4th Annual WGSS Harriet Tubman Day Commemoration: Harmonies of Liberty
4th Annual WGSS Harriet Tubman Day Commemoration: Harmonies of Liberty
“Harmonies of Liberty”
Sunday, March 10, 2024
3-5 pm EST, ESJ 1309
The Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies presents “Harmonies of Liberty,” a conversation with artist and activist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh. We will also be joined by Ms. Ernestine "Tina" Wyatt, Harriet Tubman's great-great-great grandniece, who will bring greetings on behalf of Tubman's descendants. Sunday, March 10, in the Edward St. John Teaching and Learning Center, The University of Maryland, College Park, Room 1309, and online, 3:00-5:00.
This year, our theme, “Harmonies of Liberty,” draws from James Weldon Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Lift every voice and sing,
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with harmonies of liberty
To sing no further is to be schooled in a lesson on the importance of joy, community, and care, in the meantime and in-between time—joy as a catalyst for and companion to freedom. To call us together under the idea of “harmonies of liberty” is not an invocation to think the same thing or sing the same note. Time taken to commemorate Harriet Tubman is time spent re-envisioning communities and pathways to justice. We metaphorically draw on Black musical traditions that come alive on the downbeat, subvert the expected meter, and deliberately improvise in order to learn and teach each other how to walk out of time with the world (hostilities) around us. We come together to improvise the solutions we need and find new ways of imagining ourselves.
This year, we think about alternative pathways to justice in conversation with Brooklyn-based artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh. Fazlalizadeh combines visual art and activism as an entry point to consider “how people, particularly women, queer folks, and Black and brown people, experience race and gender within their surrounding environments -- from the sidewalk to retail stores, to the church, to the workplace.” In 2012, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh started her ongoing international series, "Stop Telling Women to Smile." This project serves as a response to street harassment. It consists of a collection of large-scale portraits aiming to reclaim the spaces women and non-binary individuals experience as hostile and unsafe. While the project initially focused on the experiences of harassment that women and non-binary individuals face in the USA, Fazlalizadeh's work has now expanded to other countries, such as Berlin, Canada, France, Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago, where she collaborates with local communities to rewrite spaces of harm. Fazlalizadeh’s work travels multiple terrains – including the African American Museum of History and Culture, serving as the Public Artist in Residence for the New York City Commission on Human Rights, as well as her artistic collaboration with Spike Lee on his Netflix Series, “She’s Gotta Have It.”
While at UMD, Fazlalizadeh will hold a workshop for student artists and activists, followed by her keynote, which begins at 3:00 p.m. For further information, please send inquiries to mrowley1@umd.edu.
WGSS wishes to thank Arts for All for their support.
Notes:
Also known as “The Black National Anthem,” the poem/song was written at the turn of the twentieth century (1900) and scored by Weldon Johnson’s brother, John Rosamond Johnson.
Program
Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Neda Atanasoski,
Chair, WGSS
Opening Remarks ……………… Stephanie Shonekan
Dean, ARHU
Remarks ………………………… Ernestine “Tina” Wyatt
Great-great-great-grandniece of
Harriet Tubman
Award Presentation ……………… Neda Atanasoski
Chair, WGSS
Harriet Tubman Design Award (2024)
Elijah Doster and Leo Osei
Award Recipients
“Harmonies of Liberty”
Tatyana Fazlalizadeh
Keynote Speaker
Special Guests
Ernestine "Tina" Wyatt
Retired nurse, educator and artist, Ernestine "Tina" Wyatt is the great-great-great-grandniece of Harriet Tubman, the iconic abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor. Born into a lineage of courage and resilience, Wyatt continues in this spirit through her own endeavors and advocacy to ensure that Harriet Tubman’s work and legacy are recognized and honored. he played a vital role in establishing Harriet Tubman Day in Washington DC and was instrumental in lobbying for Tubman's recognition as a soldier in the Civil War, which eventually led to her induction into the United States Army Military Intelligence Corps Hall of Fame at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, in June 2021. Wyatt is also part of the ongoing efforts to have Harriet Tubman's image featured on the twenty-dollar bill.
Tatyana Fazlalizadeh
Tatyana Fazlalizadeh is a contemporary artist and activist whose work confronts issues of race, gender, and identity with profound honesty and urgency. Fazlalizadeh studied Illustration at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where she honed her skills as a visual communicator. After graduating, she delved into the world of street art, recognizing its potential to amplify marginalized voices and challenge societal norms. Her experiences navigating public spaces as a woman of color informed her decision to utilize street art as a means of reclaiming visibility and agency for women and non-binary people.
In 2012, Fazlalizadeh gained widespread recognition for her groundbreaking public art series, "Stop Telling Women to Smile." Through striking portraits accompanied by bold text, the series addresses the pervasive issue of street harassment faced by women and non-binary people worldwide. By placing these images in the public domain, Fazlalizadeh invites viewers to confront the realities of gender-based violence and the importance of creating safe public spaces for all individuals.
