The Mosaic Literary Conference is a grassroots event and a great opportunity for the Bronx and New York City communities of educators, students, program administrators, and parents to learn ways to integrate books and reading into the lives of teenagers. MLC offers a mix of informative programs and creative workshops to engage young minds, strengthen literacy, and develop education strategies.
November 17, 12pm • The Bronx Museum
1040 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10463
FREE EVENT • CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
MLC2018 will explore the current wave of women’s empowerment and how it’s been historically reflected in artistic narrative -literature, media, visual art. We will specifically explore how women artists who continue to hack at patriarchy.
PANELS
12-1pm
Queen Me // Women’s Empowerment
Presenter: MUZE by THE ROEW
This panel will explore intersections between women’s empowerment, #MeToo, literature, music, and other creative forms. Moderated by Kelsey Evans, you’ll hear from a dynamic group of panelists who will explore how everyone from Beyoncé to bell hooks inform how we dissect these significant topics.
Panelists: Chasity Cooper, Co-founder and COO of The Well, Courtney Garrett, Founder of Capsule Artists, Melissa Kimble, Founder of #blkcreatives
1-2PM
#MeToo & The Movement
Black Women Writers Conjuring in the Continuum
In 2017, the #MeToo campaign amplified the voices of survivors of rape, sexual assault and harassment. Though social media platforms became the route to shared survivor stories, creating heightened awareness, accountability, and solidarity in response to a pervasive rape culture that is generations-deep, Black women writers have courageously confronted patriarchal violence on the page while simultaneously experiencing a spectrum of abuses and violations in our personal lives. This panel, inspired by the Break Beat Poets’ Black Girl Magic Anthology, as well as other creative collaborations and alliances, will continue this urgently important conversation. Through this community dialogue,we will explore the continuum of Black women writing against all that would attempt to violate our lives. We will elevate our stories, our activism, our labor, and lineage.
Panelists: JP Howard, Keisha-Gaye Anderson, and Diamond Sharp. Facilitator: Nina Angela Mercer
2-330pm
Lunch Film Screening: Chisholm ’72 – Unbought & Unbossed
330-430pm
Combative, Compassionate, or Complicit
A Conversation on the #MeToo Movement with Contemporary Latinx Writers
Combative, Compassionate, or Complicit is a conversation on the #MeToo Movement with contemporary Latinx writers Yesenia Montilla, Alejandro Heredia, Christina Olivares and Melissa Castillo-Planas. This panel, moderated by Peggy Robles-Alvarado, asks how writing, teaching, and performing can disrupt or perpetuate systems that proliferate sexual violence.
WORKSHOPS
12-1pm
Me Too: A New Parable
Aiesha Turman
Octavia Butler’s novel Parable of the Sower mirrors this point in history in many ways. From politics, violence, and the beginning of a new philosophy/way of life, this text, particularly Earth Seed, provides a blueprint for a new future. In this hands-on workshop, participants will utilize portions of the text to create community, explore options, and create zines that explore the rebirth of the world where Me Too has become an historical artifact. It will be helpful, but not necessary to have read the text beforehand.
1-2pm
What Would Our Literary Ancestors Do?
Marie Louis
bell hooks states in Feminism is for Everybody “Imagine living in a world where we can be can all be who we are, a world of peace and possibility.”
In this workshop, we will explore how to counter the microaggressions directed towards Black women by turning to our literary ancestors, including Maya Angelou, Sojourner Truth, and Ida B. Wells, in order to create a toolkit of possibilities to include in our self-care routines. Our goal is to not only to look to the past, but embody our power to render these attacks inefficient and remind us that we have the right to be recognized, loved, and most of all to exist in whatever fashion we choose.
2-330pm
Lunch Film Screening: Chisholm ’72 – Unbought & Unbossed
330-430pm
Got Consent?
Tara Daniels
Discussions of consent should and can exist inside of the classroom. Broaching these topics with students using existing literature can not only broaden the conversation, but add to its understanding and implementation in real-world experiences. Using 12 Years a Slave and The Color Purple, we will explore issues of consent and Black women’s bodies in the texts and how to foster discussion among young people.