Anawasi: Uplifting the Lives & Legacies of Black Women

On Saturday, February 22nd, 2020, The Department of Curriculum, Culture & Education Inquiry (CCEI) and Palm Beach County School’s Office of African, African American, Latino & Gender Studies hosted the “ANAWASI: Uplifting the Lives & Legacies of Black Women” event. In celebration of Black History Month, local teachers, students, community leaders, and FAU students and faculty engaged in interactive dialogue, breakout sessions, and educational applications focused on the influence of Black women in American society.

Sigma Gamma Rho opened the program with a sorority step performance, which was followed by a welcome from Brian Knowles, Manager - African, African American, Latino, and Gender Studies, School District of Palm Beach County, and Bianca Nightengale-Lee, Ph.D., a CCEI faculty member. The event’s plenary session entitled “Black Girl Magic” was offered by Traci Baxley, Ed.D., an Associate Professor in CCEI. The event also included an intergenerational panel discussion in which Dr. Cynthia Wilson, Iris Minor, Jordan Bowles, Tamara Byrd, and Stefany Accime discussed their experiences as Black females. Attendees then had opportunity to engage in breakout sessions on the following topics:

• Nappy Edges & Deep Roots: The Resiliency of Black Hair presented by Bianca Nightengale-Lee, Ph.D.
• Jessica on My Mind: The hypervisibility of Black Girls presented by Dr. Melanie Acosta
• H.E.R- Hope, Excellence, Resistance Black Women Warriors across History presented by Brian Knowles & Karen Jefferson
• Toni Morrison & Race presented by Hoang Tran, Ph.D. & Larue Murphy

The event culminated with a light lunch at which participants were able to network and engage in further discussion. We thank the FAU Diversity Council for sponsoring refreshments for this event.

Plenary session by Dr. Traci Baxley