Women’s Herstory Month Provides Strategies, Community and More

Women’s Herstory Month (WHM) kicks off on Wednesday, March 2 with an opening ceremony, Women Like Me: Making Women’s Needs Visible.

“The theme of the month’s events is woven through the opening ceremony, which identifies the needs of women and provides strategies and community to support them, taking into account race, ethnicity, religion, class, sexuality and other factors that impact women’s lives,” says Tammie Velasquez, Manager of the Women’s Resource Center and Co-Chair of the Women’s Herstory Month Committee.

The opening ceremony will feature Keynote Speaker Constance Panton, owner and founder of Bifties Gifts, a company that specializes in custom gifts featuring all Black-owned brands for consumers and wholesale clients. Bifties donates 5% of its marketplace and Build-A-Bift sales to charities supporting the Black community.

“In that spirit of giving back and building community, a total of 20 events comprise the robust programming for Women’s Herstory Month and span widely disparate topics that share a focus on the practical, physical, emotional, professional and other needs women strategize around, in order to live their fullest lives,” says Manager Velasquez.

These include a month-long Menstrual Product Drive, that collects essential products for the Women’s Resource Center and Coalition for the Homeless. The March 7 event, Implicit Bias and Intersectional Identities Discussion will define implicit bias and open a conversation about how this kind of discrimination operates in many everyday contexts and life situations. Podcasting With a Purpose, on March 8, features senior podcase producer Alexis Haut, who will help guide participants in creating community through this platform. Hood Herbalism With Berenice Dimas, founder of Hood Herbalis will provide on March 9, a fascinating look at medicinal plants and ancestral knowledge.

Other events include The Role of Culture on Women’s Leadership and How Travel Promotes Wellness and Reduce Stress on March 11, and The Impact of bell hooks: Black Feminism, Engaged Pedagogy, and Intersectionality on March 14.

A focus on leadership continues with If She Can See It, She Can Be It: Women in Leadership and Underrepresented Fields on March 15 and Sisterhood and the All-Women College Experience on March 16.

The importance of health is presented in Move your Body: Salsa with Nancy; Reproductive Health with Doula, Chandani Nash on March 17, and From The Pandemic to Spirituality, Wellness and Self Love on March 18.

Tapping the audience’s creativity is part of the experience in LFG (Let’s F*cking Go) Documentary on March 22 and Is there a Call to Greatness in your Life? Breakthrough a Journey Towards the Next Best Version of Yourself . Sisters on Track – Netflix Movie screening and Panel presents new perspectives on March 23.

Other important issues are addressed in Women Like Me Were Girls Like Me, But It’s Not Just Me on March 24; Colloquium: Making Women Visible in the Art History Classroom and Beyond on March 25 and #MaternalHealthMonday: How Race, Class and Access Impact Maternal Health Outcomes for BIPOC Women on March 28.

The month winds down with Move your Body: Zumba with Tricia on March 29; Menstrual Equity: Making Menstrual Needs Visible on March 30; Beyond WAP and Anandas: A Talk With Sexperts, Part 2 on April 7 and Trauma Sensitive Yoga with Mindy Levine on April 14.

Students attending two or more WHM events are eligible for Co-Curricular Transcript (CCT) credit.

For more information on Women’s Herstory Month, contact Tammie N. Velasquez, Manager of the BMCC Women’s Resource Center at tavelasquez@bmcc.cuny.edu.