The Black Feminist Summer School is an underground freedom school that explores the teachings of Black Feminist Thought (BFT). This pop-up school will deep-dive into the co-constitutive relationship between pain and pleasure using black feminist texts as theory. In other words, the question I am posing is: what is the bittersweetness of Black Feminism? My hope is that we can intimately explore this question together.
Borrowing from Fred Moten, The Black Feminist Summer School (BFSS) will follow this model of study: “When I think about the way we were using the term ‘study,’ I think we were committed to the idea that study is what you do with other people. It’s talking and walking a round with other people, working, dancing, suffering, some irreducible convergence of all three, held under the name of speculative practice" – Fred Moten
Registration is required but does not guarantee your acceptance into the summer school due to space limitations.
O Deadline to register: Sunday June 23rd
O Summer school fees due: Monday July 1st (sliding scale). Money should not be a barrier for attendance. More information below.
LOGISTICS: BFSS takes place over a weekend from Friday July 5th to Sunday July 7th at Portland State University's Women's Resource Center located in downtown Portland at 1802 SW 10th Avenue
O Friday July 5th: The Opening 6:30-8:30pm
O Saturday July 6th: Summer School: The Bittersweetness of Black Feminism 9:00am-5:00pm
O Sunday July 7th: The Closing: Black Feminist Church 11:00-1:30pm (suggested but not required)
Who Is This Space For?
This space prioritizes Black, Indigenous and people of color. Black folks, in particular, will be prioritized and are encouraged to attend. White and white 'passing' folks of any ethnicity should consider how their participation could detract from the events intention and instead, consider supporting to the cost of a Black person participation in place of their attendance.
FEES:
O Friday July 5th: 10.00 for Black folks | $15.00 for Indigenous and POC (sliding scale)
O Saturday July 6th: Black folks $20.00 | Indigenous/POC $25.00 (sliding scale)
O Sunday July 7th: 11:00-1:30pm | $10.00 for Black folks | $15.00 for Indigenous and POC (sliding scale)
If you are able, please pay the suggested fee. I am personally paying out of pocket to support all costs associated with the summer school and your contributions are much needed and appreciated. The fees associated with each day do not account for the full extent of care and labor that it takes to put on this event.
However, money should NOT be a barrier to attendance. Please email me at
ebonyoldham@gmail.com for accommodations.
All payments are due on Monday July 1st. No refunds! Payments can be sent to one of the following:
O $EbonyOldham on CashApp
O Ebony Oldham on Venmo
O Ebony Oldham on PayPal.
Early payments can be sent to me following registration acceptance. All donations can be sent to me at any time.
Engaged Participation: The BFSS will take part over three days and participation in this summer school requires a commitment to engaged participation. Priority will go to those who can attend all three days of summer school, especially the full time period on Saturday July 6th.
The Process:
O Step 1. Complete the registration form by Sunday June 23rd.
O Step 2. Wait to hear back about if your registration was accepted.
O Step 3. Pay the associated fees by Monday July 1st.
O Step 4. Attend the BFSS weekend Friday July 5th-Sunday July 7th.
Again, registration is required but does not guarantee your acceptance into the summer school due to space limitations.
The foundational texts that will ground our focus on pain/pleasure include the following readings:
1. Scenes of Subjection: Terror, Slavery, and Self-Making in the Nineteenth-Century America (Hartman)
2. Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power (Lorde)
3. Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good (Brown)
4. Why We Get Off: Moving Towards a Black Feminist Politics of Pleasure (Morgan)
5. Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements (Carruthers)
6. Various works of poetry and pieces from Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Audre Lorde, June Jordan, Lucille Clifton, Ntozake Shange's and Zora Neale Hurston.
*the above-mentioned readings are foundational texts, not required reading. There will be a couple of short/low stakes readings*
More information about participation in BFSS will be given among completion of the from and an accepted registration. I will let you know if your registration is accepted by email.
Deadline to register: Sunday June 23rd
Summer school fees due: Monday July 1st (sliding scale). Money should not be a barrier for attendance. More information below.
Contact:
ebonyoldham@gmail.com 