[BRC-NEWS] Exploring the Frontiers of Black Feminism Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Barbara Ransby EXPLORING THE FRONTIERS OF BLACK FEMINISM: CRITICAL CONVERSATIONS ON RACE, GENDER, SEXUALITY, AND THE AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE A number of high-profile events over the past decade, from the Anita Hill - Clarence Thomas spectacle in 1991, to the controversy around Mike Tyson's rape trial, to the Million Man and Million Woman marches, have all highlighted the complex intersection of race, gender and sexuality in the African American community. Added to this are the related discussions about Black male homicide and imprisonment, Black female headed households, welfare reform and teen pregnancy. Black feminist intellectuals and activists have made tremendous contributions to this national conversation. Over two dozen scholarly and popular books on various aspects of Black feminism have been published over the past few years. While an enormous amount of mainstream media attention has been given to issues of gender and sexuality in the African American community, there are rare occasions when scholars, critical thinkers and activists come together for serious public exchanges on the topic. This mini-conference will be one such opportunity. Building upon some of the issues raised by author Pat Hill Collins in her lecture, sponsored by Women's Studies at UIC in April, panelists will interact with the audience and one another in lively roundtable exchanges centered around key questions raised by Black feminist theorists. We have convened a group of scholar-activists engaged in research and policy intervention on issues related to race, gender and sexuality on the national level. International perspectives will also be incorporated into our discussion. Wednesday, June 9th, 1:00 - 6:00 p.m. University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago Circle Center, 750 S. Halsted Cornucopia Room Speakers include: Cathy Cohen, Yale University Evelynn Hammonds, MIT Tracye Matthews, University of Massachusetts Lynette Jackson, Barnard College Premilla Nadasen, Queens College Thandabantu Iverson, University of Indiana Dana Davis, City University of New York Sponsored by: The UIC Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Blacks Free and Open to the Public The Program June 9, 1999 1:00 - 6:00 p.m. Format: Each panelist will offer brief remarks to be followed by a dialogue among the panelists and between the panelists and the audience Digging up the Root: Patterns of Resistance in Black Women's History 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. Prof. Tracye Matthews, Africana Studies, University of Massachusetts, Boston, Prof. Matthews is the author of numerous articles on the 1960's and the Black Panther Party. A longtime feminist activist and public intellectual she is the recipient of many awards and recognitions. "Gender Politics and Women's Roles: The Black Panther Party Re-visited" Prof. Premilla Nadasen, History Department, Queens College, New York, Prof. Nadasen, a native of South Africa, is currently writing a book on the National Welfare Rights Movement. An activist and writer, she has been active in national and international issues. "Race, Class, Gender and the Welfare Rights Movement" Prof. Lynette Jackson, History Department, Barnard College, New York City. Prof. Jackson is currently completing a research fellowship in Copenhagen, Denmark. She has lived and worked for many years in Zimbabwe and her research centers on Pan Africanist feminism and women's liberation in global perspective. "Pan-Africanist Visions of Feminism and Zimbabwean Women's Struggles" Prof. Barbara Ransby, University of Illinois at Chicago, Departments of African American Studies and History. Prof. Ransby is completing a biographer of civil rights activist, Ella Baker. She has published numerous articles, serves on the editorial board of Race and Class, and is a contributor to WBEZ. "African American Women and Social Change: 1930 - 1991" Theorizing Sexuality in the African American Community: Black Feminist Critiques 2:35 - 4:00 p.m. Prof. Cathy Cohen, Political Science and Afro American Studies, Yale University. Prof. Cohen is the co-editor of Women Transforming Politics, and the author of The Boundaries of Blackness: AIDS and the Breakdown of Black Leadership. She is a board member of the Audre Lord Project and longtime activist around issues of lesbian and gay rights. "Black Feminism and Queer Theory" Prof. Evelynn Hammonds, History of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. Prof. Hammonds has written and lectured widely on race and science. She has a forthcoming book on the subject from Johns Hopkins Press. Prof. Hammonds is a co-convener of the historic Black Women in the Academy Conference held at MIT in 1994 "Race, Sex and Science" *Prof. Dorothy Roberts, Northwestern University Law School, Chicago, IL. Prof. Roberts is author of Killing the Black Body, and numerous articles and essays. 4:00 - 4:15 p.m. Break and Refreshments Violence Against Black Women: Black Feminist Responses 4:15 - 5:45 p.m. Dana Davis, Anthropology Department, City University of New York. Dana Davis is a national activist in the anti-violence movement and has written and lectured widely on the subject "Assessing the Anti-Violence Movement" Thandanbutu Iverson, Center for Labor Studies, University of Indiana, Gary, IN "African American Men, Violence, and Black Feminism" Prof. Beth Richie, University of Illinois at Chicago, Criminal Justice and Women's Studies "Understanding Race, Sex and Violence in the African American Community" Summary and Closing 5:45 - 6:00 *Invited but not yet confirmed There will also be a book display and bibliographies and resources for further reading on the subject. -30- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- BRC-NEWS: Black Radical Congress - General News/Alerts/Announcements Subscribe: Email "subscribe brc-news" to ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytrc-05.23.99-00:34:41-7817