Women’s Herstory Month: Persist and Resist

Original artwork by BMCC alumna Heidy Avila

Original artwork by BMCC alumna Heidy Avila
February 21, 2018

Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) is celebrating Women’s Herstory Month this March with the theme, Nevertheless, She Persisted. Current activism in the United States and on many college campuses, such as the Me Too movement, is reflected in the month’s events. Through a wide range of topics, the Women’s Herstory Month sessions and gatherings will explore speaking out, shattering the glass ceiling, disrupting the status quo and more.

A conference, Persist and Resist, kicks off the month’s events

On March 1 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Richard Harris Terrace and other locations at the college’s main campus, 199 Chambers Street, Women’s Herstory Month will open with a conference, Persist and Resist.

This all-day event will feature panels and other presentations, as well as keynote speakers Christine Quinn, President and Chief Executive Officer, Women in Need, and Melissa Mark-Viverito, Senior Advisor, Latino Victory Fund. Both Quinn and Mark-Viverito are also former Speakers of the New York City Council.

“The conference is intended to act as a catalyst for change and to inspire and encourage women to take action as well as act as a platform for their voices to be heard and listened to,” said Margaret Barrow, Deputy Chair of the English Department and Chair of the Women’s Herstory Conference, along with Co-Chair Deborah Parker, Director of the Women’s Resource Center.

A month of events honors activists, artists and others

The conference on March 1 will be followed by Women’s Herstory events coordinated by Brianne Waychoff, Coordinator of the Gender and Women’s Studies program and a Professor in the Speech, Communications and Theatre Arts Department, with co-coordinator Amy Sodaro, Professor of Sociology in the Social Sciences, Human Services and Criminal Justice Department.

Other Women’s Herstory Month planning members include Social Science Professors Nicole Lopez-Jantzen and Meryem Zaman, and Art Professor Sarah Madole.

Throughout the month of March, workshops will honor activists and artists including queer black feminist writers and historical figures like Ona Judge, who escaped enslavement within the household of American President George Washington. An exhibit will feature portraits of women by women student and faculty artists, and films will be screened and discussed. Moderated panels and discussions will highlight women in the military, the impact of gender in the reporting of news, strategies to increase the number of women elected to the New York City Council and other issues both topical and timeless.

“This year’s Women’s Herstory Month theme, Nevertheless, She Persisted, invites us to reflect on where we have been and where we are going,” says Brianne Waychoff, Coordinator of the Gender and Women’s Studies program and a Professor in the Speech, Communications and Theatre Arts Department. “This year is special at BMCC because it is the 25th anniversary of the Women’s Resource Center and the first academic year offering a Gender and Women’s Studies associate degree program. Many people have been part of the persistent effort to make both a reality. We simultaneously offer gratitude for past efforts and focus on future possibilities.”

All Women’s Herstory Month events are free and open to BMCC students, faculty and staff. Many of the events are co-curricular transcript approved. For more information on Women’s Herstory Month, call the Women’s Resource Center, (212) 220-8165.

 

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Women’s Herstory Month opens with a conference, Persist and Resist on March 1
  • Workshops, panels, readings, plays, open mics and more, follow throughout the month of March
  • 2018 is the 25th anniversary of the Women’s Resource Center, a sponsor of the month’s events

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