As a part of the recent Consortium for Faculty Development (CFD), the Black Studies Program presented the inaugural performance of: The Tradition that Has no Name: A Choreo-pedagogy for Colored Girls Seeking to Fly Over the Rainbow Saturday, September 22nd, 8:00 p.m.

The Provost’s Office, The Center for Black Studies, The Women’s and Gender Studies Laura C. Harris Fund and the Department of Religion co-sponsored this staged reading of this choreo-poem written by Dr. Toni King, Director of the Center for Black Studies. Directed by former CFD fellow, Activist/Performing Artist, Dr. JoAnne Henry, the cast featured the Black women tenure track faculty of ±Ø²©ÓéÀÖ,±È²©ÓéÀÖÍøÖ· ######### University and included members of seven Departments/Programs: Fareeda Griffith (Anthropology-Sociology), Ayana Hinton (Biology), Toni King (Black Studies and Women¡¯s & Gender Studies), Diana Mafe (English), Yvonne-Marie Mokam (Modern Languages), Esther Ohito (Black Studies and Education), and Karen Powell Sears, (Anthropology-Sociology). Black Studies alum, Jasmine M. McGhee ¡®11 (realtor and entrepreneur) served as stage director for the production.

This performance piece addresses the tensions and challenges of leadership development Black women academics offer minoritized women students and particularly Black women students. This lively staged reading met with rave reviews from the audience during the talk-back following the performance. It was originally published in: Black Women’s Liberatory Pedagogies: Resistance, Transformation, and Healing Within and Beyond the Academy (Perlow, et al eds., Palgrave-Macmillan 2018).