The Wayne State University College of Education and Source Booksellers welcome Dr. David O. Stovall for an evening celebrating his scholarship and his newest book, Engineered Conflict: Structural Violence and the Future of Black Life in Chicago. The book examines how school closings, housing instability, and criminalization shape urban communities — and how Black communities have organized and built power in response.

The evening will include a conversation with Dr. Stovall, Q&A, and a book signing. Admission is free. Books will be available for purchase at the event, and Dr. Stovall will be signing copies purchased through Source Booksellers.

Dr. Stovall is a professor of Black Studies and Criminology, Law and Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His work sits at the intersection of Critical Race Theory, housing, education, and the relationship between race and place. Across his career, Stovall has partnered directly with communities, schools, and organizations to advance equity and justice — including more than a decade of service as a volunteer social studies teacher at the Greater Lawndale/Little Village School for Social Justice.