“Women of Color: Activists Then and Now” is the next Community Conversation hosted by the League of Women Voters of Diablo Valley and the Contra Costa County Library  on Thursday, August 27th at 4:00 pm via Zoom.

Click here to view a video of the presentation. 

Alison Peters (she/her/hers), Adult Services Librarian at El Cerrito Library in Contra Costa County will moderate. Alison came to librarianship via an English degree at UC Berkeley, an MFA at Mills College and an MLIS at San Jose State University, achieving a bookish trifecta. Attending the 2018 Joint Conference for Librarians of Color (JCLC) empowered Alison to propose Contra Costa County Library's Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity Committee, which was proudly convened in June 2019.

Our panelists include: 

• Dr. Alison M. Parker, History Department Chair and Richards Professor of American History at the University of Delaware. She majored in history and art history at the University of California, Berkeley and earned her PhD from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Parker was an Andrew W. Mellon Advanced Fellow at the James Weldon Johnson Institute for the Study of Race and Difference at Emory University and authored the book Unceasing Militant: The Life of Mary Church Terrell. She is currently working on a book on the civil rights activist Mary Hamilton and is founding editor of the Gender and Race in American History book series for the University of Rochester Press. Dr Parker is trained to lead antiracism and racial justice workshops and community conversations.

• Dr. Lori Watson received her BA in Health & Physical Education from Tougaloo College, her MS in Physical Education & Recreation from Jackson State University and her EdD from California State East Bay. In her work as an educator, she helped individuals and organizations to uncover personal and institutional biases in order to elevate racial consciousness and move toward systemic racial transformation. She created "Trust me, Gay is Not the New Black" which addresses the intersectionality of race and gender. She also created " Black Girls Matter Too", which provided an in-depth look at the pathology of living Black and female in America.

• Diana Madoshi received a Bachelor of Science Degree in nursing from Sacramento State University and, after retiring from 30 years of nursing, has volunteered for non-profits as an event coordinator and planner. Her passion for woman suffrage history led to her being a founding member and co-chair of the 2011 California Centennial Committee that promoted celebratory events across the state. She organizes and promotes programs that teach and inform the community about women history and achievements for Women's History month. She is a board member of the National Women’s History Alliance and a board member of the League of Women Voters in her county.

• Lauren Babb is a Contra Costa community leader and has spent the last nine years on a series of federal, state and local campaigns. She is Public Affairs Director for Planned Parenthood Northern California and is a fierce advocate for women’s equality and has worked to defend the rights of several labor groups across the country. Lauren is an appointed commissioner of the Contra Costa Commission for Women, the Economic Opportunity Council and Contra Costa 2020 Census Complete Count Committee. She is also a board member for Girls Leadership, Contra Costa Young Dems, Contra Costa NOW, and Ensuring Opportunity and a member of the League of Women Voters.

Please click here to register. This is a virtual event that will take place via Zoom. On August 26th, the day before the event, those who registered will receive information on how to access the program.

We hope you will join us to learn more about women of color in history, as well as how women of color can change our society in the next century.