NSU libraries celebrate Juneteenth with book discussion
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Jun. 23—Northeastern State University libraries celebrated Juneteenth this year with a discussion of the book "Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All" by historian and writer Martha S. Jones.
This event took place June 22 at the NSU Broken Arrow campus and over a video call, hosted by Librarian Catherine Davenport and Associate Professor of Political Science Dr. Cheryl Van Den Handel.
Handel went through book for attendees and read passages to highlight the work of historical Black women in the fight for equality, including Sarah Mapps Douglass, Mary Ann Shadd Cary, Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells, Mary Church Terrell and Mary McLeod Bethune, among others.
"The book contains many overlapping, interlinked stories, many of which are in-depth and absolutely fascinating," said Handel.
From the country's beginnings to the present day, Handel cited Jones on a topic of importance to the history of Black women in the United States: intersectionality.
"'Rarely did African American conventions recognize [Black women's] claims on politics. Many still insisted that race and gender were separate concerns to be addressed by separate movements," said Handel, quoting Jones. "Yet Black women wrote, spoke, preached and taught, demanding to be heard on their own terms."
As defined by the independent nonprofit Center for Intersectional Justice, insectionality describes the ways in which systems of inequality based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, class and other forms of discrimination "intersect" to create unique dynamics and effects.
Handel brought this up later during the webinar Q&A.
"We can't pull apart gender and race," said Handel. "Intersectionality really does exist."
The work of Black women continues. Handel quoted from the book that "nothing short of an encyclopedia could account for the hundreds and then thousands of women who have kept burning the fires lit two centuries ago by women like Jarena Lee, Maria Stewart and Sarah Mapps Douglass."
The Wednesday event was a part of series of discussions on the history of women's suffrage from the NSU libraries under a grant from the American Library Association.
Check it out
The next discussion in this series is scheduled for Monday, July 18, on "Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells."
