Get ready for Critical Social Justice: Home with our “What You Need to Know” series.

Last year’s Critical Social Justice: Baltimore 365 was dedicated to understanding the historic and current day complexities and realities of Baltimore City. In the wake of the Baltimore Uprising, the CSJ planning team felt (and still does feel) deeply committed to creating more opportunities for our campus community to connect with and understand Baltimore. This year’s CSJ theme of Home allows for the conversation and learning about Baltimore to continue.

How does a legacy of residential segregation impact the creation and/or destruction of “home” in Baltimore? 

What does it mean to “be home” for residents of Baltimore City? 

Which Baltimore neighborhoods are perceived as homes? And, which ones are perceived as less than? How does race, gender, and socioeconomic status show up in our responses? 

How does policing in Baltimore and the recent release of the Department of Justice report impact the reality of home? 

This year, all incoming first-year and transfer students were asked to read Not in My Neighborhood: How Bigotry Shaped a Great American City by Antero Pietila which tells the story of how racial segregation came to be and what its impact is through the story of Baltimore. Mr. Pietila will be visiting campus to explore some of the questions above (and more) at this year’s New Student Book Experience event on Thursday, October 13th. This is a great way to kick-off Critical Social Justice: Home and we hope to see many of you there!

For more details about the New Student Book Experience “Meet the Author” event, visit the event post on myUMBC. 

In Recognition of Relationship Violence Awareness Month, the Women's Center is hosting Clothesline Project t-shirt making throughout the month of October.

All survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, and sexual violence are invited to make a shirt that shares their experience, story, or healing journey to add to the UMBC Clothesline Project. All materials are provided in the Women's Center. 

For more information on the Clothesline Project click on the link below.

The next Clothesline Project will be on display in April. 

Take a look at all the events lined up for Critical Social Justice: Home! (Click here for a PDF of the flyer.)

 October 24th | Monday

Critical Social Justice 101: Foundations of Home – 12PM to 1PM in Commons 331 – A moderated panel discussion exploring a few of the many interpretations of how our theme of “home” relates to social justice. Panelists include: Dr. Kate Drabinski (Gender + Women’s Studies), Dr. Kimberly Moffitt (American Studies), and Dr. Thania Muñoz Davaslioglu (Modern Languages, Linguistics & Intercultural Communication).

Critical Interactions – 7:30PM to 9PM in University Center 310 – Peer facilitators and recent program participants will share their experiences with the INTERACT program, a Student Affairs initiative housed in Chesapeake Hall followed by a hands-on educational experience where attendees will craft, discuss and question what makes a home. Sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs.

October 25th | Tuesday

Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha Keynote Lecture: “Body/ Land/ Home: Disability Justice, Healing Justice and Femme of Color Brilliance” – Doors open at 5:30PM, keynote begins at 6PM in the UC Ballroom – A meet-and-greet reception and book-signing will follow the keynote. Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha is a disabled femme of color writer and performance artist whose award-winning work on disability, survivorhood, and transformative justice speaks to the many complexities inherent in navigating our way home. Facebook event

October 26th | Wednesday

Social Justice Activism Workshop – 12PM to 1PM in the Women’s Center – Learn practical skills for organizing activist projects, discuss strategies for navigating common challenges, and gain new insights into how you can create change on campus or in your community. Sponsored by the Women’s Center.

Shelter from the Storm: Mosaic Center Roundtable – 4PM to 5:30PM in Commons 329 – A roundtable discussion with students, alumni and community activists about the home challenges faced by LGBTQ youth. Intersectional perspectives of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion and socioeconomic class will be explored. Sponsored by Student Life’s Mosaic: Center for Culture and Diversity.

October 27th | Thursday

Who Gets a Home in College? – 11:30AM to 12:30PM on Commons Main Street – Panelists will discuss how institutional barriers impact the ways marginalized students find (or don’t find) themselves at home on campus. Panelists include: Dr. Nicole Cousin-Gossett (Sociology, Anthropology & HAPP), Dr. Danyelle Ireland (Center for Women in Technology), and Dr. Santiago Solis (Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs/Diversity at Towson University). 11AM to 1PM – Exhibit in recognition of the Women’s Center’s 25th anniversary. Sponsored by the Women’s Center. 

October 28th | Friday

Walking Tour of a Baltimore Neighborhood – 12PM to 3PM, meet in the Women’s Center – Join us for a 90-minute walking tour of a Baltimore neighborhood to learn about its history and present from a social justice lens. Led by Dr. Kate Drabinski. Free tickets available at the CIC desk during October.

More details and events will be announced leading up to CSJ: Home, so like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and use the hashtag #CSJhome to keep up-to-date with the latest news!

* All events are free and open to the public.

