Lisa Snowden-McCray will moderate a conversation with celeste doaks and Camonghne Felix.

From Shirley Chisholm to Michelle Obama and beyond, black women and politics have been inextricably intertwined. And now, as more minority women enter and win local races, the black female voting block is proving its importance. As we move toward this year’s presidential election, how will black women keep their seat at the table and engage with politics? Please join us for a lively panel with women of color who will discuss their specific involvement with politics through participation, activism, and art.

Poet and journalist celeste doaks is the author of Cornrows and Cornfields, and editor of the poetry anthology Not Without Our Laughter. Her chapbook, American Herstory was the first-place winner in Backbone Press’s 2018 chapbook contest; it contains poems about Michelle Obama. Her work has appeared in multiple on-line and print publications including Ms. Magazine, The Rumpus, The Millions, Huffington Post, Chicago Quarterly Review, and Asheville Poetry Review among others. Currently, she teaches creative writing at University of Delaware.

Camonghne Felix, M.A. is a poet, a writer, speaker, & political strategist. She received an M.A. in Arts Politics from NYU, an MFA from Bard College, & has received Fellowships from Cave Canem, Callaloo & Poets House. Formerly the Director of Surrogates & Strategic Communications at Elizabeth Warren for President, Camonghne is the VP of Strategic Communications at Blue State. Her first full-length collection of poems, Build Yourself a Boat, was long-listed for the 2019 National Book Award in Poetry and a finalist for the PEN Open Book Award and the Lambda Literary Award in Bisexual Poetry.

Lisa Snowden-McCray has been reporting about Baltimore and race for over 15 years. She is the Editor in Chief of the Baltimore Beat, a nonprofit news outlet in Baltimore City. She's also Acting Editor in Chief at The Real News Network, an independent news outlet reporting on local, national, and international politics that's also based in Baltimore, Md.

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