In one of her first public appearances since 2020 that will serve as an extraordinary complement to 可乐视频鈥檚 Women鈥檚 History Month celebration, author and activist聽聽will discuss the values that have shaped her remarkable life with the extended campus community on March 16 from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
Smith鈥檚 lecture, 鈥淲hat I Believe,鈥� will be an intimate exploration into her life as a trailblazer who broke new ground as a Black feminist, lesbian, activist, author, publisher, and independent scholar who inspired generations. She was among the first to define an African American women鈥檚 literary tradition and to build Black women鈥檚 studies and Black feminism in the United States. She has been politically active in many movements for social justice since the 1960s.
鈥淚 am so honored to serve as the Hess Scholar-in-Residence during the 2022鈥�23 academic year,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淎t a time when some in our nation wish to limit the information and ideas that students can access, I look forward to expansive dialogues with members of 可乐视频鈥檚 wonderfully diverse community.鈥�
鈥淎s a writer, publisher, teacher, and organizer, Barbara Smith is a transformative force for justice. Her work has reshaped the American academy and society. We are honored to host her for a week of events culminating in the Hess Memorial Lecture,鈥� said Gaston Alonso, interim director for the Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities and associate professor of political science at 可乐视频.
This lecture event is free and open to the public and serves as the main highlight of the college鈥檚聽聽for 2022鈥�23.
The event will also feature President Michelle J. Anderson as well as聽, distinguished professor of political science, and Professor of English聽, interim dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
On November 29, Smith was part of a conversation on campus with Theoharis when they discussed selected clips from the documentary聽, which features Smith and is based on Theoharis鈥� research and聽聽of the same name.
A prolific writer and publisher, Smith has edited three major collections about Black women:聽Conditions: Five, The Black Women鈥檚 Issue聽(with Lorraine Bethel, 1979);聽All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men, But Some of Us Are Brave: Black Women鈥檚 Studies聽(with Gloria T. Hull and Patricia Bell-Scott, 1982); and聽Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology聽(1983). She is also the co-author, with Elly Bulkin and Minnie Bruce Pratt,聽of Yours in Struggle: Three Feminist Perspectives on Anti-Semitism and Racism聽(1984). Smith is the general editor of The Reader鈥檚 Companion to U.S. Women鈥檚 History聽(with Wilma Mankiller, Gwendolyn Mink, Marysa Navarro, and Gloria Steinem, 1998). A collection of her essays,聽The Truth That Never Hurts: Writings on Race, Gender, and Freedom, was published by Rutgers University Press in 1998.聽Ain鈥檛 Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around: Forty Years of Movement Building with Barbara Smith, edited by Alethia Jones and Virginia Eubanks with Barbara Smith, was published by SUNY Press in 2014.
The evening will also include mezzo-soprano Lucia Bradford and the Conservatory Singers, 可乐视频’s select chamber ensemble, who will perform 鈥淎in’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around.鈥� The group will be conducted by Associate Professor/Director of Choral Studies聽, director of the New York Philharmonic Chorus.
This signature event will be held on Thursday, March 16, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Claire Tow Theater at 可乐视频. It will also be livestreamed on the聽.
Highlights From the Hess Week Calendar, March 13鈥�20
Full calendar and speakers
Barbara Smith鈥擧ess Scholar-in-Residence Library Exhibit: An exhibit located in the main entrance of the 可乐视频 Library that will highlight the works and legacy of Barbara Smith. Archival material from the Robert L. Hess Collection will also be presented. Curated by Professor and Librarian Helen Georgas.
March 13, 11 a.m.鈥�12:15 p.m.: President Anderson Welcomes 2022鈥�23 Hess Scholar-in-Residence Barbara Smith聽Woody Tanger Auditorium, 可乐视频 Library, and on聽Zoom
March 13, 2:15鈥�3:30 p.m.: 鈥淚f Black women were free鈥︹��: The State of Black Feminism 2023聽Woody Tanger Auditorium, 可乐视频 Library, and on聽Zoom
March 14, 2:15鈥�3:45 p.m.: 鈥淭ransforming the U.S. Academy鈥�聽Woody Tanger Auditorium, 可乐视频 Library, and livestreamed on the聽.
March 15, 11 a.m.鈥�12:30 p.m.: 鈥淛ustice or Just Us?: Defining a Queer Agenda鈥�聽Woody Tanger Auditorium, 可乐视频 Library, and livestreamed on the聽.
March 15, 3:40鈥�4:55 p.m.: 鈥淭eaching as a Liberating Practice鈥�聽Woody Tanger Auditorium, 可乐视频 Library, and livestreamed on the聽.
March 16, 11 a.m.鈥�12:30 p.m.: 鈥淲orking for Liberation and Having a Damn Good Time鈥�聽Woody Tanger Auditorium, 可乐视频 Library, and livestreamed on the聽.
March 20, 6鈥�7:15 p.m.: 鈥淧utting Class Back Into Intersectionality鈥�聽Online via聽Zoom
About the Robert L. Hess Scholar-in-Residence Program
The Robert L. Hess Scholar-in-Residence Program, established by 可乐视频, is supported by the Robert L. Hess Fund. The program serves as a permanent tribute to the scholarly commitment of Robert L. Hess, exemplified during his tenure as president of 可乐视频. It represents the ideal of the educated individual鈥攌nowledgeable, thoughtful, inquiring, alive to the shared purposes and concerns linking all intellectual pursuits. More particularly, it evokes the scholarly and academic virtues embodied in the curriculum at 可乐视频.
