UMaine Women’s History Celebration Begins Next Week; Keynote Thursday, March 18
Contact Ann Schonberger (ann.schonberger@umit.maine.edu)
ORONO — Eleven events over the course of 16 days will make up the University of Maine’s Women’s History Celebration 2010. Sponsored by UMaine’s Women in the Curriculum and Women’s Studies Program, the annual event features UMaine faculty members and students, community representatives and outside experts sharing in a variety of discussions and other programs, including a readers’ theater and multimedia presentations. This year’s theme is “Reproductive Justice: The Struggle Isn’t Over.”
Loretta Ross, national coordinator of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective, will give the keynote address on Thursday March 18 at 3:30 p.m. in Memorial Union’s Bangor Room. Ross is a well-known author, lecturer, political commentator and organizational leader. Her March 18 talk is titled “Black Women and Reproductive Justice.”
A readers’ theater composed of 37 different anonymous stories about women’s reproductive rights, including stories of women from Maine, will be performed on Wednesday March 24 at 3:30 p.m. in 117 Donald P. Corbett Business Building. Members of the Mabel Wadsworth Women’s Health Center created the piece and will perform as the readers of this collection.
“This theater piece emphasizes the importance of sharing women’s stories to support individuals as well as the ongoing struggle for choice,” says Ann Schonberger, director of the UMaine Women in the Curriculum and Women’s Studies Program.
A Saturday March 20 silent auction and dessert buffet will benefit Spruce Run, the Bangor agency that provides support and information to those affected by abuse and domestic violence. That event is scheduled for 7-9 p.m. at UMaine’s Buchanan Alumni House. Those interested in tickets should call Spruce Run at 945-5102.
The on-campus lectures and presentations, including a Wednesday March 24 women’s health fair, are free and open to the public.
A schedule of events is online at http://www.umaine.edu/wic.