Spectrum News: Black feminist symposium aims to empower students
Event coincides with the start of Women’s History Month at UC
More than 300 participants attended the 8th annual Black Feminist Symposium at the University of Cincinnati on March 1 in Tangeman University Center.
The daylong event was organized by the UC Women’s Center and included workshops, presentations, self-care sessions, a film screening and a keynote by Rhiannon Carnes, founder of the Ohio Women’s Alliance.
This year’s symposium, themed “Revolutionary Sisterhood,” focused on the importance of women having a support system consisting of other women. Scholarship, activism and exploration of Black feminist thought were part of the symposium's mission. Organizers of the event hope students of color feel more empowered and comfortable in their own skin.
Spectrum News produced a segment on the symposium.
The Black Feminist Symposium featured a keynote address from Rhiannon Carnes, founder of the Ohio Women's Alliance, along with a dozen workshops to explore topics of concern to Black women at UC and beyond.
“We are diverse, we are CEOs, we are students, but also we’re mothers,” Charmaine Kitsinis, assistant director of University of Cincinnati’s Women’s Center, told Spectrum News.
“Also, we’re people who don’t have children, that we are non-binary, that we are transgender, that Black women run the gamut, and that we can all respect and love each other’s diversity,” Kitsinis continued.
Sponsors of the symposium include the African American Resource & Cultural Center, the College of Education, Criminal Justice and the Human Services, the LGBTQ Center, the Nathaniel R. Jones Center for Race, Gender & Social Justice, the Student Wellness Center, the Taft Research Center, the Graduate College, the Student Government Association and the Office of ethnic Programs & Services.
For those who missed the symposium check out the event’s activities online.
Learn more online about the UC Women’s Center.
Featured top image of the 8th Annual Black Feminist Symposium at UC. Photo provided.
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