Feb. 10 Talk on African-American Women and the Criminal Justice System

February 4, 2011 — The University of Virginia series, "Class Matters: Race, Labor and Public Policy in Contemporary America," will feature Cheryl D. Hicks from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, speaking on "Engendering Justice: African-American Women, State Punishment and the Criminal Justice System." The forum, free and open to the public, will be held on Feb. 10 at 5:30 p.m. in Minor Hall Room 125.

Hicks, a U.Va. alumna and a 2004 post-doctoral fellow at the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies, will discuss her latest book, "Talk With You Like A Woman: African-American Women, Justice and Reform in New York, 1890-1935," published in 2010. She also will discuss the historical roots of current mass incarceration of African-Americans, the rising rates of incarceration among black women and the necessity of bringing women into existing conversations on the social and political consequences of mass imprisonment.

The "Class Matters" series is intended to encourage greater dialogue and collaborative action around issues of race, class, poverty and public policy in and beyond Charlottesville, said Claudrena Harold, assistant professor of history in the College of Arts & Sciences, one of the organizers who launched the series last fall.

Environmental advocate and civil rights activist Van Jones will be the next speaker on March 23, co-sponsored by Brown College's Visiting Environmental Writer and Scholars series. Event details will be forthcoming.
 
"Class Matters" is the result of collaboration  among many co-sponsors, including the  Woodson Institute, the Corcoran Department of History, the University and Community Action for Racial Equity, the College of Arts & Sciences Dean's Office, the Office of Graduate Diversity Programs, the Vice Provost for Faculty Recruitment & Retention, University-Community Partnerships, the Office for Diversity and Equity, Black Student Alliance, Magnitude Collective, American Studies, the Office of African-American Affairs and the Miller Center of Public Affairs.

For information, call Claudrena Harold at 434-924-6409.

— By Anne Bromley

Media Contact

Anne E. Bromley

Office of University Communications