Muhammad Ali Institute Partners with the Anne Braden Institute to Curate an inaugural Civil Rights and Immigrant Heritage Tour

Define American is a nonprofit media and cultural organization that humanizes conversations about  immigration and challenges anti-immigrant views through storytelling. It invites activists, students, new Americans, religious leaders, and media to come together to advocate for a more accurate media representation of their communities.

From October 10-13, 2020, Define American hosted it’s inaugural summit, the first national gathering, in Louisville, KY. The host committee for this conference included the University of Louisville student chapter of Define American,  UofL faculty, and UofL staff. Ashleigh Hazley, Assistant Director of the Muhammad Ali Institute, served on the host committee as well as other UofL representatives including: Tamara Russell, Jessy Rosenberg, Isai Sanchez, Sarah Nunez, and Marcos Morales Professor Trucios-Haynes, Director of the Muhammad Ali Institute created an Immigrant Heritage Tour for the summit participants. Professor Trucios-Haynes is a nationally recognized immigration law scholar and works closely with local immigrant communities. The summit included the first Civil Rights and Immigrant Heritage Tour created using the Immigrant Heritage Tour and the Louisville Civil Rights Tour created by UofL’s Anne Braden Institute.

The 2019 Define American Summit began with an Opening Reception at the Muhammad Ali Center with welcoming remarks from Mayor Greg Fisher, and performances by Cardinal Bhangra Dance Group and Alexis Torres Machado. The next two days included panel discussions and workshops about varying topics such as Mental Health and Self-Care, and Leadership and Organizational. Participants explored the City of Louisville, by visiting the Smoketown neighborhood to attend the Imagine 2020 Mural Festival, and going on the Civil Rights and Immigrant Heritage Tour.