AJC CENTER CONFERENCES
The Anna Julia Cooper Center routinely hosts conferences and gatherings. We collect notes, recommendations, and critical insights that emerge from these gatherings and synthesize them to contribute to a larger research agenda on women and girls of color. Our conferences facilitate scholarly collaboration that has led to lasting relationships and new research.
2018 KNOW HER TRUTHS
On March 22 and 23, 2018 The Anna Julia Cooper Center hosted the second bi-annual Know Her Truths national conference addressing the lives of women and girls of color.
The conference brought together scholars, students, community organizers, journalists, policy makers, and public officials for a two-day exploration of core realities shaping the lives of women and girls of color. The conference featured a keynote conversation with activist and author Janet Mock.
Other presenters included former Ohio State Representative Nina Turner, disability rights activist and author Vilissa Thompson, community organizer and hip hop artist Jessica Disu, journalist and activist Tina Vasquez, and speaker and criminal justice advocate Marissa Alexander.
2016 KNOW HER TRUTHS
On April 29 and 30, 2016 the Anna Julia Cooper Center hosted a national gathering at Wake Forest University focused on advancing justice for women and girls of color, bringing together researchers, practitioners, philanthropic leaders, policymakers, and young women leaders for an intensive series of discussions about the circumstances, challenges, and opportunities facing women and girls of color.
“Know Her Truths: Advancing Justice for Women & Girls of Color 2016” was a key part of an ongoing, collaborative initiative to develop a meaningful research agenda addressing women and girls of color. Presenters engaged in conversations across disciplines, beyond the boundaries of the traditional academy, and with a focus on meaningful policy impact.
2015 Advancing equity for women and girls of Color
On Friday, November 13, 2015, the Anna Julia Cooper Center at Wake Forest University and the White House Council on Women and Girls co-hosted the day-long conference "Advancing Equity for Women and Girls of Color: A Research Agenda for the Next Decade.” The conference, hosted at the Obama White House, featured stakeholders from the academic, private, government and philanthropic sectors who are committed to increasing opportunity and empowerment for women and girls of color and their peers.
The summit covered a range of issues including economic development, healthcare, criminal justice, vulnerability to violence, hip-hop, and images of women in media. In addition, more that 40 speakers and panelists participated including: Valerie Jarrett, White House Council on Women and Girls, Loretta Lynch, U.S. Attorney General, Tina Tchen, White House Council on Women and Girls, Cecilia Muñoz, White House Domestic Policy Council, Rogan Kersh, Provost, Wake Forest University, Melissa Harris-Perry, Professor, Wake Forest University and Teresa Younger, Ms. Foundation.
2015 Gender Health and the South
On April 16 and 17, the Anna Julia Cooper Center at Wake Forest University and the Center for Medicine, Health, and Society at Vanderbilt University joined for a day and a half symposium at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The symposium brought together activists, scholars, and students to present original research and raise questions at the intersection of gender, race, region, and health.
The symposium included research presentations by AJC Center undergraduate research fellows and keynote addresses by Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry and Dr. Jonathan Metzl. Panel topics included: the social foundations of health; HIV, sexuality, and health care; pregnancy and reproductive justice; community based health initiatives, and practicing equitable health care
2013 Gender, Sexuality and Hip Hop
The Anna Julia Cooper Project hosted a groundbreaking national conference on gender, sexuality and hip hop at Tulane University December 5-6, 2013, bringing together scholars, students, artists, and activists for an intensive series of discussions focused on the contemporary challenges and opportunities at the intersections of race, gender, sex, politics, and artistry.