Black Feminist Symposium
Join Us for the 9th Annual Black Feminist Symposium!
This event will be held March 6, 2025 (8:30am-4:30pm) in Tangeman University Center's (TUC) Great Hall. Doors open at 8am. Admission is free and open to the public. Advance registration is suggested.
Everyone is invited to join us for the Black Feminist Symposium, an annual event dedicated to celebrating Black feminist thought, scholarship, and activism both at UC and in the community. The event offers a rich array of voices through a full day of speakers, panels, workshops, and networking led by students, staff, and faculty, as well as community members from Greater Cincinnati and wider region.
This year’s theme, Seeds of Change: A Black Feminist Vision for a Free Future, asks attendees to envision a future where Black women and gender non-conforming people are truly free? In Pleasure Activism, author and activist adrienne maree brown wrote, “Our radical imagination is a tool for decolonization, for reclaiming our right to shape our lived reality.” Still, brown also felt at times “trapped inside someone else's capability. I often feel I am trapped inside someone' else's imagination, and I must engage my own imagination in order to break free.”
*NOW ACCEPTING PRESENTATION PROPOSALS*
Click here for more information about the proposal process!
Event Schedule
8:00 AM Doors open. Continental breakfast & networking.
9:00 AM Morning Plenary Session
10:00 AM Concurrent Session #1
Paper Panel: Against the Grain: Communicating Marginalized Messages in Dominant Culture Spaces
Katie Powell, Assistant ProfessorEducator Imagining Lived Experiences into Institutional Messaging
Naimah Bilal Bracing for Impact: Unveiling the Leadership Practices, Equity Perceptions, and Impact Experiences of Black Women in Philanthropy
Eunique Avery, MPA Is It Worth It? Let me Work It. I Put My Thing Down Flip it and Reverse it” - Unlocking Our Worth, Unleashing Our Dreams: A New Season for Black Women
Alana Belle Rap Girlies & Reproductive Justice: The Future of Black Feminist Hip-Hop
Deshayla Mitchem Trauma, not an Educational Tool
Makayla Boyd Social Media and Film as Therapy: Visual Storytelling for Healing and Empowerment
Grace D. Gipson Navigating a "New Normal": Black Womanhood and Disability in Marvel Comics–"Misty Knight"
Charnell Covert Ten, Ten, Tens Across the Board!: Exploring Restful and Joyful Afro futures through Black Queer Women’s Dance and Theater
11:00 AM Concurrent Session #2
Dominique M. Brown, Ph.D. Collective Care in Times of Collapse
Cindy Jones, Program Director, EM CPS Strong Preserving the Past to Embolden Us to Level Up for a Freer Future
Colleen Thompson Communicating Your Vision for a Liberated Future
jasmine mckenzie Models for Building More Equitable Health Futures for Black Women
Jabani Bennett Creativity as Soul Care in the Year 2085
Tifara Brown From Erasure to Empowerment: Black Southern Women’s Stories Through Afrofuturism
12:00 PM Lunch Plenary Session
Lunch buffet catered by Queen City Catering
Keynote by Dr. Cassandra Jones We Dream So We Don’t Die
2:00 PM Concurrent Session #3
Aashka Raval Intersecting Injustices: Data Storytelling at the Intersection of Immigration, Reproductive Justice, and Anti-Black Structural Violence
Phillisity Neal and Leaders of Black Feminist Collective Roots and Branches: Passing the Torch in Black Feminist Movements
Rachael E. DuBose, M.S.Ed., LPCC-S, CCTP Healing the Mind and Spirit: Trauma-Informed Approaches for Racialized and Gendered Violence
LaTrese Green "Roots of Love: Reclaiming Wellness Through Natural Hair Care”
Ryan Nichole Leary The Presence of our Presents: Black Women Visual Artists on Liberation and Resistance through Art.
Holly Y. McGee Building Better Networks: From "Let's Do Lunch" to Doing Lunch
Ancillary Activities
8am - 2pm Exhibit Hall
9am - 4:30pm Self-Care Room: Journaling, Shower Steamer Making, Essential Oil Making
10am & 11:15am Yoga with Adrienne
2pm - 4pm Chair Massage with A Little Touch of Heaven
3pm QTPOC Coffee Hour. Sponsored by the UC LGBTQ+ Center
We work to provide ASL (American Sign Language) interpreters for portions of our event and live captioning in most sessions. Should you require dedicated interpreters, please visit the University of Cincinnati Accessibility Resources website for additional communication resources. Questions regarding the event’s accessibility can be directed to womens.center@uc.edu.
Clubs, businesses, and services that align with the Black Feminist Symposium are encouraged to share information about their organization with our audience. Complete the vendor sign-up to participate as an exhibitor.