Project News

Arizona State University’s Project Humanities partnered with the Black Theatre Troupe, a multi-ethnic performance organization, to honor author Toni Morrison in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Throughout the celebration of Morrison and her work, people of all ages, races and genders took the microphone to share their personal connection to an author they had never met in person.

The sun is barely over the Phoenix horizon one morning in June, but the temperature already is inching its way to 105 degrees. Despite the heat and the early hour, about 150 men and women experiencing homelessness line up along the sidewalk spanning 12th Avenue between Jefferson and Madison streets.

The men and women know that every other Saturday, volunteers from Arizona State University’s Project Humanities transform this dusty patch of sidewalk into a free-store where they can handpick everyday necessities: clean clothes, shampoo, shoes, undergarments, a hat to block the Arizona sun.

ASU Professor Neal A.Lester brings diverse people together to examine these questions as part of Project Humanities, a unique, donor-supported, community-oriented ASU initiative. Read about his work on page 18.

Hair is ASU English professor Neal Lester’s domain. He’s studied it, written about it, and he recently sat down with The Show to talk more about why hair means a lot more than we think.

About peeling back and shedding the layers and layers of our consciously and unconsciously learned behaviors and attitudes that prevent us from experiencing the richness of diversity, tolerance, and acceptance, anti-racism educator and activist Jane Elliott contends that “what we learn, we can unlearn.”

Sometimes parents wish they could have a conversation do-over with their kids. A “big talk” can smack us in the face when we least expect it. This week’s Parental Advisory question comes from the parent of a child who, at 6 years old, heard and subsequently used the N-word for the first time. But did they handle it the best way possible?

A nuclear physicist, a high school student and three undergraduates find themselves sharing a table at Arizona State University. Fueled by energy drinks, late-night snacks and a break for silent disco, their mission over the next 36 hours is to identify an issue impacting society and hack their way to a solution.

People from a variety of backgrounds took part in Hacks for Humanity, a 36-hour competition at Arizona State University to create technological solutions to everyday problems.

Google tells us many search to learn whether the costume their child wants to wear might be racist or insensitive. Many of us moms and dads grew up wearing Native American head dresses and Geisha garb and didn't hear boo about it. Sadly.

In 2013 Project Humanities, led by Neal Lester, an English professor at ASU and the founding director of the organization, launched the first Hacks for Humanity hackathon. During the annual, 36-hour event, people from all occupational backgrounds team up to create a tech product for social good. Oct. 19–20, Project Humanities will be hosting their sixth hackathon.