Title: Black Women's Conference Upcoming
Contact: Brian Connors
Page Content:
by Erin Holaday

The University of Kentucky African American Studies and Research
Program hopes to empower activism throughout the 17th Annual Black
Women's Conference on March 19, 23 and 24.

This year's conference,
themed "Activism in the 21st Century" will provide an opportunity for
participants to look at past, present and future opportunities for community
action, through local and regional guests, as well as lectures by Spelman
College activist Asha Jennings and former Black Panther Party member and human
rights activist Ericka Huggins, a gender and women's studies professor at San
Francisco State University and California State University-East Bay.

"We
recognize that while we have come a considerable way in terms of issues that
plague the African American community, there are still a lot of issues that
require us to be involved as social activists," said AASRP director Sonja
Feist-Price. "We need to be the change that we hope for."

Jennings, who
will lead the conference's student town hall meeting, took a stand against the
rapper Nelly when he wanted to conduct a bone marrow drive for his sister, who
later died from leukemia. When Nelly refused to meet with the students about his
negative depiction of women in his video “Tip Drill,” they refused his request
for the bone marrow drive. At the time, Jennings was the president of the
Spelman Student Government Association and coordinator of the
drive.

"Jennings and her peers were 19 and 20 years old" said
Feist-Price. "But their actions brought national attention to a very important
issue. Jennings shows how a few women on a college campus that had a concern
about the objectification of women in rap videos banded together and refused to
look the other way."

After Jennings' protest received national
attention, she formed I.M.A.G.E.S. (Igniting Media Accountability for Gender
Exploitation Schemes), which spreads the message for change to high schools,
colleges and influential groups like the Illinois Humanity Council.

For
her efforts, the Women's Resource Center to End Domestic Violence awarded
Jennings with the Champions for Change Award in 2006. She was also named one of
the Amazing 10 Women to Know by Onyx Woman in 2007. Jennings has made
appearances on CNN's Paula Zahn Now, the NBC Nightly News and the 2007
documentary, "Beyond Beats and Rhymes: A Study of Masculinity in Hip
Hop."

Huggins, the conference keynote speaker, is a former Black Panther
Party member, political prisoner and human rights activist. She has spent the
last 25 years lecturing throughout the United States about human rights
restoration, whole child education and the role of spiritual practice in
sustaining activism and promotion social change.

Other conference
speakers include Melynda Price, the Robert E. Harding, Jr. associate professor
of Law in the UK College of Law and
William Turner, the distinguished professor of Appalachian Studies and Regional
Ambassador at Berea College.

Price received the 2007 Best Dissertation
Award from the Race, Ethnicity and Politics section of the American Political
Science Association. Her current research focuses on the politics of punishment
and the role of law in the politics of race and ethnicity in the United States
and its borders.

"What I love about Melynda is that she talks about
igniting the activist in all of us," said Feist-Price. "Sometimes we fail to
realize that a movement begins with one person, and we all have a responsibility
to play a part in making society a better place for present and future
generations.”

Turner was the first to combine African-American and
Appalachian studies and published a book titled, "Blacks in Appalachia." He has
also held positions at numerous Kentucky universities, including UK.

In
September 2007, Turner was inducted into the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame.
He has received multiple honors including the Appalachian Studies Association's
Cratis D. Williams/James S. Brown Service Award in 2009, the Christian
Appalachian Project's Citizen of the Year award in 1994 and Kentucky's Dr.
Martin Luther King Citizen's Award in 2007. He was also inducted as a Notre Dame
Black Exemplar in 2006.

Currently, Turner serves on the board of
directors for the Kentucky National Lands Trust, the New Opportunity School for
Women and the Christian Appalachian Project. He has also been recommended to
President Obama for appointment to the Appalachian Regional
Commission.

The full 2011 Black Women's Conference schedule is as
follows:

March 19
Village Experience: A panel will discuss
"Civil Rights—Issues of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow."
Details: Lecture and
lunch from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Lyric Theatre and Cultural Arts
Center.
Free.

March 23
Student Town Hall Meeting: Guest
speaker Asha Jennings will lead a seminar titled, "If Not Me, then
Who?"
Details: From 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Room 206 of the UK Student
Center.
Free.

March 25- Conference Day
Registration begins
at 9 a.m. in the Small Ballroom on the 3rd floor of the UK Student
Center.
Anna J. Cooper address: Dr. Melynda Price, assistant professor of law
at the UK College of Law, will present, "Ready for the Journey: Some Thought on
Living an Activist Life."
Details: 10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. in the Small
Ballroom on the 3rd floor of the UK Student Center.
Free.

Mary McLeod
Bethune luncheon and lecture: Keynote speaker Ericka Huggins will present, "And,
What About the Children?"
Details: Noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Small Ballroom on
the 3rd floor of the UK Student Center.
Tickets are $15, $7 for students and
senior citizens. For tickets, call (859) 257-3593.

Afternoon Panel
Discussion: Patrice Muhammad, editor of the Key News Journal, will moderate a
discussion on "Education as a Civil Rights Issue." The panelists include Asha
Jennings, Ericka Huggins, Patricia Muhammad and Kim Mapp.
Details: 2 p.m. to
3:15 p.m. in the Small Ballroom on the 3rd floor of the UK Student
Center.
Free.

Dr. Doris Y. Wilkinson Distinguished lecture: Guest
speaker Dr. William Turner will present, "Doris Y. Wilkinson: Kentucky's Rare
Cultural Entity and Public Intellectual."
Details: 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at
the Hilary J. Boone
Center.
Free.

The Black Women's Conference began in the
spring of 1995 in observance of Women's History Month and in an effort to
recognize, highlight and examine issues central to the lives of black women,
including their historical and contemporary roles in the black
community.

Each year the conference focuses on a theme relevant to the
physical and mental well-being of black women in an effort to offer empowering
information that can be used on a daily basis.

The conference is open to UK
students, staff and faculty, as well as the Lexington community.

"Be a
part of the solution," said Feist-Price. "This year, we are empowering activism
and change. Everyone can do something."

For more information, contact
Feist-Price at (859) 257-4270 or by e-mail at smfeis@email.uky.edu.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Erin Holaday Ziegler, (859) 257-1754, ext. 252; erin.holaday@uky.edu
Article Date: 3/15/2011
Summary: March 19, 23 and 24