OXFORD,
Miss. – In light of next month’s landmark presidential election, the
Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies at the University of
Mississippi is planning two significant events to help inform students
and the general public on some election issues.
The 14th Annual
Lucy Somerville Howorth Lecture on Oct. 14 features Avis
Jones-DeWeever, leader of the Research, Public Policy and Information
Center for African-American Women, who will deliver the lecture “A
Women’s Agenda: Having Our Say in 2008 and Beyond.”
The program is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Bryant Hall, Room 209. Jones-DeWeever said her discussion will concentrate on shaping the women’s agenda for the next presidential administration and the pivotal part women are playing in the upcoming election.
As part of the center’s new environmentally inspired Isom Green Series, the brown bag lecture “Building a Nuclear Arms Free World” by Bobbie Wrenn Banks is scheduled Oct. 27. Banks, representing Women’s Action for New Directions, plans to discuss the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. security policy and how to build a nuclear weapons-free world. The program is scheduled at noon in the Faulkner Room of the J.D. Williams Library.
Both events are free and open to the public.
“Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever, a national researcher on the status of women in the U.S., will tell us what women want for this election and afterward,” said Mary Carruth, Isom Center director. “Representing WAND, Bobbie Wrenn Banks will share with us her organization’s roots in the nuclear arms race and its involvement in environmental activism, peace movements and anti militarism.”
Affiliated with the National Council of Negro Women, Jones-DeWeever joined the historical organization in September 2007 to help spearhead the establishment of the Research, Public Policy and Information Center. As director of the institute, she aims to inform, catalyze and mobilize African-American women for change in both the policy arena and throughout the broader cultural dynamic.
“I always love the opportunity to talk with college students, but especially now during this critical year, because young people have finally gotten their due to flex their muscles and show the difference a vote by young people can make,” Jones-DeWeever said. “Students tend to have a thoughtful and hopeful look at things given the fact they have the ability to create a future that takes the nation and possibly the world in a different direction.”
Regardless of who wins the presidential election, Jones-DeWeever said women should bear in mind the issues of central importance that are affecting them since the job of the next commander-in-chief is to address and help solve those pressing concerns.
“Being the site of the presidential debate has made (the University of Mississippi) a timely place to speak about the historic election since there’s a black man and a woman in the race,” Jones DeWeever said. “It’s also timely because the lecture reflects on the issue of gender and race in elections.”
The Howorth Lecture is also co-sponsored by the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, Multicultural Affairs and the UM Commission on the Status of Women.
Banks has been involved with WAND for 24 years and currently leads programs and training throughout the nation as a consultant. She is a co founder of WAND’s Atlanta chapter and has served as the organization’s national president and national field director.
Founded in 1982 and originally called Women’s Action for Nuclear Disarmament, the organization changed its name after the Cold War. WAND still focuses its attention on nuclear weapon issues but has expanded its mission to include federal budget priorities and excessive military spending, Banks said.
“I’ll offer a brief overview of the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. security policy, talk about how the world has changed with respect to nuclear weapons, opportunities for building a nuclear weapons-free world, obstacles to this goal, and how we can all be involved in working for change,” she said.
Banks is helping to spread the word about WAND’s 2008 Great American Pie Campaign, which consists of five goals: spend smart defense dollars, build a nuclear weapons free world, make way for women at the table, invest in people and rein in the debt.
“Working with others, we have been successful in blocking funds for a new nuclear weapon promoted by the Bush administration called the Reliable Replacement Warhead,” Banks said. “This is a hopeful step.”
The brown bag lecture is co-sponsored by the student chapters of Amnesty International and Roots and Shoots.
For more information or for assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-5916. Visit the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies Web site .