Bakersfield College, Women’s History Celebration 2019 Women & War
Women’s History and More Month at Bakersfield College organizes an array of programs that are open and free to the public. WHAM pays special tribute this year to the experiences of women with and in war, exploring various conflicts from Boko Haram, to the Korean War, to women in the armed forces, among others.
All events are free, open to the public, and held either at Bakersfield College's main campus on Panorama Drive, on the Delano Campus, or at Taft College. Free parking.
Women & War, Events 2019
The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After Thursday, Feb 28, 2019 | 7:00 p.m. | Levan Center 2 p.m. | Live Cast to Delano
Clemantine Wamariya was six years old when her mother and father began to speak in whispers, when neighbors began to disappear, and when she heard the loud, ugly sounds her brother said were thunder. In 1994, she and her fifteen-year-old sister fled the Rwandan massacre and spent the next six years migrating through seven African countries, searching for safety—perpetually hungry, imprisoned and abused, enduring and escaping refugee camps, finding unexpected kindness, and witnessing inhuman cruelty.
Wamariya’s memoir is about the human side of war: what is forever destroyed, what can be repaired, the fragility, and importance of memory. She attempts to piece together the beauty and the loss of her own experiences. This presentation will encourage others to remember the stories that shapes our truth. She shares her stories of adversity and seized opportunities as a way to reframe the way her audiences think, whether it be about their own privilege or basic human rights. She strives to catalyze development personally, locally, and globally. Wamariya’s life is a testament to the power of seized opportunities. She is committed to creating platforms that allow individuals from diverse demographic backgrounds to build relationships and exchange ideas. In this way, she challenges us to reexamine the way that we interact with one another in order to work towards our shared goal of improved equity in our communities. Wamariya was born in Kigali, Rwanda, displaced by conflicts, and migrated through seven African countries during her childhood. Eventually she was granted asylum in the United States and went on to receive her BA in Comparative Literature from Yale University. She appeared as a guest on The Oprah Show four times and was reappointed to serve on the board of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by President Obama in 2016.
Faculty Coordinator: Olivia Garcia, Professor of Social Science Brought to you in collaboration with the BC African-American Initiative Committee and the BC Women’s History and More Committee (WHAM).
Beyond #BringBackOurGirls: Women and Conflict in North East Nigeria Wednesday, March 6, 2019 | 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. Levan Center for the Humanities, BC Main Campus
“Beyond #BringBackOurGirls: Women and Conflict in North East Nigeria” features Yale Ph.D. candidate and journalist Hilary Matfess. Her research problematizes portrayals of women during conflict, which often depicts them as uniformly innocent victims. Matfess will argue that such portrayals overlook women's wartime roles and contributions to conflict. Drawing from several trips to North East Nigeria, Matfess will discuss women's roles in the Boko Haram insurgency. She will explain that while many women and girls have been victimized by the group (most famously, the Chibok girls were abducted from their school in 2014), others have joined the insurgency willingly. She will also explore the diversity of relationships that women in the region have to the insurgency and how this is critical for understanding Boko Haram - and for building more resilient communities in the post-conflict environment. Through her exploration of the agency of women in conflict, we can develop a more complicated understanding of what entices women to participate in groups such as this, as well as to understand ways to prevent such atrocities.
Faculty Coordinator: Erin Miller, Professor of History Brought to you in collaboration with BC Women’s History and More Committee (WHAM), the BC Student Government Association, and the Levan Center for the Humanities with funding made possible by the Campus Collaboration Action Grant.
Served Like a Girl, A Film Screening Monday, March 11, 2019 | 6:30 p.m. | Levan Center
Director Lysa Heslov's powerful documentary, Served Like a Girl, explores the lives of “several American women who were wounded in action and are now transitioning from soldier to civilian after serving their country in Iraq and Afghanistan.” The film exposes heartbreak, triumph, and inspiration as the veterans struggle with PTSD, “homelessness, broken families, divorce, serious illness, and military sexual abuse.” Heslov captures the humor “these remarkable women harness . . . to adapt to the emotional, social and economic challenges they face, through the MS. VETERAN AMERICA competition.” The documentary conveys humility and empathy, illustrating how by “balancing beauty and brawn, they are guided by event founder and veteran Major Jas Boothe, using the competition to regain their identities and way of life that they sacrificed in foreign wars. It is an engaging and honest look at an often unseen veteran reality. " --http://servedlikeagirl.com/
Professor English for Multilingual Students Elizabeth Rodacker, the moderator, will introduce the documentary and facilitate discussion about the film at the BC Main campus. Details about the screening at Delano Campus are still TBD.
Brought to you in collaboration with BC Women’s History and More Committee (WHAM) and with funding and accommodation made possible by the Levan Center for the Humanities.
A Staged Reading of a Piece of My Heart Thursday & Friday, March 14 & 15, 2019 7:30 p.m. | The Black Box Theatre (PAC #107) Professor of Theatre Kimberly Chin will direct staged, theatre readings of Shirley Lauro’s dramatic play, A Piece of My Heart, which is the true story of six women who went to Vietnam; five nurses and a country western singer booked to entertain the troops.
Doors open at 7:00 p.m. Free event. Adult content and language. No children will be admitted.
Director and Faculty Coordinator: Kimberly Chin, Professor of Performing Arts Brought to you in collaboration with the BC Performing Arts Department and the BC Women’s History and More Committee (WHAM), with funding provided by the BC Alumni Foundation. Produced by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
“Exhume & Release: An Evening of Poetry, Art, & Storytelling" Wednesday, March 20, 2019 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. | Levan Center Join us for an evening of poetry, storytelling, and visual art that portrays women’s various experiences with war. The event will begin with an open mic and will then be followed by a presentation featuring local poet, Portia Choi, who will talk about the history of the Korean War, sharing her family’s experience as refugees. She will also preform poems from her chapbook, Sungsook: Korean War Poems.
