Ashoka Fellow Friar David has been a pioneer for racial justice in Brazil since the 1980s. In a country where 56 percent of the population identifies as Black or Brown, racial injustice is still prevalent. Friar David elevates Afro-Brazilian leadership in every sphere of society (from university to the job market and politics) and champions public policies that lead to full participation and citizenship. A case in point, is the success of the “Lei de Cotas” he helped bring to life in 1982 -an affirmative action law- which has since led to a 10-fold increase in enrollment of Black and Brown Brazilians in universities.

Join us on March 6! He will be in conversation with Midria, slam poet, Young Changemaker, and Ashoka colleague, about how to build public policies that rectify systemic injustice. We’ll draw lessons on what works and what’s next from the Brazilian context.