Between the 25 and 28 of October, I was able to go to the annual National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) held in Baltimore, Maryland, along with Professor Fourshey and Holiness Kerandi, an intern at Griot also working on the African Girl hood project. Working on the African Girlhood project meant a lot going to this conference because I was able to meet some great people who were also interested in this subject. The NWSA conference brought together scholars from all fields of studies who had an interest in women’s studies. At this year’s conference, both Dr. Fourshay and Holiness presented the project they have been working on. Holiness presented on Music and freedom and how it defined and shaped girlhood in terms of national independence and war, and Dr. Fourshey’s project was focused on Girls and babies, mapping and Girling African histories through eastern and central Africa. There were different sections throughout each day with presentations like City Girls ( the musical groups) positive influence on their community through their music, presented by Dr. Mysia Anderson, an assistant professor at UC San Diego, or Dictatorship. Revolution and Liberation Routes: Black feminist Travel Writing in Brazil, presented by dr. Cassie Osei, Professor Bucknell University.
This conference was so diverse, which was amazing, but one of my memorable moments was being able to see and interact with some of my favorite Women and Gender Studies writers and activists like Kimberle Crenshaw, Beverly Guy Sheftall, and the outgoing president for NWSA, Dr. Karsonya Wise Whitehead. Reading and writing about these people and finally getting to meet and talk to them in person was a dream come through for me. The NWSA conference, for me, was a great way to learn outside the classroom from different perspectives but directly from the scholars and activists who contributed to women’s studies.