Sponsors
“Harmonies of Liberty”
Sunday, March 10, 2024
3-5 pm EST, ESJ 1309
The Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies presents “Harmonies of Liberty,” a conversation with artist and activist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh. We will also be joined by Ms. Ernestine "Tina" Wyatt, Harriet Tubman's great-great-great grandniece, who will bring greetings on behalf of Tubman's descendants. Sunday, March 10, in the Edward St. John Teaching and Learning Center, The University of Maryland, College Park, Room 1309, and online, 3:00-5:00.
This year, our theme, “Harmonies of Liberty,” draws from James Weldon Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Lift every voice and sing,
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with harmonies of liberty
To sing no further is to be schooled in a lesson on the importance of joy, community, and care, in the meantime and in-between time—joy as a catalyst for and companion to freedom. To call us together under the idea of “harmonies of liberty” is not an invocation to think the same thing or sing the same note. Time taken to commemorate Harriet Tubman is time spent re-envisioning communities and pathways to justice. We metaphorically draw on Black musical traditions that come alive on the downbeat, subvert the expected meter, and deliberately improvise in order to learn and teach each other how to walk out of time with the world (hostilities) around us. We come together to improvise the solutions we need and find new ways of imagining ourselves.
This year, we think about alternative pathways to justice in conversation with Brooklyn-based artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh. Fazlalizadeh combines visual art and activism as an entry point to consider “how people, particularly women, queer folks, and Black and brown people, experience race and gender within their surrounding environments -- from the sidewalk to retail stores, to the church, to the workplace.” In 2012, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh started her ongoing international series, "Stop Telling Women to Smile." This project serves as a response to street harassment. It consists of a collection of large-scale portraits aiming to reclaim the spaces women and non-binary individuals experience as hostile and unsafe. While the project initially focused on the experiences of harassment that women and non-binary individuals face in the USA, Fazlalizadeh's work has now expanded to other countries, such as Berlin, Canada, France, Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago, where she collaborates with local communities to rewrite spaces of harm. Fazlalizadeh’s work travels multiple terrains – including the African American Museum of History and Culture, serving as the Public Artist in Residence for the New York City Commission on Human Rights, as well as her artistic collaboration with Spike Lee on his Netflix Series, “She’s Gotta Have It.”
While at UMD, Fazlalizadeh will hold a workshop for student artists and activists, followed by her keynote, which begins at 3:00 p.m. For further information, please send inquiries to mrowley1@umd.edu.
WGSS wishes to thank Arts for All for their support.
Notes:
Also known as “The Black National Anthem,” the poem/song was written at the turn of the twentieth century (1900) and scored by Weldon Johnson’s brother, John Rosamond Johnson.
Program
Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Neda Atanasoski,
Chair, WGSS
Opening Remarks ……………… Stephanie Shonekan
Dean, ARHU
Remarks ………………………… Ernestine “Tina” Wyatt
Great-great-great-grandniece of
Harriet Tubman
Award Presentation ……………… Neda Atanasoski
Chair, WGSS
Harriet Tubman Design Award (2024)
Elijah Doster and Leo Osei
Award Recipients
“Harmonies of Liberty”
Tatyana Fazlalizadeh
Keynote Speaker
Special Guests
Ernestine "Tina" Wyatt
Retired nurse, educator and artist, Ernestine "Tina" Wyatt is the great-great-great-grandniece of Harriet Tubman, the iconic abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor. Born into a lineage of courage and resilience, Wyatt continues in this spirit through her own endeavors and advocacy to ensure that Harriet Tubman’s work and legacy are recognized and honored. he played a vital role in establishing Harriet Tubman Day in Washington DC and was instrumental in lobbying for Tubman's recognition as a soldier in the Civil War, which eventually led to her induction into the United States Army Military Intelligence Corps Hall of Fame at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, in June 2021. Wyatt is also part of the ongoing efforts to have Harriet Tubman's image featured on the twenty-dollar bill.
Tatyana Fazlalizadeh
Tatyana Fazlalizadeh is a contemporary artist and activist whose work confronts issues of race, gender, and identity with profound honesty and urgency. Fazlalizadeh studied Illustration at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where she honed her skills as a visual communicator. After graduating, she delved into the world of street art, recognizing its potential to amplify marginalized voices and challenge societal norms. Her experiences navigating public spaces as a woman of color informed her decision to utilize street art as a means of reclaiming visibility and agency for women and non-binary people.
In 2012, Fazlalizadeh gained widespread recognition for her groundbreaking public art series, "Stop Telling Women to Smile." Through striking portraits accompanied by bold text, the series addresses the pervasive issue of street harassment faced by women and non-binary people worldwide. By placing these images in the public domain, Fazlalizadeh invites viewers to confront the realities of gender-based violence and the importance of creating safe public spaces for all individuals.
Sponsors
RSVP
This event is hybrid and open to the public. RSVP is required to attend so please be sure to complete the RSVP form. If you require any accommodations - either virtually or in person - please contact wgss@umd.edu.