On Saturday, Feb. 27, New College of Florida presents “New Schools of Black Thought: A Black History Month Symposium,” a day of panel discussions, concluding with a keynote address from acclaimed feminist, intellectual and writer bell hooks.
The symposium is the final event of the 2016 Black History Month Celebration at New College, Black Construction: Alternative Modes of Blackness Through Time. The public is invited but asked to register in advance at newschoolsofblackthought.eventbrite.com
The program opens at 2:30 p.m. with welcoming remarks and a performance by Moor Mother Goddess. All events are in the Music Room of College Hall, on the New College Bayfront.
The panel discussions are:
- At 3:20 p.m., “Black Youth Matter: Living and Growing Up Black in the Violent States of America,” with Dr. Marcia Chatelain, Georgetown University; Dr. Cheryl Rodriguez, University of South Florida, Tampa; and Duane Khan, M.S., New College of Florida.
- At 4:50 p.m., “Newtown: Past, Present, and Future,” with Arthur Larkins of Robert Taylor Community Center and Mayor Willie Shaw, Sarasota, FL
The symposium concludes with the 7:30 p.m. keynote address by bell hooks.
bell hooks is an acclaimed intellectual, feminist theorist, cultural critic, artist, and writer. hooks has written over three dozen books and has published works that span several genres, including cultural criticism, personal memoirs, poetry collections, and children’s books. Her writings cover topics of gender, race, class, spirituality, teaching, and the significance of media in contemporary culture.
Born Gloria Jean Watkins in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, bell hooks adopted the pen name of her maternal great-grandmother, a woman known for speaking her mind. Her books include Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism, Rock My Soul: Black People and Self-Esteem, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom, Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics, Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope, Where We Stand: Class Matters, and We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity.
She received her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, her master’s degree from University of Wisconsin and her doctorate from University of California at Santa Cruz. The bell hooks Institute was founded in 2014.