Friday and Saturday March 5 and 6: Women's History Month Conference @ Sarah Lawrence

The Message is in the Music:
Hip Hop Feminism, Riot Grrrl, Latina Music, and More

Twelfth Annual Women’s History Month Conference
at Sarah Lawrence College
Bronxville, New York

Friday & Saturday, March 5 & 6, 2010

Free and open to the public

Keynote speaker: Carmen Ashhurst, former president of Def Jam Recordings and Rush Communications, and author of the forthcoming book, Selling My Brothers: The Movement, The Media and Me

Music has long served social movements as a sound track, as a means of communication, and as its own arena for activism. While multiple generations of feminists have used music in these ways, it has played especially vital roles for those born since the 1970s. This conference will explore the ways in which young feminists have defined and expressed politics through music and musical cultures and communities. Among the questions we will ponder are: How does music reflect sites of agreement and conflict among different groups of feminists? How have movements like Riot Grrrl and Hip Hop feminism attracted young women to feminist activism? How do young feminists’ uses of music compare with those of earlier generations?

Register online

Info: Women's History Month Conference

Friday and Saturday, February 19th and 20: "Is Hip-Hop History?" Conference @ City College

**Website is messy, but this conference has some great presenters, including Ralph McDaniels, Marc Anthony Neal, Jay Smooth, Rosa Clemente, DJ Red Alert, Raquel Cepeda, and Adam Mansback**

"The Is Hip Hop History? Conference was created to facilitate dialogue between hip hop pioneers, legends, tastemakers, fans, college students, and scholars. The conference will initiate an ambitious project to create a platform for the ongoing research and study of hip hop and popular culture at the Center for Worker Education (CWE)."

Attendance fee: $15 cover for one day or $25 for two days.

Schedule:
Day 1
Friday, February 19, 2010
Conference Registration 4-6PM
Opening Reception, 6PM-9PM
Music by Luis"DJ Disco Wiz" Cedeno
Performance by Lifted
Keynote Address
Ralph McDaniels, president of Uncle Ralph Productions, an on-air personality at New York’s WQHT’s HOT 97, executive producer and host of The Bridge, and co-owner of Onfumes.com.

Day 2
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Conference Registration 8:30am-10am
10am Keynote Address
Mark Anthony Neal, Professor of Black Popular Culture in the Department of African and African American Studies at Duke University.

1PM Hip Hop Media: From Paper to Blogs

Moderator:
Michaela Angela Davis, creative consultant, speaker, writer
Chuck " Jigsaw " Creekmur, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, AllHipHop.com
Datwon Thomas, COO/EIC, GlobalGrind.com
Sonya Magett, blogger, tyra.com

1PM is Hip Hop History?
Moderator: Carlito Rodriguez, writer and TV producer
DJ Red Alert
Bio, co-founder, Tats Cru
Lando Felix, Founder of The Blind Spot and co-founder/former VP production and design for Enyce and Mecca USA

3PM
From My Life to the Paper Very Accurately: Personal History as Narrative Strategy in Writing about Hip Hop
Moderator: Jay Smooth, host of WBAI’s Underground Railroad and proprietor of hiphopmusic.com and illdoctrine.com.

Adam Mansbach, author and 2009-2010 New Voices Professor of Fiction at Rutgers University
Raquel Cepeda, award-winning editor, multi-media journalist, and documentary filmmaker
James Braxton Peterson, Assistant Professor of English at Bucknell University
Joseph G. Schloss, Ph.D., author and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Black and Latino Studies at Baruch College (CUNY)

3PM
United We Stand
Moderator: Hon. George Martinez, Founder/Chairman of the Global Block Association and Adjunct in Political Science at Pace University

Jeffrey Kazembe-Batts, Co-Chairperson in the Universal Hip Hop Parade for Social Justice Organization
Rosa Clemente, community organizer, activist, radio journalist (WBAI 99.5 FM, NYC-PACIFICA RADIO), and a 2008 Vice-Presidential candidate with the Green Party
Mariaelena Jorge, CCNY Alumni and entreprenuer
Luis “Plot” Sosa, Co-Chairperson in the Universal Hip Hop Parade for Social Justice Organization
Andre T. Mitchell, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of several organizations and initiatives including Man Up! Inc, Hip Hop SUV (Stand Up & Vote) and F.I.P.A. (Formerly Incarcerated People Association)

Mike “Hollywood” Christie, Founder and President of talent Driven Network


Info: CCNY Center for Worker Education

Sat/Sun, Jan 30-31: Undoing Racism Workshop @ New York University Kimmel Center

Are You Challenged by How to Deal with Race Issues in Your Practice, Institution or in the Classroom? Are You Concerned about the Impact of Racism in your city and state?

The Undoing Racism/Community Organizing workshop is an intensive 2 day workshop designed to educate, challenge and empower people to undo the racist structures that hinder effective social change. The training is based on the premise that racism has been systematically constructed and that it can be undone when people understand where it comes from, how it functions, why it is perpetuated, and what we can do to dismantle it.

The workshop is offered by the Peoples Institute for Survival and Beyond, a national, multiracial, anti-racist collective of veteran organizers and educators dedicated to building an effective movement for social change. Since its founding in 1980, The Peoples Institute has trained over 200,000 people in hundreds of communities throughout the United States and internationally. It is recognized as one of the most effective anti-racist training and organizing institutions in the nation.

Price: $175 - $350 (Get your school/job to sponsor you!)

Phone: (914) 723-3222

Info: NY Daily News