“i have the word home tattooed on my breastbone, and friends remind me why I got it. the truth of it, that home is there. but this is also about land and gentrification, colonialism that has blown and continues to blow me and my family all over the planet and puts me on someone else’s land where they did not ask me to be, race and class, banks and profit, the desire to stay in a magic queer brown city and the reality of push-out when our narrow slices of survival.  it is about all the ways as disabled and chronically ill folks, as black and brown and broke folks, we find to try and find some stable sweet place to live where we can just live.” – Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha (homeplace)

There’s no place like home. Home is where the heart is. You can never go home again.

Home can be a place, a feeling, a concept. It can be comfortable or contentious, nurturing or toxic, constant or nonexistent. It can be somewhere we belong or somewhere we don’t.

As a global community, we see the connection between social justice and home during this critical time when issues of migration, nationalism, and xenophobia dominate the news cycle.  In Baltimore city, the legacy of redlining and racial inequity has created divergent realities for its citizens depending upon whether one makes their home in the “White L” or the “Black Butterfly.” As we consider what it means to be at home in our communities, our identities, and even our own bodies, we reflect on the familiar feminist slogan “the personal is political” and we’re reminded that social justice calls for us to look beyond solely what’s happening “out there.”

In honor of UMBC’s 50th Anniversary, this year’s CSJ theme of Home recognizes UMBC as a home to many of us.  As we celebrate and contemplate UMBC as a home for learning, activism, and social change, we embrace the opportunity to invest ourselves in creating meaningful change here on campus in addition to taking our newly gained insights and knowledge with us back home, wherever that may be.

It is in this spirit that the fourth annual Critical Social Justice aims to create space and learning opportunities to consider the ways we can challenge, explore, and redefine the concept of home based upon our individual and collective histories as well as our intersecting identities.

CSJ: Home keynote speaker Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha.

We’re excited to announce that our keynote speaker will be Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, a queer disabled femme of color writer and performance artist whose work on disability, survivorhood, and transformative justice speaks to the many complexities inherent in navigating our way home. The keynote lecture and reception will be held on Tuesday, October 25^th at 6pm in the UC Ballroom.

Critical Social Justice: Home will be held on October 24th through 28th, 2016. Follow the CSJ blog, Facebook, and Twitter for updates on scheduled events and other news. For more information about the Critical Social Justice initiative, or if you’re organizing a related event that week that might be included on the CSJ calendar, please email womens.center@umbc.edu.

A final reflection written by Women’s Center student staff member and UMBC Class of 2016 alum,  Meagé Clements

Just weeks after graduation, I attended the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL), a conference I had been anticipating for months! I arrived promptly on June 1st, just in time for the Welcome Reception, led by various American Association of University Women (AAUW) National Student Advisory Council members. There, I met just a few of the hard working, inspirational women from across the nation who were attending the conference. There were other Women’s Center staff members, members of university and college SGAs, non-traditional women students, executive board members of student-led organizations, and more.Throughout the evening full of ice-breakers, I learned what many of the women were passionate about changing and accomplishing in the world.

Throughout the various conference sessions, workshops, and even during the informal ice-breaker and night-out activities, I found myself learning several things about myself and how to be a successful woman in a male-dominated society.

1. I have a voice that deserves to be heard. 

This is something I began to learn throughout my college experience and it is something that I am continuing to work on post-graduation as well. As I attended the opening sessions of the conference: Finding Your Voice and Sharing Your Voice, I learned that it was counterproductive to stifle my voice, especially in situations where I was surrounded by people who could learn from what I had to say. I reflect on the numerous classes I had where I was the only Black woman or woman of color and how I should have spoken up more. Although I have learned to channel my voice through my blog posts and other forums, it is also necessary to use my voice to advocate for myself and other women of color.

2. It’s never too early to network.

Until recently, networking has always been a concept that has been very distant to me. I assumed that it would happen when it happened and that I didn’t need to make a conscious effort to network. Little did I know, this was something that I had been doing subconsciously throughout college. Whether I was exchanging numbers with someone in my academic program, meeting with other students, staff, and faculty in the Women’s Center, or simply discussing my future endeavors with a friend, I was networking. I learned that many people gain necessary networks that helped them advance in their careers. Through the networking workshops at NCCWSL, I met several ambitious women with similar and different aspirations.

Some new NCCWSL friends!

