Jamila Michener

What has happened in Minnesota over the last several months underscores the institutional groundwork that must be laid to catalyze “people power” in the face of authoritarian oppression. State preemption is an important part of that groundwork. Read more in my piece w/ @thelssc.bsky.social 👇🏾

I am excited to be in conversation with the indefatigable John Washington about my book, Uncivil Democracy: How Access to Justice Shapes Political Power. If you are in Buffalo this Friday, join us at Burning Books at 7pm. We'll be talking power, organizing, and legal justice.

“How we do the work is crucial. This may require us to slow down, to provide meaningful thought to each analytical question, to consider all potential impacts, and to move at the speed of trust with our partners and community. But there is so much power in that intentionality.”

Our Guiding Stars: Racial Justice and Equitable Futures - Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures Integrating historical texts, printmaking, and research methodologies, Carolyn Fan presents linocuts based on interviews with the Center's staff on quotes that inspire and motivate them to work toward...

Check out the latest from Futures Forum! @carolynfan.bsky.social puts her art (linocut) into conversation w/ the words of racial justice luminaries & incorporates personal reflections from our team at the Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures.

equitablefutures.cornell.edu/our-guiding-...

Love this and will certainly return the favor before too long! I hope the class discussions went well.

Check out this great write up on #UncivilDemocracy from @cape-team.bsky.social. It concisely but aptly captures core takeaways from the book 🎯

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Introducing the Futures Forum: A Place to Envision Equitable and Just Futures - Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures In a time of deep inequality and uncertainty, imagining equitable and just futures is both urgent and unfinished work. This post introduces the Futures Forum, a new space created by the Center for Rac...

Our first post (today!) is from me & @neillewisjr.bsky.social ! equitablefutures.cornell.edu/introducing-...

This is part of our work at the Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures. Every other Wednesday, we will publish writing, art, podcasts, & videos from our community of faculty, students, post-docs & collaborators.

Introducing the Futures Forum: A Place to Envision Equitable and Just Futures - Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures In a time of deep inequality and uncertainty, imagining equitable and just futures is both urgent and unfinished work. This post introduces the Futures Forum, a new space created by the Center for Rac...

The dystopian realities of the moment make it hard to see a path towards a better future. But we must insist on imagining & illuminating that path. The Futures Forum is a new space to dream, reflect, & envision better futures. Check it out👇🏾
equitablefutures.cornell.edu/introducing-...

Ahhh! I love to see it in the hands of my favorite people. Thank you Miranda!

Just a reminder this is happening tomorrow! You still have time to register if you want to join in the conversation with @povertyscholar.bsky.social and I about #peoplepower #accesstojustice #housing #tenantorganizing

And I am nothing without a loving community of true friends like you, @annarhaskins.bsky.social !💛

Yes, it is most certainly who we are. But it isn’t who we have to be.

Text reads: Uncivil Democracy: How Access to Justice Shapes Political Power. Join authors Jamila Michener (Cornell University) and Mallory E. SoRelle (Duke University) for a critical dialogue on their new book, including an engaging conversation with guest speakers Hahrie Han (Johns Hopkins University) and Tara Raghuveer (Tenant Union Federation & KC Tenants).

Tune in for our virtual book launch next week January 28th, 3:30pm ET!

Register 👉🏾 lnkd.in/gy9Xu_2m

It’s bizarro world, upside down and devoid of logic 🙃

Would love recs from you about great book stores in the city for talks like this!

Working on it!

@princetonupress.bsky.social

A side by side of two photos of the same book, being held by each author with a box of more books in the background.

A book never feels real until you hold it in you hands. @profsorelle.bsky.social & I can now confirm that Uncivil Democracy is real! If you care about #peoplepower #housingjustice, #tenantorganizing & transforming our perverse political economy, this is a book for you.

Order here: bit.ly/3NLYCCw

Thanks so much for these kind words, Emily. I hope you are well (as can be).

Thanks Mallory! Those words mean a lot coming from the best collaborator, co-author, and thought partner I could ask for in this work 💯

My 15 year old just texted me this TikTok video and told me that “this is our geopolitical situation right now.” I both love that he’s politically astute and hate that this is the world he has to grow up in.

Thanks Michael—you have played such an important role along the way!

A Toni Morrison quote embedded in a yellow, black, and white graphic design reads: "I tell my students, ‘When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else. This is not just a grab-bag candy game.’”

As of today, I am a FULL professor. I do not care much for occupational status markers. Still, it is not lost on me that only 2% of full professors are Black women. This goes beyond personal accomplishment. It is a responsibility to do as much as I can for others. That is exactly what I aim to do.

I wrote about Yglesias “defending liberalism” by joining a right wing moral panic over critical race theory. His vision of liberalism has room for bigots, but no room for scholars concerned about structural racism.

A must read from @neillewisjr.bsky.social, a scholar and friend I constantly learn from.

The Shutdown’s Over. Trump May Still Cut Food Stamps. Comments by Trump and his officials this week suggest food assistance might be the administration’s next target.

Article here: newrepublic.com/article/2031...

Screen shot of article text that reads: “Michener is on the board of her local food bank, where they have been grappling with not only how to feed everyone in need but how to address the whole system —how to make the line of people who need food shorter. The bank started a community advocates program to equip those who need food with civic skills: Do you know how to reach out to your elected officials? Do you know how to tell your story? They're getting involved in the political processes that determine what kinds of wages their employers have to pay them or whether they have access to benefits, Michener said. "The most surefire way to strengthen these programs is to strengthen the political power of the people who rely on the programs."

So many things happening, I nearly missed the @newrepublic.com piece I was quoted in last week. It raises the possibility of continued political threats to SNAP, underscoring a point I make often: the best way to politically protect the safety net is to build the power of those who rely on it.

How a loss of public benefits harms democracy - Salon.com When public programs like SNAP are cut, voter turnout historically declines

" @povertyscholar.bsky.social said that losing food benefits is not only a crisis in itself, but it can lead to other crises...'Crises tend to cascade and compound...As this happens, people are less likely to vote.”

www.salon.com/2025/11/08/h...