Sixth Annual Women’s Week to celebrate women and activism

By JENA WITTKAMP
UNC News Services

CHAPEL HILL -- A civil rights activist, an environmentalist and two nationally known educators on sexual violence will visit the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as part of the Sixth Annual Women’s Week from March 19-27.

The theme for the week, celebrated in March to coincide with national Women’s History Month, is "A Call to Action: Challenging Oppression, Building Equality."

"Our sixth Women’s Week is an opportunity for the university community to celebrate women and what it means to be a woman," said Diane Kjervik, Carolina Women’s Center director. "This year’s theme was chosen to highlight the accomplishments of women who have been successful activists for women."

Featured speakers include State Rep. Deborah Ross; Elizabeth Eckford, who at age 15 was one of the first nine black students to integrate Central High School in Arkansas following the Brown v. Board of Education decision; Katie Koestner and Gordon Braxton, national educators on sexual violence; and Winona LaDuke, an American Indian environmental activist and Ralph Nader’s vice presidential running mate in the 1996 and 2000 presidential elections.

Events, sponsored by campus and community groups, will include film screenings, workshops, lectures on issues from civil rights to female entrepreneurship and the annual "Take Back the Night" rally and march, an event that raises awareness about sexual violence against women.

A list of activities follows. Events are free to the public. For more information, call the Carolina Women’s Center at (919) 962-8305.

• "Moving Thoughts into Action: How to be an Advocate," 3 p.m., 3206B Frank Porter Graham Student Union.
  

• "Yo Soy Latina," 8 p.m., Great Hall, Student Union. This play, by Linda Nieves-Powell, uses a fictional setting to examine real-life issues in the lives of Latinas.

• Women’s Art Exhibit, 7:30- 1 a.m. Monday through Friday and 7:30 a.m.-11 p.m. weekends, Student Union Gallery. Through March 26.
  
• Women’s Week 4004 Kick-Off, noon, in front of South Building at Polk Place. Chancellor James Moeser will give welcoming remarks, and Ross will discuss "Political Action for Women: Leadership That Counts." The women’s advocacy award will be presented to a female student, faculty or staff member who has made a sustained contribution on the behalf of women. Events include performances by the Ebony Readers Onyx Theatre, an information fair and free food.
  
• "Rocks With Wings," 5 p.m., 103 Bingham. This film tells the story of the Lady Chieftans, a women’s high school basketball team from the small Navajo community of Shiprock, N.M.
  
• "Brown v. Board of Education Anniversary Celebration, The Legacy of Segregation: Elizabeth Eckford," 7 p.m., Film Auditorium, Student Union. Eckford is one of the "Little Rock Nine," the first black students to integrate Little Rock’s Central High School. She will discuss the challenges and triumphs of integration and why there must continue to be a fight for racial equality.

March 23

• Luncheon Honoring Minority Women Faculty, noon, 1505 Student Union.
  
• "Defining Family with an LGBT Lens," 5 p.m., Toy Lounge, Dey Hall.
  
• Diaspora Film Festival, 7 p.m., Film Auditorium, Student Union. The evening, featuring independent film shorts, will include showings of "Stolen Moments," a documentary on hip-hop today, and two fictional entries, "White Like the Moon" and "Innocent."

March 24

• Silent Witness Exhibit, 9 a.m.-noon, West Lounge, Student Union. An exhibit of life-size figures representing every person who has been murdered in North Carolina as a result of domestic violence.
  
• These Hands and The Clothesline Project, noon, the Pit and Polk Place. Members of the community can combine their handprints in a statement against sexual assault in the Pit. T-shirts with written messages about sexual violence will be on display in Polk Place.
  
• Housing Reception Against Sexual Assault, 3 to 5 p.m., Location to be announced. With sexual violence educators, Koestner and Braxton.
  
• "Take Back the Night," 7 p.m., the Pit. A rally led by Koestner, march and women’s sharing circle to increase awareness of sexual violence. Men may attend a workshop with Braxton following the march.

March 25

• Women’s Health Fair, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., the Pit
  
• "Women as Entrepreneurs," 3 p.m., 1505 Student Union. A panel of female business owners will share their experiences and answer questions.
• Winona LaDuke, 7 p.m., Film Auditorium, Student Union. LaDuke is an American Indian activist and advocate for environmental, women’s and children’s rights.

March 26

• "The Edge of Each Other’s Battle: The Vision of Audre Lorde," noon, Lenoir Dining Hall. A film screening in tribute to the late poet Lorde, a black feminist lesbian who wrote several poetry collections and "The Cancer Journals," on her experience with a mastectomy and its aftermath.
  

March 27

• Celebration of Black Womanhood Conference, 9 a.m.- 3 p.m., 1505 Student Union. The theme of the conference is "Defining Independence: The Women of the New Millennium." The conference is designed to recognize and initiate dialogue about pertinent issues facing minority women.
  
• Breastcasting, 1-5 p.m., The Women’s Health Information Center, UNC Women’s Hospital. Participants will learn about self-breast exams and make a plaster mold of their torso, an activity designed to celebrate the female form. This event is for women only.
  
• Brown v. Board of Education Celebration Symposium, 9 a.m.-7 p.m., Film Auditorium, Student Union. "The Quest for Equality in Education- Then, Now and Tomorrow: Brown v. Board of Education" will celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in a daylong symposium.

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(Wittkamp, of Raleigh, is a December 2003 UNC graduate, with degrees in women’s studies and journalism and mass communication.)

Carolina Women’s Center contact: Chimi Boyd, (919) 843-2423, chimi_boyd@unc.edu
News Services contact: L.J. Toler, (919) 962-8589, laura_toler@unc.edu