Sami Schalk, Associate Professor, Gender and Women’s Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison will be speaking on campus on Thursday February 23rd at 4:00 p.m. in the Performing Arts and Humanities Building Room 132.  To RSVP for this in-person event, click on the website button below.

Drawing from the book, Black Disability Politics, this talk will detail the Black Panther Party’s involvement in the 1977 504 Sit-in, in which protesters around the country picketed and occupied government offices to urge passage of delayed regulations related to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Schalk will discuss the sit-in as an historical example of how Black cultural workers have engaged with disability as a political issue in ways that have sometimes been obscured in Black studies and disability studies alike.

This lecture is organized by the Dresher Center for the Humanities.

Biography: Dr. Sami Schalk (she/her) is an associate professor of Gender & Women’s Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is the author of Bodyminds Reimagined: (Dis)ability, Race and Gender in Black Women’s Speculative Fiction (Duke 2018) and Black Disability Politics (Duke 2022). Dr. Schalk’s academic work focuses on race, disability, and gender in contemporary American literature and culture. She also writes for mainstream outlets, including a monthly column called “Pleasure Practices” in TONE Madison. Dr. Schalk identifies as a fat, Black, queer, disabled femme and a pleasure activist.

Co-sponsored by the Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion, and Belonging (I3B); and the Office of Accessibility and Disability Services.

Image description: A multi-racial group of four students is laughing and talking at an outdoor table on UMBC's campus.  An image of Dr. Schalk is provided on the Dresher event website.

UMBC is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive environment for all students, staff, and visitors. If you would like to request a disability-based accommodation on site or have questions about this event or its location, please contact us at dreshercenter@umbc.edu.

A brief video and interview with former U.S. Senator Harkin is contained within the linked website.  May she rest in power.