What does it mean to be a Black girl in America in 2023? How does today’s contentious social and political climate affect their dreams, their sense of self, and their well-being? How have depictions of girlhood in Black women’s literary imagination impacted the present struggle for freedom?
To address these questions, Shirley Chisholm Project is proud to host the next event in our Shirley Chisholm Conversation series: “Uplifting Black Girlhood in Times of Political Struggle.” Our guest speaker will be Dr. Janaka Bowman Lewis, who will engage with Chisholm Project Director Dr. Zinga A. Fraser on the themes of her new book. That book is entitled Light and Legacies: Stories of Black Girlhood and Liberation.
Dr. Bowman Lewis is Associate Professor of English and Director of Women’s & Gender Studies at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. She is a scholar of African American women’s literature and Black Girlhood Studies. Her new book Light and Legacies is a celebration of Black girls’ freedom dreams and how those dreams are shaped by the power Black women’s literature. With Dr. Fraser, she will also discuss Shirley Chisholm’s place in the tradition of Black women’s activist literature and how we can empower the Black girls who are even now becoming the leaders of tomorrow.
We urge you to join us for what will be a powerful conversation. It will be held on Tuesday, October 10th from 6:00PM to 7:45PM via Zoom. To register for this webinar, follow this link.
Contact us at chisholmproject@brooklyn.cuny.edu for questions about this event, Dr. Bowman Lewis’ book, and future events from the Chisholm Project. We hope you will join us on the 10th in uplifting Black girlhood.