Connecticut College Black Womanhood Conference facts for kids
The Connecticut College Black Womanhood Conference was a special three-day event held in 1969. It celebrated the important roles of black women in many jobs, like teaching, medicine, art, and politics. People believe it was the first conference of its kind ever held on an American college campus.
Contents
History of the Conference
Connecticut College welcomed its first black student in 1931. After some years with few black students, ten black students joined the college in 1968. This led the college to try harder to welcome more students from different backgrounds. In the same year, the first Afro-American Society was started at Connecticut College. Also, men were admitted to the college for the first time.
After a year of planning, the Black Womanhood Conference took place from April 18 to 20, 1969. Sue Johnson was the main organizer. Dr. Mabel Smythe, a member of the college's board, also helped. Student leader Beverly Phillips explained the conference's goal. She said, "We feel that the contributions of Black people to America have not been fully recognized. As Black women, we wanted to bring important Black women from many fields to this campus. They would talk about being Black in society and share their experiences in their jobs."
What Happened at the Conference
Keynote Address
Vinie Burrows, an actress, gave a powerful speech. She used parts of books and poems by Black American writers. She wanted to show the experiences of black women. She said that "black womanhood is uniquely shown in the works of black poets and writers."
Seminars and Speakers
Many important black women led special talks called seminars. These talks happened in the college dorms. The speakers came from many different jobs.
- Jewel Plummer Cobb was a biology professor and cancer researcher. She later became a Dean at Connecticut College.
- Dr. Alyce Gullatee was a psychiatrist from Washington D.C.
- Ruth Wilson was an elementary school teacher.
- The Honorable Constance Baker Motley was a judge in a federal court.
- Ruth Inge Hardison was a sculptor who created figures of black historical people.
- Joyce Mitchell Cook was a philosophy professor.
- Rachel Robinson was a medical researcher and the wife of baseball star Jackie Robinson.
- Dr. Mabel Smythe was a United States Ambassador.
- June Meyer was a poet and author.
- Dean Bernice Miller and Mrs. William Wilson talked about black women in education.
- Mrs. Margaret Burroughs was an art teacher and author.
Performances
The conference started with a performance by Pearl Primus and Percival Borde. They were a husband-and-wife team who ran an Afro-Caribbean dance company. They performed West Indian and African dances. This showed the influence of black women in the arts. On Saturday night, the singer-songwriter and activist Odetta performed.
Closing Address
Eleanor Holmes Norton gave the final speech. She was a legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union. She later became a Congresswoman. Her speech focused on the role of black women in America. She talked about how black families were different from white families. She explained that these differences could help create more equal ideas within black families and in the professional world.
Legacy of the Conference
This conference is thought to be the first of its kind on an American college campus. This was a big achievement, especially because it happened soon after the Civil Rights Movement. Most of the students at Connecticut College were white women at that time. Money raised from the conference was given to a scholarship fund for black students. This helped the college continue its goal of welcoming students from different backgrounds.
The Connecticut College Black Womanhood Conference was brought back in 2017. It was renamed "Black Woman's Conference: Resisting Invisibility, Restoring our Minds, Bodies, and Communities." This new conference took place on April 2, 2017, at the Crozier Williams Student Center. It was a one-day event with performances and talks by Black women. Some of these women worked at Connecticut College, and some did not.
Many college offices and departments helped sponsor the 2017 conference. These included Africana Studies, the Center for Critical Study of Race and Ethnicity (CCSRE), Gender and Women’s Studies, and the Womxn’s Center.
Some of the speakers at the 2017 conference included Bryana White, Henryatta Ballah, Terry-Ann Craigie, and Yazmin Watkins. Some of the discussions were about the importance of Black natural hair and mental health.
Shameesha Pryor, who graduated in 2017, was one of the people who worked to bring this conference back.
