Conference focuses on women of color

If you’re a young woman and you want to get together with other young women of color to discuss issues and make action plans to address those issues, there is a conference available just for you.

The Feminist Majority Foundation will host its second annual Women of Color Conference titled “Define This! Young Women of Color Creating Change” at Bennett College for Women on November 14th and 15th in Greensboro, North Carolina.

According to feministcampus.org, The Feminist Majority Foundation is an organization that seeks to promote equality between the sexes, civil rights for all people and affirmative action for women and people of color, works to end violence against women, and supports programs that promote protecting the environment and is pro-choice, “supporting safe legal and accessible abortion” and family planning.

Founded in 1987, the organization dedicates itself to the empowerment of women politically, economically and socially. FMF is a non-violent organization that has a specific non-violence code, opting to deal with issues in a peaceful manner. FMF campus groups are on 196 campuses in 44 states.

According to Tania Stewart, the national campus organizer for the foundation, the conference focuses on discussion and support for political change through collective action planning with topics such as global reproductive rights, education, media, environmental justice, grassroots organizing, violence against women and economic empowerment.

On the first day, you’ll listen to female leaders such as Eleanor Smeal from the FMF, Dolores Huerta from the Huerta Foundation, an organization that works to attain social justice, and Alma Adams, a Democrat who serves as a representative for Guilford County for the North Carolina General Assembly. You’ll also discuss affirmative action and be involved in an interactive discussion about the still present effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

On day two, you’ll sit in on a roundtable discussion about ways to end violence in our communities, an action planning session about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues called “Women of Color Combating a Heteronormative Society.” You will also discuss the politics of female health with topics such as HIV/AIDS, comprehensive sex education and reproductive health and justice. Another topic of the day is called “The Mind, the Media, and the Male Gaze: Deconstructing Images of Women of Color” that will delve deep into media portrayals of minority women and deliberate who to not only hold responsible but how to hold them accountable. Later that night, there will also be a feminist poetry slam/open mic.

If you are interested, tickets are $25, but Stewart insists that the foundation offers discounts for groups of five or more and “need-based assistance wherever possible” if you would like to attend but need help paying. You can <a href=’https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1400/event/checkOut.jsp?event_KEY=44281′>register</a> for the conference online.

More information about the Second Annual Women of Color Conference:
<a href=’http://feministcampus.org/leadership/NorthCarolina_WOCC/wocc_agenda.pdf’>Full schedule of events</a>
<a href=’http://feministcampus.org/leadership/NorthCarolina_WOCC/default.asp’>Conference website</a>