On Tuesday, April 18, Walidah Imarisha will give two presentations on Linfield University’s McMinnville campus.
At 3 p.m. in Jonasson Hall, she will lead participants through an interactive timeline of Black history in Oregon that speaks to the history of race, identity and power in this state and the nation. Though Oregon has a history of Black exclusion and discrimination, there also exists a vibrant Black culture that helped sustain many communities throughout the state— a history that is not taught in schools.
Participants will discuss how, in a state created to be a racist white utopia, Black leadership and vision has led Black communities to resist and to create racial justice which benefits all. It runs from 3-4:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 18 in Jonasson Hall and is open to the Linfield community.
Then, at 6:30 p.m. in Nicholson Library, Imarisha will give a lecture open to the public titled “Science Fiction & Social Change,” as part of the Erickson Lecture Series. She will speak on visionary fiction and the connections between science fiction and social change. She will also share tools for using science fiction as a practice ground for social justice strategizing and visioning.
Imarisha is an educator, writer, public scholar and spoken word artist. She has co-edited two anthologies, “Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories From Social Justice Movements” and “Another World is Possible.” Imarisha’s nonfiction book, “Angels with Dirty Faces: Three Stories of Crime, Prison, and Redemption” won a 2017 Oregon Book Award. She is also the author of the poetry collection “Scars/Stars” and in 2015 received a Tiptree Fellowship for her science fiction writing.
Masks are required for both events and will be available at the door. The talks are organized, sponsored and supported by the Department of English, the Ken and Donna Ericksen Endowed English Department Funds, Critical Ethnic Studies and Lacroute Funds. Special thanks to the Frederick Douglass Forum and the departments of education, psychology, sociology, global languages and cultural studies, for their generous contributions. For more information, contact Professor Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt at rdutt-b@linfield.edu
