An Intergenerational Conversation with Denise Oliver-Velez and Ericka Huggins
On Thursday, August 20th, 2020, Black Women Radicals and the Claudia Jones School for Political Education hosted the event, "An Intergenerational Conversation with Denise Oliver-Velez and Ericka Huggins." The event was a part of Black Women Radicals' Black Feminist Political Education series for Black August. Hosts of the event were Jaimee Swift, executive director of Black Women Radicals, and Dante O'Hara, activist and organizer with the Claudia Jones School for Political Education. The cultural performance was led by Debra Johnson, Gato Martinez-Bentley, and CJ Allen.
The word Sankofa is derived from the Akan peoples of West Africa and is specifically derived from the words: SAN (return), KO (go), FA (look, seek, and take). The word literally translates to “it is not taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind.” Sankofa shows the critical importance of reflecting on the past and going back to our roots, so that we can fully and clearly bring the knowledge of those who came before us to the present, with hope that in the future, a better world––a liberated world––will be our reality. In collaboration with Claudia Jones School for Political Education, “An Intergenerational Conversation with Denise Oliver-Velez and Ericka Huggins” emphasizes the need to learn from, gain wisdom, and uplift our radical Black feminist pioneers so that we never forget their struggles, sacrifices, and scholarship in our political praxes.
About the Panelists:
Ericka Huggins is a human rights activist, poet, educator, Black Panther Party leader, and former political prisoner. For the past 36 years, she has lectured throughout the United States and internationally. During her 14-year tenure as a leading member of the Black Panther Party, Huggins was the Director of the Oakland Community School, the groundbreaking community-run child development center and elementary school founded by the Black Panther Party from 1973–1981. In May 1969, Huggins and Bobby Seale were targeted and arrested on conspiracy charges sparking “Free Bobby, Free Ericka” rallies across the country. While awaiting trial for two years before charges were dropped, including time in solitary confinement, she taught herself to meditate as a means to survive incarceration and separation from her baby daughter. From that time, she’s incorporated spiritual practice into her community work, as a speaker and facilitator, teaching as a tool for change––not only for herself, but for all people, no matter their age, race, gender, sexuality or culture. In 1990, at the height of public awareness of HIV/AIDS, Huggins was the first woman practical support volunteer coordinator at the world-renowned Shanti Project. She also developed a unique volunteer support program for women and children of color, living with HIV, in the Tenderloin and Mission districts of San Francisco. During her time at Shanti Project and later the Aids Project of Contra Costa County, she helped develop citywide programs for the support of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth and adults with HIV/AIDS. She has served as a professor at San Francisco State University and California State University, East Bay, and Peralta Community College District. Huggins is currently one of the facilitators of World Trust.
Denise Oliver-Velez is a political activist, feminist, journalist, community organizer, and anthropologist. She was involved in the Civil Rights movement, women's movement, and AIDS activism movement, and was a member of both the Young Lords Party and the Black Panther Party. Oliver-Velez was the former Minister of Economic Development of the Young Lords Party, and became the highest ranking woman in the Party. She and others challenged the ideal of “revolutionary machismo” in the Young Lords’ 13-Point Program, which led to the revision of the program with the new point being: “We want equality for women. Down with machismo and male chauvinism. As a Black Panther Party member, she worked on the local Panther Party paper and did extensive international travel and solidarity work. Later, Oliver-Velez established herself as a pioneer in media, where she became the executive director of the Black Filmmaker Foundation. She was also co-founder and program director of Pacifica’s first minority-controlled radio station, WPFW-FM, in Washington, D.C. She’s published ethnographic research on HIV/AIDS and co-wrote, with Iris Morales, the foreword to The Young Lords: A Reader (2010), edited by Darrel Enck-Wanzer. An Iyalorisha Yemaya, Oliver-Velez was also an adjunct Professor of Anthropology and Women’s Studies at SUNY New Paltz. She is currently a contributing editor for the Daily Kos.