Featuring:  Ismail Ferdous, Wayne Lawrence, Ruddy Roye, Jennifer Pritheeva Samuel, Daniella Zalcman

Many people say that National Geographic was their first exposure to the world beyond their own community. In April, National Geographic launched a series of stories on race and diversity in America. It’s difficult to understand 21st-century America without exploring the issue of race. It’s the elephant in the room, permeating every aspect of our culture, neighborhoods, schools, businesses, politics, sports, arts, and relationships. A cultural wave in the United States has, once again, put race at the forefront of the national discourse.

On stage Saturday night will be several National Geographic photographers who contributed to the series of stories on race and diversity. Wayne Lawrence photographed “The Many Colors of Matrimony” and “The Stop,” a collaboration with ESPN’s The Undefeated about black and Hispanic motorists who have been pulled over by the police due to the color of their skin. Ruddy Roye and Nina Robinson photographed “A Place of Their Own,” about rising enrollment and student activism at historically black colleges and universities. Ismail Ferdous documented the growing visibility of South Asian Americans throughout American society in “Building a New American Dream”, which will appear in the September issue of National Geographic magazine. Jennifer Pritheeva Samuel, photo editor at National Geographic magazine, will moderate the discussion.