Campus Events

Over the past several years, scholars, activists, and analysts have begun to examine the growing divide between the wealthy and the rest of us, suggesting that the divide can be traced to the neoliberal turn. "I'm not a business man; I'm a business, man." Perhaps no better statement gets at the heart of this turn. Increasingly we're being forced to think of ourselves in entrepreneurial terms, forced to take more and more responsibility for developing our "human capital." Furthermore a range of institutions from churches to schools to entire cities have been remade, restructured to in order to perform like businesses. Finally, even political concepts like freedom, and democracy have been significantly altered. As a result we face higher levels of inequality than any other time over the last century. In Knocking the Hustle: Against the Neoliberal Turn in Black Politics, Lester K. Spence writes the first book length effort to chart the effects of this transformation on African American communities, in an attempt to revitalize the black political imagination. Rather than asking black men and women to "hustle harder" Spence criticizes the act of hustling itself as a tactic used to demobilize and disempower the communities most in need of empowerment.

During trying times like the one we're experiencing now, people push back against the changing tides, and often, black women represent those changing tides. All leaders have challenges and obstacles that they must overcome to lead effectively, but for black women leading legacy organizations in philanthropy, those challenges are unique. * Audience will learn more about what leadership at a legacy foundation looks like * Audience will receive insight about the unique challenges of being a Black woman in leadership * Audience will receive insight about why it's so important for women of color to lead organizations like Ms. during this tumultuous time -Teresa C. Younger has served as president and CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women since 2014. Under Teresa's leadership, the foundation launched #MyFeminismIs, a multimedia campaign sparking a national conversation on feminism; funded a groundbreaking report on the sexual-abuse-to-prison pipeline; helped announce a $100 million funding commitment to create pathways to economic opportunity for low-income women and girls; and led a campaign to hold the NFL accountable for violence against women. A noted speaker, advocate, and activist, Teresa has been on the front lines of some of the most important battles for women's health, safety, and economic justice. She was honored by Planned Parenthood Federation of America as a Dream Keeper, given Liberty Bank's Willard M. McRae Community Diversity Award, and named one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in Philanthropy" by Inside Philanthropy. A graduate of the University of North Dakota, Teresa serves on the boards of several philanthropic and advocacy organizations and initiatives. She previously served as the executive director of the Connecticut General Assembly's Permanent Commission on the Status of Women and as executive director of the ACLU of Connecticut-the first African American and the first woman to hold that position.

Talk: She the People: Amplifying the Political Voice of Women of Color in 2018 and Beyond, Aimee Allison President, Democracy in Color; Founder, She the People, presents on the changes women of color can bring to politics and answers questions

In this week's address, the President calls on Republicans in Congress to stop playing politics with law enforcement and national security and confirm Loretta Lynch as Attorney General of the United States.