The 15th Annual Black Women’s Conference

Anna J. Cooper Mary McLeod Bethune Doris Wilkinson The 15th Annual Black Women's Conference

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"Cruel and Unusual Punishment:
Black Women in Correctional Settings"
[See conference flier (pdf) for full details]

March 21, 25 & 26, 2009

March 21, Saturday
Village Experience
10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Imani Missionary Baptist Church
1555 Georgetown Rd., Lexington, Ky.
Lexington, Ky.

March 25, Wednesday
Student Town Hall Meeting
[See flier (pdf) for full details]
6 p.m.
206 UK Student Center

March 26, Thursday
Anna J. Cooper Address
10-11:30 a.m.
(9:30 a.m. Registration)
Mary McLeod Bethune Luncheon and Lecture
Noon
Panel Discussion
2:30-4 p.m.
Dr. Doris Y. Wilkinson Distinguished Lecture
5-6:30 p.m.
UK Student Center,Small Ballroom, 3rd Floor

We selected this year's conference theme because incarcerated women are largely African American and bear the quadruple burden of their race/ethnicity, class, gender, and status as a criminal offender.  Incarceration of women causes families to be dismantled and children to be forced into foster care.  Responsive correctional programs that address trauma and abuse issues, vocational skills, medical care, mental health, parenting and childcare, and relationships are extremely limited. Also, the invisibility of incarcerated women has resulted in little research and policy development that would advance their status. 

All events, except where noted, are free.  For information on any of these events, please contact the African American Studies and Research Program, 102 Breckinridge Hall, phone 859-257-3593. 

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The annual Black Women's Conference was initiated in the spring of 1995 in observance of Women's History Month and in an effort to especially recognize, highlight, and examine issues that are central to the lives of Black women including their historical and contemporary roles in the black community and beyond. Toward this end, each year the conference focuses on a theme relevant to the physical and mental well being of Black women in an effort to offer information that can be used to empower them on a daily basis. We additionally seek to examine contemporary challenges facing Black women and historicize their struggles while also celebrating their contributions to society. In order to promote dialogue on theses issues, each year prominent African Americans from the local and national community are invited to participate in the conference as facilitators, discussants, and keynote speakers. It is also our goal to involve groups and individuals from both the local and university community as both participants and audience for the conference.