Voices of Color Lecture Series

Nearly 100 women of color, including students, faculty, and staff, gathered in Tolles Pavilion on February 29 to honor and learn from each other’s experiences as part of a student-led tradition that is unique to Hamilton: Womanist Week.

At the end of an hour-long conversation about politics, activism, and change, Angela Davis faced one last question: What brings you joy?

Hamilton College’s C. Christine Johnson Voices of Color Lecture Series will present “An Evening with Angela Davis,” on Thursday, Feb. 23, at 6:30 p.m. in Wellin Hall in Schambach Center on campus. The event is free and open to the public.

The Voices of Color Lecture Series hosted a panel discussion featuring Kumari Regmi, Kay Klo, and Tabo Bo, who spoke candidly about their experiences with resettlement and the Southeast Asian community in Utica.

Activist, leader, and musician Xiuhtezcatl Martinez—also known as “X”— shared his message about climate and social justice and other topics, in a conversation with the Hamilton community on April 22. Mckela Kanu ’22 and Tenzin Sherpa ’23 moderated the conversation, which was part of The C. Christine Johnson Voices of Color Lecture Series.

Yusef Salaam, one of the five boys wrongfully charged in the 1989 Central Park jogger case, spoke in a webinar on Oct. 29 as part of the C. Christine Johnson Voices of Color Lecture Series.

Tarana Burke, civil rights activist and community organizer spoke to a rapt audience May 2 about her lived experience before, during and after her founding the Me Too Movement.

The C. Christine Johnson Voices of Color Lecture Series recently offered Hamilton students an opportunity to connect with their faculty and administrators outside of the classroom and on a personal level. Discussing race and gender, five faculty and staff members shared their experiences about negotiating their roles in their respective fields, despite the obstacles that gender and being a person of color impose.

Focusing on the topic of “Building Community in an Hour of Chaos,” academic, advocate, and television personality Dr. Marc Lamont Hill spoke in an event hosted by the Voices of Color Lecture Series (VCLS) and the Days Massolo Center on April 13. He spoke candidly about the need for intergenerational activism as a way to bring constructive social change—garnering snaps and sounds of agreement echoing all throughout the Chapel.

Dr. Angela Davis, academic and civil rights advocate, spoke in the Chapel on Feb. 26 as part of the Voices of Color Lecture Series. Her discussion focused on how student activists can follow in the footsteps of older generations to develop and execute their own revolutionary ideology and to promote crucial socio-political change.