SADU Conference on Black Womanhood:
Cultivating a Space for Learning, Understanding, Unity and Sisterhood
April 11 th - 13th of 2003
SADU Conference on Black Womanhood is being planned by the SADU group. To understand the necessity of the conference, one can simply refer to the mission of SADU.
SADU is primarily a collective of women of African descent who have come together to educate, politicize, support, nourish, encourage, challenge, heal, celebrate, and transform ourselves, our communities, and the world. We came together in Spring 2002 out of the immediate need to address the specific problem of sexism within the black community at Penn State, especially among black political organizations.
We provide a space for black women to support, discuss and take action on a variety of problems that arise from sexism and racism. We support, study and mobilize to provide academic and emotional assistance to all women of color on campus. We are a direct resource for the women of Black Caucus and other non-white organizations on campus.
We maintain positive relationships with other women’s groups, resources, faculty and staff at Penn State, including the Greek sororities, Womyn’s Concerns, Women on Black Affairs, Black Graduate Student Association, Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance Penn State and the Center for Women Students. We represent women from a variety of different backgrounds and beliefs. We take no single political, philosophical or religious stance, other than that of working for the liberation of black people and women from racial and gender oppression. We maintain an open-door policy and welcome every person-- regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, class or creed— who would like to join us.
The SADU Conference was organized out of a need to more widely discuss and take action on the variety of issues arising out of the complex system of race, gender, class, and sexual oppression as they affect black women. These issues are further compounded for all women of color particularly of the University Park and State College community by the severe lack resources available and made visible to women of color to address such issues. This conference would undoubtedly be a resource to address these issues, as well as promote learning and unity among women of color. We hope that this conference will be one solid step in creating a culture of learning and critical thinking about the world around us, as it directly relates to women of color. While the theme of the conference is focused on black women, we invite anyone, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, class or creed to join us, including non-students. As the first conference of its size and kind offered at Penn State, the primary goals of the conference are the following:
1) For the conference participants to get a better understanding of the black female experience and the social structure that produce such an experience.
2) To create a safe, enjoyable and intellectually stimulating environment where important information, knowledge, experiences, thoughts, feelings and questions can be freely exchanged.
3) For participants to find inspiration and strength from learning about the experiences of other women
4) To build alliances and relationships among women from various communities
5) To introduce the topic of the conference to a larger, broader audience