Portia Choi began writing poetry about her memories of being in the Korean War as a young child. She published a chapbook, Sungsook, composed of poems of these experiences, those of her mother, and those of Korean War veterans. Regarding the book, Don Thompson, the Kern County Poet Laureate, commented that “Choi writes honest, heartfelt poems that portray the courage and resilience of refugees struggling to survive, without sacrificing the charm of the little girl who lived through it all.” Choi wrote a one-act play, Survivors, that was performed at the Bakersfield Community Theatre in 2001. The play is about a chance meeting of a homeless woman and a woman who had survived a war.
Choi performed at the First Night Bakersfield in 2000, at Spotlight’s Les Femme Artistes in 2000 & 2013, and at “Drama and Poetry Night” during National Poetry Month 2011. She has recited her poems for the Korean War veterans and the Korean community. Choi has provided workshops on poetry writing at the Art for Healing Program of Mercy Hospital and at Second Chances Charter School. Choi is involved with the poetry community. Currently, she and other community poets organize the National Poetry Month, an annual event in April since 2010. She hosts the monthly First Friday Open Mic at Dagny’s Coffee. She manages the website, www.kernpoetry.com. Her poems are published in a number of journals and anthologies. Contact Portia Choi at [email protected]
Those interested can sign up by contacting the faculty coordinator for the event, BC professor Jessica Martinez at [email protected]
Brought to you in collaboration with the Levan Center for the Humanities and the BC Women’s History and More Committee (WHAM), with funding provided by the Bakersfield College Foundation.
Painting of Rosie the Riveter
Easel Event: Featuring Rosie the Riveter Thursday, March 21, 2019 6:30 p.m. | Location TBD on Main Campus
You are invited to participate in another BC Easel Event during Spring Fling Week focusing on Women's History Month! We will be painting Rosie the Riveter.
BC brings the magic colors, shapes, and creativity to Bakersfield College. In collaboration with Brush & Blush Easel Events, join the Office of Student Life for a night of music, fun, creativity, and most importantly creating a painting masterpiece.
The cost differs for Staff/Community, BC Students with ID, and BC Students with BCSGA Student Services Sticker. We will announce the prices and will also provide a link to register for and pay for the event soon.
The event includes all paint, supplies, and light refreshments. Alcohol is prohibited at this event. Friends, children, and family members are welcome to attend with you. Confirmation emails will be sent following registration completion and payment received
Affiliated Events
Women in Leadership Senator Shannon Grove | Blanca Cavazos | Cynthia Giumarra | Rosalina Rivera Friday, March 1, 2019 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. | Levan Center Moderator, Senator EmeritusJean Fuller
Retired State Senator Jean Fuller will moderate a discussion about women in leadership with California Senator Shannon Grove, Taft Union High School District Superintendent Blanca Cavazos, Attorney Cynthia Giumarra, and Delano Union Elementary School District Superintendent Rosalina Rivera.
Maria Moreno
Adios Amor: The Search for Maria Moreno, A Film Screening Laurie Coyle Farm Workers | Maria Moreno | Labor Leader Thursday, March 28, 2019 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. | Performing Arts Center Coordinator: Dr. Oliver Rosales, Professor of History Brought to you with the sponsorship of Project Conexiones.
Director Laurie Coyle’s Adios Amor, a docu-detective, explores how “the discovery of forgotten photographs prompts a search for an unsung heroine—Maria Moreno, a tenacious woman who sacrificed everything but her twelve kids to organize California’s migrant farm workers fifty years ago.” More than the story of Maria Moreno, the film “interweaves the filmmaker’s quest to find Maria with a time-traveling journey through the attics and archives of California’s agricultural belt.”
Using Moreno as a “microcosm [of] a little known but remarkable migrant mother’s life, Adios Amor tells a story with national resonance about the migrant workers who put food on our tables, while exploring enduring questions about whose lives we remember, record and recognize … Adios Amor uncovers multiple layers of memorabilia, radio recordings, black & white movies, faded mimeographs, and the vivid memories of those who knew Maria.” – https://www.adiosamorfilm.com/
Following the screening, a panel compromised of Coyle, Dr. Rosales, and Bakersfield College students affiliated with Project Conexiones will discuss Maria Moreno, film making, the art of story telling, and the importance of farm workers in America. They will also answer questions from the audience.
Laurie Coyle
Dolores Huerta
Sí, Ella Puede! The Rhetorical Legacy of Dolores Huerta and the United Farm Workers Stacey K. Sowards Professor | Scholar | Author Wednesday, April 10, 2019 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Levan Center Coordinator: Dr. Oliver Rosales, Professor of History Brought to you in collaboration with the Levan Center for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
In recognition of Dolores Huerta Day, which celebrates the contributions of the legendary civil and labor rights leader, Professor & Chair of the Department of Communication at the University of Texas, El Paso Dr. Stacey K. Sowards will discuss her book Sí, Ella Puede! The Rhetorical Legacy of Dolores Huerta and the United Farm Workers. Sowards contextualizes Huerta’s activism through close, theoretical analysis of the activist’s speeches, letters, and interviews, “showing how Huerta navigates the complex intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, language, and class, through the myriad challenges faced by women activists of color.” Huerta emerges from history and the text as a transformative leader who understood “the relationship between agency and social justice.” – Sí, Ella Puede!