Lecture: The Politics of Black Bodies

Black bodies have been hyper-politicized symbols across institutions of Western civilization since Europe’s earliest contact with various West African cultures in the late 15th century. Since then, Black bodies have been framed as everything from asexual to sexually promiscuous–both child-like and dangerous.

Delma Jackson’s lecture will highlight the way plantation stereotypes became pop-culture and how often pop-culture becomes policy. We’ll also explore some of the ways Black people have responded–from visual arts, to respectability politics, to various aesthetics of sexual liberation.

The workshop that follows will invite collective breathing, embodying, analysis, and meaning-making. Regina Laurie and Canisha Norris will guide participants to leverage their collective experience of the lecture and make meaning while considering their individual and collective well-being.

CONTENT WARNING: Strong language, Mentions of sex, violence, racism. DISCRETION ADVISED