This week I heard some wonderful talks as we celebrated Martin Luther King Jr’s legacy at Wesleyan. From incisive investigations of power and race to conversations about inclusion and design, the first events of Black History Month were challenging and powerful. Here are some of the upcoming events from Ujamaa, the Wesleyan Black Student Union:
In preparation for a full and fun black history month, your Wesleyan Black Student Union (Ujamaa), has planned a month with activities for you all to participate in! This year we want to honor Black Joy, so our theme this year is adequately named “Joy: Survival Beyond Healing”
- Black History Month Kickback, February 8th 6pm – 7pm, Malcolm X House Lounge. Limited free t-shirts will be given out!
- BIPOC Wellness Event, February 10th 5pm – 6pm, Resource Center. Co-Sponsored with SHAPE and WesWell.
- A conversation about Loving While Black Part 1, February 18th 5pm – 6pm and Part 2, February 25th 5pm – 6pm via Zoom.
- Black History Month Artist Showcase, February 19th 6pm – 9pm WestCo (sign up sheet with this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfF4u09EEywVrnlH_-OBbDhSEv_id9nHukQwl5ZWIjXu3wJUg/viewform?usp=sf_link.)
- CheFarmer Matthew Raiford February 22nd 12pm Usdan Marketplace. Co-Sponsored with Bon Appetit.
- Black History Month Party, February 26th 10pm – 2am Malcom X House Lounge.
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THESE ACTIVITIES, WHO WE ARE, AND HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE visit our WesNest Page and attend our first event on February 8th, 6pm at Malcom X House: “Black History Month Kickback.”
The RESOURCE CENTER is also sponsoring events this month. Here are two:
- Restorying Our World: The Narrative Act for Collective Healing and Liberation / Tuesday, Feb. 8th from 4:30pm-6pm (Zoom Meeting ID: 926 1947 7396, Passcode: 970976)
- This workshop/webinar series explores how stories have shaped our world, and how we can use them to identify and transform conflicts. It helps us see the power of stories in our day to day lives, as well as the dominant narratives and myths that define our societies. We will practice new storytelling methods to imagine new narratives. This is what we call re-storying our world: the narrative act for collective healing and liberation.
- Combatting Anti-Blackness and Fatphobia with Da’Shaun Harrison / Thursday, Feb. 17th from 5:30pm-7pm (Zoom Meeting ID: 993 4804 6118, Passcode: 314930)
- To live in a body both fat and Black is to exist at the margins of a society that creates the conditions for anti-fatness as anti-Blackness. Hyper-policed by state and society, passed over for housing and jobs, and derided and misdiagnosed by medical professionals, fat Black people in the United States are subject to sociopolitically sanctioned discrimination, abuse, condescension, and trauma. In this workshop, Da’Shaun Harrison–a fat, Black, disabled, and nonbinary trans writer– will offer an incisive, fresh, and precise exploration of anti-fatness as anti-Blackness, foregrounding the state-sanctioned murders of fat Black men and trans and nonbinary masculine people in historical analysis.