Symposium at UA Gives African-American Women Voice to Their Stories

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The historically submerged voices of African-American women will be heard in a symposium Thursday, Nov. 19, at The University of Alabama.

“Recovering Black Women’s Voices and Lives” will present a program of innovative scholarship on African-American women in literature, history and public and private life. The symposium includes reaching out to the Tuscaloosa community based on a discussion of the classic 19th century autobiographical novel “Our Nig” by Harriet Wilson.

Keynote speaker is Dr. P. Gabrielle Foreman, professor of English and American studies at Occidental College. Foreman recently uncovered new information about the “Our Nig” author. She is also the author of  “Activist Sentiments: Reading Black Women in the 19th Century,” to be published by the University of Illinois Press. She will discuss these topics in her keynote address, “On Burials and Exhumations: Hidden Women, Public Lives,” at 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, at the University Club.

Foreman also will lead the community outreach book discussion, scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, at Plum Grove Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa. For information on this event, contact the Rev. Tyshawn Gardner, pastor of the Plum Grove Baptist Church, at 205/752-2762.  A limited number of complimentary copies of “Old Nig” will be available on a first come, first served basis. Plum Grove members should contact the church. The public may call Dr. Brittney Cooper at 205/348-9556 to obtain a copy.

Symposium plenary presentations, which are free and open to the public, focus on recovered texts gleaned from genealogical research and newspaper archives and spotlights on specific women and texts such as African-American female preachers and early abolitionists and woman’s rights advocates. Presenting scholars and writers from around the country include Alice Kracke, Katharine Rodier, Kim Gallon, Kathleen Brown, Cecile Coquet-Mokoko and Kimberley Blockett. Symposium presentations will take place from 8:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on the second floor of the Gorgas Library.

“Recovering Black Women’s Voices and Lives” is co-sponsored by UA’s departments of African-American studies, women’s studies and American studies, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Women’s Resource Center, the College of Communication and Information Sciences, UA Creative Campus and Summersell Center for the Study of the South.

Although this event is free, organizers are asking attendees to pre-register by Tuesday, Nov. 10. For pre-registration, please send the name and affiliation to grs@as.ua.edu or phone 205/348-5761.

The College of Arts and Sciences is the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All-American Teams.