BRIDGS' Guns in Society Symposium
The Gun Debate You Don’t Know: Hidden Stories of Guns in Society
February 26 and 27, 2026
Downtown Phoenix campus of Arizona State University
Keynote address
February 27, 2026
6:00-7:30 p.m.
Innovation Auditorium
Health North 550 N. 3rd St., Phoenix, AZ 85004
Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson
Michael and Denise Kellen ’68 Associate Professor in the
Department of Africana Studies at Wellesley College
“We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance”
Black resistance to white supremacy is often reduced to a simple binary, between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s nonviolence and Malcolm X’s “by any means necessary.” In We Refuse, historian Kellie Carter Jackson looks beyond this false choice, offering an unflinching examination of the breadth of Black responses to white oppression, particularly those pioneered by Black women and with emphasis on gun ownership. The dismissal of “Black violence” as an illegitimate form of resistance is itself a manifestation of white supremacy. Force—from work stoppages and property destruction to armed revolt—has played a pivotal part in securing freedom and justice for Black people for centuries. But force is only one tool among many. Carter Jackson examines other, no less vital tactics that have shaped the Black struggle, from the restorative power of finding joy in the face of suffering to the quiet strength of simply walking away.
Download printable flyer (.PDF)
About the ASU BRIDGS Initiative
BRIDGS is an ASU initiative, founded in January 2024, aimed at supporting boundary-spanning social science and humanities research on guns in order to forge a forum for those across the debate to engage, learn, and elevate through research initiatives and public outreach. Learn more about BRIDGS, including the American Gun Experience Project, the BRIDGS Fellowship, and the Guns Unpacked Podcast at the BRIDGS website.