“You don’t have to leave your campus to become an activist.” – Marisela B. Gomez

Hi All,

Dr. Tyson King-Meadows is looking for individuals to volunteer for one day to help out with his research. What they are looking for:

Casting Call- Models

●      6-7 Adult Males (ages 18 +), 6-7 Adult Females (ages 18+)

○      mix of Caucasian, African American, and Asian to portray professionals

○      Will need to provide own clothes (Neckties and suit jacket)

●      7 - 10 young adults - men and women - Prefer first year college students

○      Mix of Caucasian and African American

○      Need to appear high school - college student range

No modeling experience required or necessary.

Must be available on Wednesday, 11/18, in the morning (likely starting at 9:00am) for two hours.

Candy will be provided for compensation.

If you are interested and match the requirements above, please send an email to ra4tkm@umbc.edu.

Please provide the following information

SUBJECT LINE: Photoshoot Model

Name:

Telephone Number:

Email:

Age:

Height:

At least 1 photo that is well lit and clear focus against a plain background

Please do not submit professional head shots or any other flattering photos that are out of date. Photos must be an exact representation of what you look like today.

Best!

The Critical Social Justice: Baltimore 365 keynote “Baltimore in Action: Always Rising” featured a panel of social justice activists and leaders discussing a few of the many issues currently impacting Baltimore City.

• Rev. Dr. Heber Brown, III, faith-based activist and community organizer
• Dr. Marisela B. Gomez, public health advocate and author
• Tawanda Jones, activist and sister of Tyrone West
• Jacqueline Robarge, founder of Power Inside
• Kwame Rose, social activist and hip-hop artist
• Moderated by radio host Marc Steiner

A blog reflection written by Women’s Center intern Julia Gottlieb. 

After reading the Baltimore City Paper’s recent daily Power Rankings, I got to thinking a lot about white women and women of color’s status in the arts. Three weeks ago, UMBC’s Theatre department held their annual New Playwrights Festival, featuring student playwrights.

I attended one night of the Festival, and got to see Elizabeth Ung’s play, a story that on the surface is about a sister and brother surviving in a post-apocalyptic world, but underneath it poses deeper questions of morality and emotional survival. Ung, who is a student of color here at UMBC, explains that she was inspired to write plays after taking a play-writing class through the theater department last semester, saying “[Playwriting] was something that I felt like I always wanted to do, to tell stories. It’s something that I want to do to get my voice out there.” Additionally, her characters are inspired by her everyday experiences and interactions with those around her: “I definitely get a lot from my own experiences, because that’s really the only reliable resource that I can definitely count on. You know, the littlest conversations can inspire dialogue and conflict within the plot.” This is especially important given the severe lack of representation of women of color and their experiences within theater and the arts as a whole.

Here is a helpful infograph to visually show the state of women’s representation in the arts. Even here an intersectional view on this issue is missing, and women of color’s experiences are not represented.

We know that white women have significantly less representation than men in play-writing and in theater overall. Meanwhile, women of color’s voices and experiences are even more underrepresented. Along with this disparity, there is a lack of comprehensive studies that specifically track the numbers of women of color playwrights and directors within theater in both specific cities and across the country. One study finds that of the plays being produced in Washington DC this season, “80% of playwrights are white, 7% are African American, 6% are Latino, 2% are Asian American and 2% are multi-ethnic.” This study gives a sense of the vast disparities that already exist within DC’s theatrical productions. The study’s lack of attention to intersectionality is illustrative of the fundamental problem of representation–the voices of white men and white women have more representation than the voices of women of color. And as long as women of color’s voices are not represented, a vast number of important experiences and viewpoints go ignored and invalidated.

In his piece, Unpacking ‘Diversity’ in Musical Theatre, Michael R. Jackson explains that rather than focusing on fulfilling a diversity quota, theater’s ultimate goal should be “to hold the mirror up to humanity and reflect it back (or distort it) in order to share, person-to-person, what it means to exist in joy and suffering in the world.” Representation matters to me because it affects what stories are being told and who gets to have a place in the world. I want the mirror to reflect an honest view of humanity and its diverse voices.

For example, as someone who identifies as fat (or plus-size if you prefer), the character Rae from the British TV show My Mad Fat Diary was very important to me because I had never seen a larger girl as the main character of a TV show. Seeing someone who looks like me on TV–having the mirror held up to reflect my life and my experiences was so affirming for me and I want everyone to be able to have that experience.

Representation is how we find characters to relate to, take comfort in, and hold up the mirror to and for ourselves. The arts are at a crucial time to make that a reality for more women of color and other underrepresented people. 

For the third year of the Critical Social Justice initiative, we chose the theme Baltimore 365 to learn about how we can cultivate deep and lasting commitments to Baltimore City that are meaningful to us as individuals and as part of the UMBC community. Take a look back at some of highlights from throughout the week and catch up on anything you missed with the linked videos for the events!

Dr. Jodi Kelber-Kaye helped us kick-off CSJ with “Baltimore 101: Why Baltimore Matters,” providing historical answers that explain why things in Baltimore are the way they are.

Later that night, Delegate Mary Washington gave an insightful presentation on LGBTQ Youth Homelessness, and how Baltimore itself is specifically affected.

Before the Keynote event on Tuesday, Dr. Marisela Gomez visited UMBC for a talk-back with the Honors College about approaches in activism.

 One of the issues Dr. Gomez and the Honors College students discussed was the termination of the SUCCESS Program here at UMBC. If you want to learn more about this issue, check out this article recently published by the Retriever and use Dr. Gomez’s words of wisdom to do some activism.

Tuesday night was our keynote event, a teach-in panel called “Baltimore in Action: Always Rising.” It was moderated by Marc Steiner and was broadcast on the Marc Steiner Show on November 2nd. Watch the video!

Thursday, we were joined by Karen Houppert, author and editor-in-chief of Baltimore City Paper, and independent journalist James MacArthur (@BaltoSpectator) who spoke to their experiences of reporting in independent and alternative media outlets in a discussion on Main Street during our Vines, Rhymes, and Headlines exhibit. (Video)

Women’s Center staff members created exhibits centered on the Baltimore Uprising and media portrayal and displayed them on Main Street during the discussion.

Later on that night, The Mosaic Center hosted an Interfaith Dialogue featuring religious and spiritual leaders engaged in social justice activism in Baltimore.

On the last day of #CSJ365, UMBC parents eager to bring a dialogue about social justice home to their kids participated in a roundtable discussion called How To Talk To Kids About -Isms.

 We rounded out the week with Dr. Kate and a very special walking tour of Baltimore City.

CSJ was action-packed and full of important information about Baltimore City and social justice. Check out our Storify, Livestream, and What You Need To Know tag to learn even more. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook too!

The CSJ Team with Keynote Speakers