Denison University will host a two-day conference on "Race, Class and Gender in the New Millennium" featuring numerous speakers and audience dialogue on Friday and Saturday (Oct. 18 and 19). The conference brings together legal theorists, social scientists, black studies scholars and community activists with a vested interest in exploring the historical, sociological and political intersections of race, class and gender and how they inform leadership, collective consciousness and collective action. This event is open to students, faculty and community members. Students and individuals not affiliated with Denison may register on site for $35 and $45 respectively.

Registration for the conference takes place from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Friday in the Curtis East Veggie Room followed by dinner from 6-7:30 p.m. Writer, publisher and international actor Jessica Care Moore and Denison 2001 graduate and President's Medal recipient Ceara Nicole Flake will provide the "Spoken Word" at 8 p.m. on the third floor of Slayter Hall.

The conference opens on Saturday with a continental breakfast from 9:30 to 10 a.m. in Slayter Auditorium. Beverly Guy-Sheftall will deliver the keynote address at 10 a.m. followed by a roundtable discussion featuring Linda James Myers, associate professor of black studies, psychology and psychiatry at Ohio State; Ric Sheffield, associate professor of legal studies and sociology at Kenyon College; Joseph McMillan, professor emeritus in the department of early and middle childhood education at the University of Louisville; and Marlene Tromp, associate professor of English and chair of the women's studies program. The discussion will be moderated by Toni King, associate professor of women's studies and black studies at Denison.

After a short break and lunch, a wrap-up moderated by S. Alease Ferguson will take place from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in the Curtis East Veggie Room. The conference concludes with a reception and art exhibition featuring work by John W. Jones from 2:30 until 3:30 p.m. on the third floor of Slayter Hall.

Conceived in the commemoration of the million man/woman marches of the 1990s, the conference is a continuation of the call for action from those events. The conference seeks to provide a forum where participants can explore numerous race, class and gender issues.

One of the most published poets of this generation, Moore seeks to help define the power of the spoken word. She appeared on It's Showtime at the Apollo, winning a record consecutive five weeks. Moore is also an internationally published writer, with her work being featured in several major anthologies includingAbandon Automobile, Listen Up!andRole Call, in addition to Essence, Blaze, Vibe, African Voices and BE magazines. Her second book,The Alphabet Verses The Ghetto, scheduled to release this year, provides an introspective look into her life as a poet.

Flake is well-known among members of the Denison community. Graduating in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in English literature, Flake was a recipient of a President's Medal at Denison. Her senior research included "Police Brutality and Racial Profiling: Prevailing Consequences of a ?Just Us' System" and "Poetic Politics: Contemporary African American Women Poets Recreating a Black Aesthetic." She is currently pursuing a law degree at Georgetown University Law Center.

Guy-Sheftall is the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, among them a National Kellogg Fellowship, a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship for dissertations in Women's Studies, and Spelman College's Presidential Faculty Award for outstanding scholarship. She also serves on numerous advisory boards for the study of race and gender. Guy-Sheftall is presently founding director of the Women's Research and Resource Center, and The Anna Julia Cooper Professor of English and Women's Studies at Spelman College.

Jones has been a freelance artist and illustrator for more than 20 years. His former clients include Time Life Books, IBM, NASA and the U.S. Postal Service. His goal is to paint the African American experience starting with the slave trade in Africa, through the Middle Passage and pre-civil war era, and contrast it with African Americans today. His current exhibition, "Confederate Currency: The Color of Money," has been featuredThe New York Times, Time Magazine and CNN Financial.

The conference is sponsored by the Admissions Office, Black Student Union, Campus and Residential Life, Center for Black Studies, First-Year Programs, Office of Multicultural Affairs, Women's Programs and Women's Studies.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

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Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

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(740) 587-8575