On September 29, Dr. Andrea Smith, a Cherokee intellectual, feminist and anti-violence activist, will present her convocation address “Indigenous Women and Social Justice” at 3 p.m. in Phelps Stokes Auditorium.
A longtime anti-violence and Native American activist and scholar, Smith has been instrumental in creating awareness, direct action and critical dialogue to end violence against women of color and their communities.
She has long been active in anti-violence activism, working as a rape crisis counselor and starting the Chicago chapter of Women of All Red Nations. She worked with Amnesty International as a Bunche Fellow in 1991 coordinating the research project on sexual violence and American-Indian women. She represented the Indigenous Women’s Network and the American Indian Law Alliance at the United Nations World Conference Against Racism in 1991.
Her publications include: “Native Americans and the Christian Right: The Gendered Politics of Unlikely Alliances” and “Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide.” She is also the editor of many publications including “The Revolution Will Not Be Funded,” “Beyond the Nonprofit Industrial Complex,” and is a co-editor of “The Color of Violence” and “The Incite! Anthology.”
Smith received her doctorate in history of consciousness at the University of California-Santa Cruz in 2002. Currently, she is associate professor of media and cultural studies at the University of California-Riverside. She also serves as the U.S. coordinator for the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians, the co-founder of the national grassroots organization Incite! Women of Color Against Violence.
In 2005, Smith was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize “as a woman who works daily for peace” in recognition of her research and work regarding violence against women of color in the U.S.
This event is co-sponsored with the women’s and gender studies program and is free and open to the public.
Other upcoming Berea College events include:
- Oct. 6 Convocation: Founders’ Day – “To Serve with Love: Life Lessons on Servant Leadership”
- Oct. 13 Convocation: Darrel Scott Band – “Singing and Playing from the Heart”
- Oct. 27 Convocation: Dr. Amitabh Chandra – “The Healthcare Trilemma: Insurance, Quality and Costs”
See the full convocation schedule at http://www.berea.edu/convocations and follow more Berea College news on BCnow at berea.edu/news