Living Room:A Writing Workshop on Housing as a Human Right

Alexis Pauline Gumbsis a queer black troublemaker, a black feminist love evangelist, a prayer poet priestess and has a PhD in English, African and African-American Studies, and Women and Gender Studies from Duke University.  Alexis was the first scholar to research the Audre Lorde Papers at Spelman College, the June Jordan Papers at Harvard University, and the Lucille Clifton Papers at Emory University.  She has also researched in the archival papers of Toni Morrison, Toni Cade Bambara, Fannie Lou Hamer and many more.Alexis is the author ofM Archive: After the End of the World (Duke Press, 2018),Spill: Scenes of Black Feminist Fugitivity(Duke University Press, 2016) and the co-editor ofRevolutionary Mothering: Love on the Front Lines(PM Press, 2016) andhas also published widely on Caribbean Women’s Literature with a special interest in Dionne Brand. Her scholarly work is published inObsidian, Symbiosis, Macomere, The Routledge Companion to Anglophone Literature, SIGNS, Feminist Collections, The Black Imagination, Mothering and Hip Hop Culture, The Business of Black Powerand more.Alexis is the author of an acclaimed collection of poems101 Things That Are Not True About the Most Famous Black Women Aliveand poetic work published inKweli,Vinyl, Backbone, Everyday Genius, Turning Wheel, UNFold, Makeshiftand more.Alexis is the founder of Brilliance Remastered, a service to help visionary underrepresented graduate students stay connected to purpose, passion, and community, co-founder of the Mobile Homecoming Project, a national experiential archive amplifying generations of Black LGBTQ Brilliance, and the community school Eternal Summer of the Black Feminist Mind.

Alexis Pauline Gumbs

After years of neglect the Durham Housing Authority has evacuated hundreds of people from homes that are toxic from mold carbon monoxide and gas leakages, because Black women, including mothers who lost babies to SIDS in those toxic conditions refused to be silent. In the Bay Area, Black mothers insisting on home are being met with machine guns in order to displace them from what is now prime real estate slated for redevelopment.  Or as June Jordan said decades ago "there is less and less living room." As housing becomes even more inaccessible in cities across the United States and the basic diginity of Black mothers and families are violated publicly and with impunity, I turn again to June Jordan, who said "Love is Lifeforce" who said "Poems are housework." I turn to June Jordan who herself faced housing and financial insecurity as a Black mother raising her own son.  In this moment, we again need June Jordan's theory of home. 
This online writing workshop will draw on the life and writing of June Jordan to generate a series of reflective writing and listening activities about home.  A portion of the proceeds will go to the Black women organizing in Durham and raising funds to meet the daily needs of the families that have been evacuated from Public Housing properties.  Residents of Durham Public Housing and residents being displaced in the Bay Area have the option to participate in the workshop for free by emailing brillianceremastered@gmail.com. 
You can also donate directly to the efforts of Durham's DHA vs. Everybody/Everybody vs. DHA via paypal at  ashleycanady22@yahoo.com  or to Moms 4 Housing at <A HREF="https://moms4housing.org/donate" TARGET="_blank" DATA-MSYS-CLICKTRACK="0" REL="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://moms4housing.org/donate</A>

Our {communityGuidelinesLink} describe the sort of content we prohibit on Eventbrite. If you suspect an event may be in violation, you can report it to us so we can investigate.

To report other categories of prohibited or illegal content, submit {link}

Living Room:A Writing Workshop on Housing as a Human Right

More events from Alexis Pauline Gumbs

Discover more events from Alexis Pauline Gumbs, from Community to other experiences you might love.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all online events to browse and filter by date, category, and more.

Living Room:A Writing Workshop on Housing as a Human Right

More events from Alexis Pauline Gumbs

Discover more events from Alexis Pauline Gumbs, from Community to other experiences you might love.

You might also like...

Browse more events with different dates, prices, and formats to find your next great experience.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all online events to browse and filter by date, category, and more.