** Contact womens.center@umbc.edu if you need special accommodations. 

The Women’s Center and Student Life’s Mosaic Center appreciate the support of our Critical Social Justice: Home co-sponsors: Residential Life  |  College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences  |  Office of Institutional Advancement  |  Honors College  |  LGBTQ Faculty and Staff Association  |  Women Involved in Learning and Leadership  |  Student Disability Services  |  Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Health Administration and Policy  |  Department of Media and Communication Studies |  Department of  Modern Languages, Linguistics & Intercultural Communication | Off-Campus Student Services | Language, Literacy, and Culture

A weekly round-up curated by Women’s Center staff member, Michael Jalloh Jamboria

In the spirit of my friend, who gave us the glorious name ‘Slaying on the Weekly’, every week I will be bringing you some interesting, funny or thought-provoking content from the internet! Be sure to join us next week for more and continue to slay!

The National Museum of African American History and Culture opened this week in Washington DC! Watch the Grand Opening Ceremony, as President Obama welcomes the Museum to the DC mall.

On Monday September 26th, the first presidential debate  took place at Hofstra University. If you missed it, the full debate is available, along with fact check.

Stay lovely and dry! See you next week!

The Women’s Center at UMBC turns 25 this year! We’re excited to share our important milestone with UMBC’s 50th Anniversary and will be celebrating throughout the year with the rest of campus! We were inspired by Special Collections archival project Archives Gold: 50 Objects for UMBC’s 50th and decided to do our own digging into the Women’s Center archives. Over the course of the year, we’ll be sharing 25 “Then vs Now” archives to celebrate the origin and evolution of the Women’s Center at UMBC.
This week we’re exploring 1991 and the historical context of the year the Women’s Center opened its doors.

In 1991, Anita Hill stood up to sexual harassment in the workplace. Hill testified against her former employer, Judge Clarence Thomas, as he had perpetrated inappropriate sexual behavior towards her while she was working for him a few years prior. Thomas was being appointed as a Supreme Court Justice when Hill came forward, ending her silence and sparking a national interest in sexual harassment in the workplace. The majority male Senate went on to confirm Thomas, but this highly publicized trial brought the issue of sexual harassment into focus. After Hill stood up, more women came forward about their own experiences, and more measures were taken to prevent harassment in the workplace. This included places like higher education and our own UMBC.

Anita Hill testifying on Capitol Hill.

After this event, many more women became involved in politics, and many believe this boom came about as a direct response to the nomination of Thomas. While this wasn’t the only reason the Women’s Center was founded on campus, the national attention being paid to women’s issues in the workplace certainly helped spark an interest in creating a safe space and resource for women on campus. This story of our beginning is captured in our 20th anniversary video about the Women’s Center.

Other 1991 noteworthy events include, the release of Thelma and Louise and the influential documentary Paris is Burning. Riot grrrl, the punk feminist music movement, also began in the early 90s, and ushered in a new format of women creating activist art and music at the same time the internet opened up to commercial use for the first time ever.

What are the memories you have of the Women’s Center over the years that are meaningful to you? What does the Women’s Center mean to you today? Share your memories and pictures with us in the comment section below!

Stay up-to-date with our 25th anniversary on social media using #UMBCWC25. Share your Women’s Center experiences and memories with the UMBC community using #UMBCWC25 AND #UMBC50!

A weekly round-up curated by Women’s Center staff member, Michael Jalloh Jamboria

In the spirit of my friend, who gave us the glorious name ‘Slaying on the Weekly’, every week I will be bringing you some interesting, funny or thought-provoking content from the internet! Be sure to join us next week for more and continue to slay!

Courtesy: Twitter.com, @adamrhew

 This week’s news:

This week I will be focusing on the protest surrounding the death of Keith Lamont Scott. Anti-police brutality protests have started in cities all over the country, the loudest taking place in Charlotte, North Carolina, which is now in a state of emergency.

I also just read this important and powerful post by fellow UMBC Retriever, Vanessa… please read it and consider the ways in which Black Issues Are Retriever Issues. 

Equally important, I want to make sure we are all taking care of ourselves. Engage in whatever self-care practices make you feel the best. Express and allow yourself to feel the emotions you have!

Finally, the Women’s Center and the Mosaic Center will be holding a community safe space on Tuesday 9/27. Meet in the Mosaic. Affected communities and allies are encouraged to come!

Until next week!

 A short reflection by student staff member Shira Devorah ( She/Her or They/Them) 

I really love queer media. I’ve probably watched most of the movies in the “Gay and Lesbian” category on Netflix, as long as they didn’t look too dull or exploitative. There are some really fantastic and challenging shows and movies available at the click of a button. Why am I so drawn to television shows with women kissing, to movies with actual trans actresses playing trans women? I know I’m not the only queer woman who revels in the opportunity to see a new lesbian drama. Why is this?

Well, it all boils down to one thing: The need for representation. The queer community is constantly portrayed by the media through stereotypes and tropes that are incredibly harmful and inconsistent with the realities of our queer lives. This article from the queer- woman’s website Autostraddle recently went viral – because it listed all 162 (and counting) dead lesbian and bisexual women killed on television and how they died.

The post circulated widely using the hashtag “bury your gays,” which was created after a beloved lesbian character from The 100 was killed off as a cheap plot device – a trope all too common in any media that portrays queer women. While I never really watched The 100, I understand what it feels like when a fan favorite lesbian meets an early demise.

