March 18, 2010: Aurora is on a Community Activist Panel at U of M Dearborn

The presentation of my Master's paper went very well at U of D Mercy this past Tuesday night. The panel discussion and Q & A session with Dr. House, Lolita Hernandez, the audience and me generated really good questions about the commitment of academia to hire more minority faculty, the difference between talking about social justice and actually doing social activism, and the isolating and exclusion experiences of minority students. In this day and age, are minority faculty and students still facing racism, sexism, discrimination, exclusionary practices as racial, ethnic and female minorities? What prevents a larger group of primarily white faculty from pressuring the academy to hire more minority faculty? What are the risks? Who do minority students turn to when faced with racism, discrimination and exclusion from faculty, advisors or other students? Why does it take an African American woman with three academic degrees 30 years to get her project recognized, taken seriously and put into production? How can students get invoked in social Activism?

Tonight, I will be on another panel to discuss the roles and activities of community actvists at the University of MI Dearborn: 7 pm. 1072 CASL Bldg. The campus is on Evergreen Road across from the Fairlane shopping mall in Dearborn, MI

Inspiring Hope, Inspiring Change: Detroit's Progressive Women Activists

Moderator:  Lolita Hernandez, labor activist and author

Gerry Barrons, Veteran Feminists of America and former CEO,  Inforum
Minsu Longiaru, lawyer and community organizer for Restaurant Opportunities Center
Aurora Harris, educator and Activist Poet
Marion Kramer, National Welfare Rights Union and U.S. Social Forum coordinating committee

7 pm, 1072 CASL building

sponsored by the Women's and Gender Studies Program
For more information contact Suzanne Bergeron, sbergero@umich.edu