Director john powell moderated a panel discussion at the 2018 Facing Race conference in Detroit that addressed theme "Is America Possible? Building a Multiracial Democracy in an Era of Division." In his introductory remarks at the Nov. 10 event, powell noted that the phenomenon of authoritarianism that racial justice activists are fighting against goes far beyond the personal lives of people in this country. He said this moment represents "the first time in modern history that we see such a tremendous slide away from democracy towards authoritarianism." Neo-liberalism is in many ways phasing out, powell said, but it is leaving behind fascist governments across the world which it helped to create. The challenge now is to stop this trend because, john said, if right-wing authoritarianism prevails, it's not just America that won't be possible, it's also the European Union and the rest of the world which could be facing existential crises. The panelists included Tarso Luis Ramos, Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, Anat Shenker-Osorio, and Julie Nelson.
