Treva B. Lindsey, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, The Ohio State University), author of the newly released Colored No More: Reinventing Black Womanhood in Washington. D.C. will discuss the unique and important role of black women in making Washington an intellectual, cultural, social, and political capital for African Americans in the early twentieth century. Black women in post-slavery Washington during this period fought against racism and sexism. They created specific spaces for black women to thrive and imagine new possibilities. The lasting impact of these women is felt throughout the city and has been woefully under-explored. This talk will introduce the world black women in Washington inhabited and shaped through their creativity, resiliency, and unwavering, but multidimensional commitment to freedom and equality.
Colored No More also provides a foundation for understanding the lives of black women in the nation's capital in 2017. Black women continue to shape the city and the nation, but are not always visible as significant figures in contemporary freedom and equality movements. Dr. Lindsey will offer insights into the contemporary state of black women in Washington using extensive archival research and her engagement in social justice movements. Black women built "Chocolate City," and they continue to be on the pulse of the national city's future.