The Home for Little Wanderers presents 
Women of Color Conference

Empowerment through "Herstory": Charting the Path to Greatness

Join us for a full day of leadership development and inspiration, at The Home’s first Women of Color Conference (WOC). WOC is designed to engage Boston’s most influential women working with children and families living in at risk circumstances. The conference will begin with a morning session dedicated to women of color only, which will include a keynote speaker, wellness sessions and inspiration and renewal.

In the afternoon, we invite our allies who are not women of color to join the conference and participate in two workshops of their choice.

Keynote Speaker

Liz Walker is a minister, women’s advocate and activist for community healing and cross cultural and interfaith dialogue. She is Pastor of Roxbury Presbyterian Church, a dynamic faith community with a 130 plus year history of making a difference in one of Boston’s most challenging neighborhoods. RPC under Reverend Walker’s leadership is home to the Cory Johnson Program for Post Traumatic Healing, an innovative program that addresses the epidemic of post traumatic stress in a low income African American community too often overrun by violence. The Cory Johnson Program works to increase community awareness of PTSD as well as improving access to mental health services, and empowering community members with the skills to cope with and respond to PTSD.

Reverend Walker’s calling as a minister is the latest and highest reach of a life journey which includes 11 years of humanitarian work in one of Africa’s most troubled countries and 21 years as Boston’s first African American Television News Anchor on WBZ TV.

In the summer of 2001, Rev. Walker traveled to Sudan as a reporter on a fact-finding mission on the controversial slave trade there. It was a life changing experience. Sudan is the scene of the worst human rights atrocities in the world. So outraged by what she witnessed in the sub Saharan, Reverend Walker co-founded the humanitarian organization “My Sister’s Keeper” which focuses on economic and educational initiatives for Sudanese women and girls. n 2007 “My Sister’s Keeper” built a Girls’ school in the village of Akon, Sudan, the first of its kind in that region. On the first day of school, 1000 girls enrolled. Despite persistent violent conflicts and political upheaval in the region, the school continues to operate today.

While in Sudan, Reverend Walker facilitated healing conversations among women from competing tribes and ethnicities in war torn regions that have never known peace. She helped found the Sisterhood for Peace Initiative which supports the growth of a network of diverse Sudanese women committed to collaborating across race, religion, ethnicity and geography to promote peace and justice.

Reverend Walker shot her own video and produced a number of television reports about Sudan and a documentary called “A Glory from the God” which profiles the work of “ My Sister’s Keeper”. Her 31year television news career resulted in two Emmys and an Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in her field.

A graduate of Harvard Divinity School, Reverend Walker has long been actively involved in many community service organizations and projects. She helped found the Jane Doe Safety Fund, a multi-million dollar statewide anti-violence initiative that works on policy and supports domestic abuse shelters and safe houses around the Commonwealth.

Reverend Walker is a member of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization and serves on the Board for the New England Chapter of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund. She has also served on the Board of Trustees for Andover Newton Theological Seminary, the Tufts Health Foundation and Board of Overseers for Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She has been awarded honorary degrees from numerous institutions including University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth, Boston College, Simmons College, Salem State University and Bridgewater State University. Liz Walker’s is one of the world’s most healing voices. From her poignant words after the Boston Marathon Bombing to her Sunday sermons at RPC to her inspirational and motivational speeches before audiences around the globe, Liz Walker offers vitally important instruction on hopeful living in challenging times.

 

 

Workshop Speakers

Workshop I: The Politics of Respectability: A Cross-Cultural Examination of Female Bodies and Behaviors

LaShawnda Lindsay-Dennis, Ph.D., NCC

The politics of respectability refers to the ways in which marginalized groups are subjugated to mainstream cultural values by members of their own groups. In this workshop, participants will examine how respectability politics influence the lived experiences of girls from diverse cultural backgrounds. Participants will engage in a critical discussion about how societal beliefs about notions of femininity, respect, and dignity often polices the bodies and behaviors of girls from marginalized groups.

Research Scientist
WELLESLEY CENTERS FOR WOMEN
Wellesley College

Workshop II: Equity & Equality in the classroom and beyond

 Kamilah Drummond-Forrester, MRC, CAGS 

In this workshop participants will examine the impact of implicit bias on school disciplinary practices. Our discussion will include personal reflection, group work and experiential activities. We will identify some of our own biases, analyze how these biases may impact the way we engage our work, discuss the correlation of the school-to-prison pipeline and end our time with practical strategies for interrupting and mitigating the harmful effects of implicit bias within the classroom. Participants should come prepared to actively engage in challenging work.

Director - Open Circle
SEED Leader-National SEED Project
WELLESLEY CENTERS FOR WOMEN
Wellesley College
Tel 781-283-2863 

Workshop III: Finding Courage, Self-Confidence, and Role Modeling

Mia Roberts 

What is the secret sauce that all leaders use to help girls act on the belief that they can develop and succeed at the highest levels in any area they choose? Research and practical experience reveals that there is a secret sauce that is an ingredient in every strategy that works - in the home, in the classroom, in the community center, and in workplaces. In this content rich, interactive workshop, we will explore the link between the research and practice that results in acting with courage, building self-confidence and modeling for girls how they can achieve. If you are energized and inspired to change the trajectory of girls outcomes so that we see them in the science labs, boardrooms and every desirable space where we don't see them now, then this workshop

VP Of Strategic Patnerships, Big Sister Association of Greater Boston

Workshop IV: Impact of Social Media and Television

Linda Charmaraman, PhD

Protesting the lack of diversity on mainstream television and the exponential rise of social media channels for public dialogue can have transformative impacts for girls and girls of color. In this workshop, we will review the research about the harmful effects of media on today's youth, as well as consider how we can shift from being passive receivers to active users in charge of what we consume and create. Dr. Charmaraman will provide an overview of her research findings from two of her book chapters, one about the impact of stereotypical television images on girls, and the other about how women of color use social media to increase their social capital. In this workshop, participants will explore how they can be agents of change to reduce the harmful effects of invisibility and negative media imagery in their social contexts, from within families, schools, and communities. By understanding how women of color in our studies have intentionally created their social media networks into communities that support each other, participants will begin developing an action plan of how they can use social media to form bridges into networks that will help them thrive in such domains as their professional, personal, and sociopolitical worlds

Principal Investigator of Media & Identity Project
WELLESLEY CENTERS FOR WOMEN
Wellesley College
lcharmar@wellesley.edu