Jewish Women Choosing Justice Despite Our Fears"
Admission to all Social Justice Week events is free, donations are accepted. Parking is $5-$8 on campus. For more information, visit projectcensored.org.
Sponsors: SSU Sociology Social Justice and Activism Club, SSU Associated Students, Sociology Department, School of Social Science, Media Freedom Foundation, Project Censored.
Co-sponsors: Sonoma County Peace and Justice Center, Metta Center for Peace, Occupy Sonoma County, Socialist Action, North Coast Coalition for Palestine, Fukushima Action, Code Pink, Sonoma County Chapter Veterans for Peace, Sonoma Police Brutality Coalition, North Bay Jobs with Justice, Move to Amend, Aztlan Industries.