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Vol. 5, No. 4 - March 8, 2006
| Skidmore to Launch Social Justice/Citizen Activism Series Author, educator, and Nobel Prize nominee Barbara Smith will be the keynote speaker in a lecture and workshop series titled "Social Justice Education and Citizen Activism" to take place this spring on campus. Smith's talk, to be delivered at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 9, in Gannett Auditorium of Palamountain Hall, is titled "Becoming Part of the Solution." It will be followed by workshops later in March and in April, led by Skidmore faculty and community members, on ways in which citizens can develop the knowledge and tools necessary for social justice activism. All events are free and open to the public. The College's Department of Education Studies has organized the series, with support from a number of academic departments, administrative offices, and student organizations at the college. Smith is a general editor of The Reader's Companion to U.S. Women's History with Wilma Mankiller, Gwendolyn Mink, Marysa Navarro, and Gloria Steinem (Houghton Mifflin, 1998). Rutgers University Press published her collection of her essays titled The Truth That Never Hurts: Writings on Race, Gender, and Freedom in 1998. Her articles, essays, literary criticism, and short stories have appeared in a variety of publications including The New York Times Book Review, Ms., The Black Scholar, Gay Community News, The Guardian, The Village Voice, and The Nation. She co-founded and until 1995 was publisher of Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, the first U.S. publisher for women of color. Her awards and honors include the Church Women United Human Rights Award (December 2000); being featured in Essence magazine's 30th anniversary issue as a black woman trailblazer (May 2000); and being named by The Advocate magazine as a Best and Brightest Activist for Lesbian and Gay Rights (August 1999). Following Smith's talk, the series will feature three workshops. All are scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. in Davis Auditorium of Palamountain Hall and are open without charge. Times and topics are as follows: Wednesday, March 22 -- Connecting Theory to Practice Wednesday, April 5 - Advocacy Tools and Best Practices Wednesday, April 19 - Skills and Mechanics for Social Justice Activism Nora Yates and Ross Levi of the Empire State Pride Agenda will lead the workshops. For details about the series, please contact the Department of Education Studies at ext. 5140.
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