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FLC hosts poet-activist Olivia Gatwood for Women's History Month

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Tuesday, March 20, 2018 6:03 PM
Fort Lewis College student Kaidee Akullo shows off her mug of feminist and activist Angela Davis on campus on Monday. The college is celebrating Women's History Month. Each year it has selected a famous and accomplished woman to feature on a coffee mug, which students can pick up.

Fort Lewis College is celebrating Women’s History Month, and it is putting the spotlight on political activist and author Angela Davis. On Monday, students could stop by a table to get a mug with Davis’ photo and a bit of who she is and reasons to celebrate her. In the 1960s, Davis was a leader in the Community Party USA and worked closely with the Black Panthers.

Angela Davis, activist, speaks at the University of Alberta in 2006.

Nancy Stoffer, coordinator of diversity programming at FLC, said they chose to celebrate Davis because she fit the criteria of “someone who, from a feminist perspective, has persistently worked for women’s rights with human rights as a foundation.” In previous years, FLC celebrated farm workers activist Dolores Huerta and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Stoffer said it’s important to them to select a woman who is still alive to “remind us that women’s history is always in the making.”

Other events as part of Women’s History Month at FLC are:

Today: An Evening of Reclaiming Shame with Olivia Gatwood. Gatwood is a 25-year-old award-winning author and slam poet. She also teaches writing workshops and is recognized for her work as a Title IX Compliant educator in sexual assault prevention and recovery. According to her biography: “Olivia has traveled nationally to perform and teach workshops on gender equality, sexuality, and social justice at over 70 colleges and 30 high schools nationwide. Her Amazon Best Selling collection, New American Best Friend, reflects her experiences growing up in both New Mexico and Trinidad, navigating girlhood, puberty, relationships, and period underwear.” Gatwood will speak at 6 p.m. in the Vallecito Room. The event is sponsored by Feminist Voice and Title IX.

March 30: Nevertheless She Persisted poster viewing and reception: Throughout the month, posters of historical women have hung in various places throughout campus, according to the woman’s disciplines. For example, posters of former Washington Post Publisher Katherine Graham, former Durango Herald Editor and Publisher Morley Ballantine and trailblazing journalist Ida B. Wells hang at the Ballantine Media Center. Marie Curie’s poster hands in the chemistry building, because Curie was a pioneering chemist and physicist. Political theorist Hannah Arendt is featured in Noble Hall, where the philosophy department is located. And a poster of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo can be seen in the art building. All of those posters will be rounded up and then on display to view during a reception from 4 to 6 p.m. March 30 at McPherson Chapel on campus.

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