The “Feminist Forward: The Future of the Feminist Movement (League of Women Voters)” panel was a powerful evening of story sharing by four incredible women: Dr. Allison Davis-White Eyes, Dr. Susan Shaw, Maria Chavez-Haroldson, and Luhui Whitebear. Topics discussed included being a leader and leadership, being a feminist, ethics of care, feminism, strategies to interrupt and make change (personally, ideologies, structures, etc.), as well as where the Feminist Movement is going in 2018, and beyond.
Summary
The presidential election of 2017 marked a new chapter in the Feminist Movement. The 2017 Women’s March was the largest protest in U.S. history. The League of Women Voters (LWV) is an organization founded in 1920, by Carrie Chapman Catt, just six months before the 19th amendment was ratified. This activist and grass roots organization believes that voters should play an important role in our democracy. The “Feminist Forward: The Future of the Feminist Movement (League of Women Voters)” discussion occurred the day before the 98th Anniversary of the League of Women Voters. The panelists addressed these questions: What does “intersectional feminism” mean to you? What are the most pressing questions facing the feminist movement in 2018? What does leadership mean to you? How do you incorporate feminism into your leadership style? What message would you like the audience to leave with today? Panelists also answered additional questions from the audience. The event was co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library.
Panelists
- Dr. Allison Davis-White Eyes, OSU Director of Community Diversity Relations in the Office of Institutional Diversity, previously the Assistant Vice Provost and Director, Diversity & Cultural Engagement. Her research interests include; intersectional theory, the queering of identity and space, and the mobility and migration of culture and identity.
- Dr. Susan Shaw, OSU Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and previously Director of the School of Language, Culture, and Society. Shaw’s work on Women’s Theology has been widely circulated in a majority of Huffington Post articles. Shaw is also a co-author of one of the most used Women Studies textbooks in the country, Women’s Voices, Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Readings.
- Maria Chavez-Haroldson, Owner of Culturally Responsive Solutions, a consulting business focusing on equitable, diverse, and inclusive organizational development practices. Chavez-Haroldson has over 25 years of professional experience as an administrator and leader of social justice change in state governments and non-profits.
- Luhui Whitebear, Member of the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation, OSU Ph.D. student, a mother, poet, and Indigenous activist. Her research focuses on a variety of Indigenous issues ranging from the violence against Indigenous women, reclaiming of Indigenous identity, as well as Indigenous movements of resistance and natural resource protection, such as her work with the Dakota Access Pipeline Resistance Movement.
Panel Information
- Panelists: Dr. Allison Davis-White Eyes, Dr. Susan Shaw, Maria Chavez-Haroldson, and Luhui Whitebear.
- Format: The panelists for this event were seated in front of their audience in a single line behind a table. The event started with a short introduction of the panelists and then progressed into a Q&A. After this brief Q&A the dialogue was opened up to community members to ask the panelists questions. Topics included being a leader and leadership, being a feminist, ethics of care, feminism, strategies to interrupt and make change (personally, ideologies, structures, etc.), as well as where the Feminist Movement is going in 2018, and beyond.
- Moderator: J. Bouquet Harger
- Date: February 13, 2018
