In 1970, psychology professor Robert Sommer created Blacks and Whites, a socially conscious monopoly-style game intended to teach the realities of race in America. Fifty years later, two comedians have produced an updated version of the game. Sommer died in 2021, and the UC Davis Library has now collected his papers and early drafts of the game.
Join us on Thursday, February 24 at 1 p.m. PST as we speak with these guests about the history of Blacks and Whites, the updated version, and the intersection of board games and racial justice:
- Kevin Miller is head of archives and special collections and university archivist at UC Davis Shields Library. He coordinates the long-term preservation and access of UC Davis faculty research assets and university records of enduring historical value.
- Nehemiah Markos and Jed Feiman are writers and comedians based in New York City, forming the comedy duo Never Sad. They are the creators of an updated version of Blacks and Whites.
- Jorge Peña is an associate professor in the UC Davis Department of Communication. Among other things, he studies communication in video games and virtual environments, and content analysis of online communication. He is currently vice-chair of the Game Studies Division at the National Communication Association.
As a reminder, we are taking your questions live. Leave them as a comment during the livestream and we'll do our best to have our experts answer your questions, live.