The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and the Richmond Peace Education Center will host a daylong conference on the ideological shifts in immigration and deportation, national security and military aggression in the United States since the terrorists attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The conference, “Reclaiming Our Democracy: 15 Years after 9/11,” will feature local and national speakers, including Dr. Wornie Reed, professor of sociology and Africana studies and director of the Race and Social Policy Research Center at Virginia Tech; Mona Siddiqui, local attorney and American Muslim civil rights scholar; and retired Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Government and Public Policy at the College of William & Mary, who served as chief of staff to former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The conference will be 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, at Tyler Haynes Commons at the University of Richmond.

Workshop topics include “The Militarization of Police in Our Community,” “The Color of Terror and the Psychology of Hate,” “The Growth of Government Surveillance and the Threat to Privacy” and “Rethinking the Global War on Terror and Exploring Alternatives.”

Organizers said the conference, which also is supported by the Peace Development Fund, September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, Virginia Muslim Coalition for Public Affairs and Virginia Organizing, aims to empower participants to work toward a freer, more peaceful and equitable America.

The conference cost of $25 includes lunch. The ACLU and the Richmond Peace Education Center are offering scholarships for low-income participants.

For more information on registration and scholarship applications, go to www.rpec.org/reclaiming-our-democracy-15-years-after-911/ or contact event@rpec.org.