BLACK WOMEN'S HISTORY CONFERENCE
510 W. 7th St. , PLAINFIELD, NJ 07060
[email protected]
(908)768-2972
"Using the Past to Alert Us to the Present and Plan for the Future" |
The Black Women's History Conference grew from a joint effort of the Office of Equal Educational Opportunity of the New Jersey Department of Education and the Consortium of Educational Equity at Rutgers University, as well as several women's organizations, to promote women’s history while highlighting and honoring women from the Black community.
Since its establishment in 1983, the Black Women’s History Conference has sponsored numerous conferences, seminars, and cultural programs. Through these events, the organization brings scholars, historians, writers, political activists, and cultural figures to wide audiences. Speakers who have appeared at these conferences include Sonia Sanchez, Paula Giddings, Alvin Poussaint, John Henrik Clarke, and Susan Taylor. As a resource to classroom teachers, the BWHC developed a curriculum guide for grades one to four that focused upon the lives of African Americans. As an outgrowth of that project, several members wrote scripts for theatrical productions. Other women researched historical figures and developed dramatic presentations about such outstanding personalities as Harriet Tubman, Barbara Jordan, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ida B. Wells, Madame C. J . Walker, and Mary McLeod Bethune. In authentic dress, BWHC members performed these moving pieces for thousands of school children, as well as church, corporate, and community audiences. For several years the organization collaborated with the Department of African American Studies at Seton Hall University to publish a newsletter that spotlighted both historical and living Black women. The BWHC also pioneered the celebration of the holiday, Kwanzaa, through annual programs open to the public. For the past several years, the BWHC has hosted a breakfast that brings women from around the state to address current issues related to education, health, parenting, and financial empowerment. In honor of its first co-chairperson, Dr. Shirley Cathie, the organization has established a scholarship in her name and awards it annually to a student who best exemplifies Dr. Cathie’s love for learning, leadership and family. |
The women of the Black Women's History Conference
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In Loving Memory of
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OUR 8TH REUNION BREAKFAST WAS CANCELLED
DUE TO COVID 19 RESTRICTIONS
WE VIRTUALLY REACH OUT TO SHARE SOME VIBES
DUE TO COVID 19 RESTRICTIONS
WE VIRTUALLY REACH OUT TO SHARE SOME VIBES
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THANK YOU TO ALL OUR 7th REUNION BREAKFAST ATTENDEES
& SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR PANELISTS ,
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS AND VISITOR FROM THE PAST
- MORE INFORMATION BELOW -
& SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR PANELISTS ,
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS AND VISITOR FROM THE PAST
- MORE INFORMATION BELOW -
SEVENTH REUNION BREAKFAST - Thank You Diane Pender for the photos!
Congratulations to our
Dr. Shirley B. Cathie Scholarship Award recipient
Ms. Shelby Waddy
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For additional award ceremony photos and videos, click here
BWHC 2015 Reunion Breakfast video snippets
OUR FIRST CONFERENCE
- April 23, 1983 -
Essex County College
Dr. Selma H. Burke
(1900-1995)
Our Guest for the 1983 Oral History Interview
(1900-1995)
Our Guest for the 1983 Oral History Interview
Dr. Burke did the bust of Duke Ellington, portraits of Mary McLeod Bethune and Booker T. Washington, and sculptures of John Brown (abolitionist) and President Calvin Coolidge. Dr. Burke is best known for her bas relief of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which you will recognize when you look at the imprint on our U.S. dimes
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