EMU to host third annual Women of Color Feminisms & Leadership Symposium

By Morgan Mark / EMU

YPSILANTI – Eastern Michigan University’s Women’s Resource Center, Center of Race & Ethnicity, and Women’s and Gender Studies department are collaborating to host the third annual Women of Color Feminisms & Leadership Symposium on Tuesday, March 10, 2020 from noon to 5 p.m. The symposium will be hosted in EMU’s Student Center Ballroom A, located at 900 Oakwood St. in Ypsilanti.

This year’s theme, “Untold Stories: Redefining Our Truth as Women of Color,” seeks to empower women of color and serve as an educational and therapeutic experience to acknowledge their TRUTH. Presenters will address a variety of topics and will have the freedom to share their stories through different mediums such as poetry, storytelling,  dance, art, and discussions.

The event will begin at noon with heavy hors d’oeuvres followed by a welcome and dynamic keynote address from EMU alumna Courtney Smith, founder and executive director of the Detroit Phoenix Center (DPC), a non-profit that serves as a resource and drop-in center for youth experiencing homelessness.

Following the keynote, Nia & Ness, a Black, out-lesbian couple and performance art duo whose work serves as a visual-auditory diary of our daily lives, will depict the realities of their love story as a Black lesbian couple through poetry and dance. Breakout sessions with additional presenters will be hosted between 2 and 4 p.m.

If you are interested in attending, please visit the event website to RSVP.

For more information, please contact Bre McKamie at bmckamie@emich.edu, or Joi Rencher at jrencher@emich.edu.

About Eastern Michigan University

Founded in 1849, Eastern is the second oldest public university in Michigan. It currently serves nearly 18,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University’s Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Engineering and Technology; Health and Human Services; and, its graduate school. EMU is recognized by national publications for its excellence, diversity, and commitment to applied education. For more information, visit the University’s website.