Conversation, Reading

Strategies for Survival is an online public program engaging with a series of historical and contemporary manifestos resonant with the explosive reality we experience now. Written by Black feminist artists, activists, and writers and performed by Weeksville Heritage Center’s community members, these texts point to circumstances that are unacceptable and in need of change. But most importantly, they propose pathways to move forward in order to overcome the status quo and create new realities. In the midst of political uncertainty and a physically isolating pandemic, these statements offer visions that can help us connect with one another and transcend what feels like a never-ending crisis.

This program is curated by Gabriela López Dena, it is part of the Weeksville Weekends celebration of Black Women’s History Month. The project is supported by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School, where an earlier version of Strategies of Survival was presented in 2018.

Schedule and participants:

Manifesto readings and performances: 1–2:00 pm

• Cassandre Davilmar
  Women’s Declaration of Food Sovereignty by Nayéléni: Forum for Food Sovereignty, 2007
• Adina English
  The National Black Feminist Organization Statement of Purpose, 1973
• Danielle Moulton
  A Litany for Survival by Audre Lorde, 1978
• Ebony Noelle Golden
  Definition of a Womanist by Alice Walker, 1983
• Anika Paris
  Mundane Afrofuturist Manifesto by Martine Syms, 2013
• Nina Pluviose
  Lilies of the Valley Unite or Not by Lily Bea Moore, 1998
• Marguerite Thompson
  A Weeksville Woman Speaks by Marguerite Thompson, 2020
• Paige Wint
  An African American Manifesto on Education by Rosa Sanders,1994

Conversation with performers and invited speakers: 2–3:00 pm

• Olaronke Akinmowo, artist, scholar, cultural worker, founder of the Free Black Women’s Library
• Aiesha Turman,  founder of the The Black Girl Project
• Moderated by Gabriela López Dena, program curator

Honoring the Ancestors: Black Feminist Citational Praxis, interactive workshop: 3–4:00 pm

Facilitators

• Zakiya Collier, Project Archivist, Weeksville Heritage Center
• Alyssa James, co-host, Zora’s Daughters Podcast
• Brendane Tynes, co-host, Zora’s Daughters Podcast