3. It’s okay to have A LOT of aspirations.

During the conference, I met so many women who, believe it or not, started in career fields far from where they’ve ended up. I used to cringe at the thought of someone asking what I wanted to do in life because it always consisted of a long list of aspirations. While I learned that it isn’t always possible to accomplish several at once, each goal can serve as a step towards another.

4. The importance of mentorship.

Several times during the conference, the concept of mentorship came up. Aside from my mother, I had never really considered myself having a mentor, nonetheless mentoring someone else. I assumed that because I was still in school and because I wasn’t settled in my career, I couldn’t be a mentor. I later learned that many of our mentors are our peers. As I reflect on the numerous conversations I’ve had with my sorority sisters, I can recall instances where I’ve received mentorship from them, as well as many of my other women peers. I learned that many women found connections and rewarding opportunities through their mentors. In addition, the conference helped me appreciate solidarity amongst women even more.

5. Take risks

I seldom think of myself as someone who takes risks. During the last workshop session: The Art of Living Boldly: A Toolkit for Taking Risks, Handling Fear, and Building a Meaningful Life, a woman named Catie Whelan shared her story about leaving her secure job and taking a risk at another career choice. Despite not meeting the minimum requirements, she decided to take a risk and apply. Not only was she offered the job, but she was given the opportunity to learn another language so she was better qualified. Throughout the session, many women shared stories about aspirations they have but were too afraid to tackle. I reflected on a few risks I wanted to take and was capable of creating a plan to work towards these goals.

UMBC’s NCCWSL contingent meets keynote speaker, Franchesca Ramsey!

Although the conference has been over for some time now, I continue to reflect on all of the things I’ve learned and I will continue to work towards being an effective woman leader. I highly recommend that other women attend the conference and learn more about the efforts of AAUW and NCCWSL.

If you are a UMBC student interested in attending NCCWSL 2017, contact UMBC’s Women’s Center for more information. Also stay tuned for the Women + Leadership Class of 2016-17 experience – details coming soon (here’s information about the Class of 2015-16 experience)! 

A short book reflection by Shira Devorah 

Just a few moments ago I finished Janet Mock’s memoir, Redefining Realness, My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More. I’m still stunned. I’m not much of a memoir reader, but I’m pretty sure this book has changed that.

here’s a link to buy the book on Amazon!

Thanks to a generous donation from UMBC’s LGBTQ Faculty & Staff Association, I was able to snatch up this book from the Women’s Center’s very own lending library! Over the past couple of days, I have been relishing every moment of Janet Mock and her story. Mock, a trans woman of color, takes her readers through her life from early childhood until now. In a whirlwind of wit and poignancy, she shares herself with us.

I am not ashamed to admit that I cried a whole bunch throughout this book. Mock fought tooth and nail to become the woman she is today, and though she has been through a lot of pain and oppression, she never falters in her stance as an activist. Every personal recollection comes with a lesson Mock has for her readers. She challenges us to be better people, to see others more complexly, to  be critical of systems of inequality and injustice that exist all around us. Mock allows her readers to peak into incredibly sensitive parts of her, and trusts us to learn from the barriers she faced in her girlhood and adolescence.

I think this memoir is a wonderful introduction to intersectional identities and social justice. Any person who picks up this book will be gently introduced to many concepts that they might not have been privy to beforehand.  While I feel like I know a bit about many issues touched upon in this book, I have been changed  by her discussions. Mock pushes readers to confront poverty, trans issues, multiculturalism, drug use, sexual abuse and sex work. White, middle-class people like me  are made to confront our privilege and come out of this book with a better understanding of other’s lives. I am so lucky to get a chance to grow with Janet through the pages of her self discovery.

I highly suggest this book to anyone and everyone. As a trigger warning, Mock discusses her personal experiences of sexual abuse and sex work, so please practice self care if you plan to borrow this book from the Women’s Center after I return it.

If you’ve already read Redefining Realness and need more Janet Mock in your life, check out her awesome blog!

If you want more  info about the book itself, here’s a quick interview she did with Slate back in 2014.

I first learned about Janet Mock through Her Story, an awesome web-series  written by and starring trans women, so you should totally check that out.  Here’s an Interview with Janet and Jen Richards, co-creator of HerStory.

So go out there and read, friends! I’ll be updating periodically on the rest of my summer reading books from my summer reading challenge. Happy Reading!