I remember the first time I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer all the way through. I had the complete series box set growing up and watched BtVS religiously. I was heartbroken when (spoiler) Tara, one of two lesbians on that show, was killed off. She was shot by a stray bullet, and none of the magic in a supernatural show about vampires was used to bring her back.

I was devastated.

I had clung so hard to Willow and Tara’s relationship. I didn’t yet have the labels that I use today, but I knew that I liked girls. Tara, who I had identified with because she was shy and smart and kind of a dork. Tara, who kissed Willow and held her hand and called her “babe.”  She was killed, all as a plot device. It wouldn’t be the last time a character I loved, who also loved women, would be killed in a similar way.

See the full article HERE 

Positive representation really does matter. When queer shows and films are done in more humanizing ways, they allow queer people who watch to see a reflection of themselves in beloved and complex characters. It’s incredibly validating to see someone like you given substance and meaning beyond hegemonic perception of what it means to be LGBTQ. I want to see more characters like Cosima from Orphan Black, characters who are integral to the plot of their show, have flaws, and are also LGBTQ.

Positive representation doesn’t stop there: There are so many intersecting identities that deserve more and better representation in media that are also commonly overlooked. People of color are rarely cast as anything other than “that one black friend” or “that perceived-as-white love interest.” The moment there are an array of dynamic characters of color on one show, it is labeled as “other” and often dismissed. When LGBTQ people of color do appear in media, writers are often careless when contending with the  multiple facets of their identities.

spoken by one of the few black gay men on television who isn’t a cliche, Captain Holt from Brooklyn 9-9

Often writers don’t come equipped with the ability to write complex queer characters of color – especially when they do not identify alongside their characters. Take the example of Orange Is the New Black. 90% of the writers for the Netflix show are white women, and they write for queer women of color characters. Because there isn’t enough diverse representation on staff, important aspects of identity are left out or altered, letting down major characters and long-time fans. Don’t get me started with how they let down a certain fan favorite this past season…

For a show with so many women of color characters, there sure are a lot of white people in the writers’ room.

Even with all of the negatives, there is still some very positive representation in queer media. Films like Mosquita Y Mari,  Boy Meets Girl and Tangerine are all beautiful movies written by and/or starring queer individuals that explore LGBTQ characters genuinely. TV shows like Steven Universe, Brooklyn 9-9, and Grey’s Anatomy are also really great examples of good writing for queer characters. None of these characters are perfect people, and I wouldn’t want them to be. They are just more human, more three-dimensional, more interesting to watch.

Queer people live just as interesting and complicated lives as everyone else. We deserve to see these lives reflected in the media that we consume. I can’t wait to see how media evolves further and allows for more varied storylines and characters. As viewers, we should continue to be critical of what is and isn’t portrayed on the screen. One day I hope mainstream media will be more inclusive through  authentic representations of queer characters. For now, I say you should go check out some of those titles I mentioned. Continue to demand more from your favorite shows, and don’t settle for tropes.

We’re here, we’re queer, and we deserve better!

***

If you’re interested in checking out any of the movies mentioned here, the title of the films link to YouTube theatrical trailers!

Tangerine, Boy Meets Girl and Grey’s Anatomy are currently streaming on Netflix.

The Women’s Center at UMBC turns 25 this year! We’re excited to share our important milestone with UMBC’s 50th Anniversary and will be celebrating throughout the year with the rest of campus! We were inspired by Special Collections archival project Archives Gold: 50 Objects for UMBC’s 50th and decided to do our own digging into the Women’s Center archives. Over the course of the year, we’ll be sharing 25 “Then vs Now” archives to celebrate the origin and evolution of the Women’s Center at UMBC.

This week we’re featuring the marketing and publicity the Women’s Center has created and shared with the UMBC community over the past several years. 

Before smart phones and Snapchat, there were actual hard copy brochures and flyers (pre-PhotoShop) to help spread the word about the Women’s Center. Here’s some examples!

And, before MailChimp there were newsletters printed on actual paper and then ones made on Publisher and emailed to a list-serv.

Today, the Women’s Center still has a brochure and prints flyers but we really shine on our social media platforms. That’s where every one is anyways right? So be sure to like us on Facebook, tweet us at on Twitter, follow us on Instagram, and catch our snaps on Snapchat (@womencenterumbc). You already found our blog so be sure to subscribe! And, of course, there’s our myUMBC group.

One side of the current Women’s Center brochure.

Have you followed us on SnapChat yet?!

What are the memories you have of the Women’s Center over the years that are meaningful to you? What does the Women’s Center mean to you today? Share your memories and pictures with us in the comment section below!

Stay up-to-date with our 25th anniversary on social media using #UMBCWC25. Share your Women’s Center experiences and memories with the UMBC community using #UMBCWC25 AND #UMBC50!

Here is a great way to catch up on all our events for the month.

Check out our Mosaic and Interfaith Center Newsletter - December Edition!