July 2025

James A. Banks, the Kerry and Linda Killinger Endowed Chair in Diversity Studies Emeritus and founding director of the Center for Multicultural Education (now the Banks Center for Educational Justice) at the University of Washington, will present the 2025 Brown Lecture in Education Research on Thursday, October 23, at 6:00 p.m. ET. In his lecture, titled “Rethinking Brown When Diversity and Equity Are Imperiled and Democracy Is Fragile,” Banks will reflect on the impact of the Brown decision through the lens of his own experience growing up in a racially segregated community in the Arkansas Delta. 

Dr. Banks will then turn to the present and examine the resurgence of White racism and nationalism that threaten efforts to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion, including multicultural education. His lecture will call on educators to implement a transformative civic education curriculum, an approach that equips students with the knowledge, attitudes, and skills to become engaged citizens. The lecture will be followed by a discussion forum with Dr. Banks joining a moderated discussion with policy leaders.  

The Brown Lecture will be held at the AERA Convening Center broadcasted live to public, policy, educational, and scientific and student audiences. Registration will open in mid-August with an expansion of the watch-party group component and opportunities to share views and questions as part of a transformative Brown Lecture forum this year. Stay tuned for more details aimed at elevating and extending the Lecture and its accessibility and meaning across communities in the U.S. and internationally.  

“We are so honored to have Dr. Banks speak this year looking both back and forward particularly in these challenging times for education and for its fundamental role and purposes in the advancement of democracies,” said AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine. 

The Brown Lecture illuminates the important role of research in advancing understanding of equality and equity in education. It was inaugurated in 2004 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, in which the U.S. Supreme Court took scientific research into account. 

 Professor Banks is a past president of the American Educational Research Association and of the National Council for the Social Studies. He is a specialist in social studies education, multicultural education, and diversity and citizenship education and has written widely in those fields. Professor Banks is a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association. He is a member of the National Academy of Education and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 

Research by Professor Banks on how educational institutions can improve race and ethnic relations has greatly influenced schools, colleges, and universities throughout the United States and the world. He is often called the “Father of Multicultural Education.” Professor Banks has given lectures on citizenship education and diversity in many countries, including Australia, Canada, China, Cyprus, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Malaysia, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Singapore, Sweden, Turkey, and New Zealand. His books have been translated into Greek, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Turkish, and Arabic. A video archive and interview of Professor Banks appears on “Inside the Academy.” 

The 2025 Brown Lecture Selection Committee included AERA Social Justice Action Committee Chair James D. Anderson (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), AERA President Maisha T. Winn (Stanford University), AERA Past President Janelle T. Scott (University of California, Berkeley), AERA Social Justice Action Committee Member Denise M. Taliaferro Baszile (Wayne State University), AERA Social Justice Action Committee Member Nicole Johnson (Howard University), AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine, and AERA Director of Professional Development and Diversity Officer George L. Wimberly.