Videos

Creative Arts Night Panel Presentation: Dr. Randall Horton

On June 12th, 2015, the Murphy Institute Blog Arts & Culture Editors hosted the first ever Creative Arts Night at the Murphy Institute. 


In this video clip, Dr. Randall Horton, Assistant Professor of New Haven College of Arts and Science, explores how his writing life as a poet began during his commuted sentence in North Carolina correctional facility. This talk was part of the Creative Arts panel event in June 2015 at the Murphy Institute.

In tracing his creative and academic path, Horton demonstrates the connections between the creative arts, sociopolitical consciousness and grassroots organizing. He shows how writing programs such as the Cave Canem and the Asian American Writers’ Workshop can serve as alternatives to institutional fine arts programs that are inaccessible to many writers in underserved communities. In providing mentoring and workshop space, these organizations offer much-needed creative instruction and  facilitate counter-perspectives to the production emerging from BFA and MFA programs.

Continue reading Creative Arts Night Panel Presentation: Dr. Randall Horton

ClothesLined: Stopping Walmart’s Dirty Supply Chain Moves

Last month, Murphy co-hosted “ClothesLined: Stopping Walmart’s Dirty Supply Chain Moves” along with Jobs with Justice, the Asia Floor Wage Alliance, and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. At the event, leaders from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and the United States discussed strategies of organizing Walmart workers both on the floor and on the supply chain and documented a legacy of retaliation by Walmart against collective bargaining.

Check out footage from the event below.

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XedzumG5bTk&feature=youtu.be]

Creative Arts Night Featured Panelist: Agunda Okeyo

On June 12th, 2015, the Murphy Institute Blog Arts & Culture Editors hosted the first ever Creative Arts Night at the Murphy Institute. In the coming weeks, we’ll be posting some footage from our esteemed panelists and performers.

Here, activist, filmmaker and writer Agunda Okeyo discusses her unique role in the world of art, social justice and the imagination. Agunda was also featured in this month’s issue of Time Out NYC in a section featuring Best Comedy Shows run by females.

The Affordable Care Act: How Is It Working for Working People?

The Murphy Institute is known for its public programming, bringing thinkers, leaders and policymakers together to discuss the issues vital to making change in our city and our world. 

Watch Barbara Caress, former Director, Strategic Planning and Policy, SEIU Local 32BJ, discuss the impact of the ACA on working people.

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBssLPn1nu4&feature=youtu.be]

Taking It to the Streets! Street Vendors in the New Labor Economy

The Murphy Institute is known for its public programming, bringing thinkers, leaders and policymakers together to discuss the issues vital to making change in our city and our world. 

Watch Javier Valdez, Co-Executive Director, Make the Road New York and Diana Robinson, Campaign & Education Coordinator, Food Chain Workers Alliance discuss the prospects and challenges of organizing food vendors.

Was Organized Labor Once a Poor People’s Movement?

The Murphy Institute is known for its public programming, bringing thinkers, leaders and policymakers together to discuss the issues vital to making change in our city and our world. 

Watch Frances Fox Piven, Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the CUNY Graduate Center discussing the history of Organized Labor and whether it can return to its roots of fighting for the poor.

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8B_0C1fjAY&feature=youtu.be]