Justice Encourages Public Service

New York Supreme Court Justice Sheila Abdus-Salaam urged students interested in politics to get directly involved in grassroots political organizations during the opening cocktail event of Black Womanhood Celebration week Monday night.

The tradition of celebrating black women for the week ending February's Black Heritage Month and beginning March's Women's History Month is unique to Barnard. Students, alumnae, and faculty members gathered in Sulzberger Tower for the annual event by the Barnard Organization of Soul Sisters.

"As you know, living in New York, there are so many issues you can get involved with," Abdus-Salaam said. "Most people start from the ground up."

Abdus-Salaam emphasized the underrepresentation of both black and white women in politics, noting that she was only the fourth African-American woman to be elected to New York's Supreme Court.

To satisfy this year's theme of black women in public service, the week's coordinators, in close collaboration with BOSS, have invited various women to speak about their experiences in public service at several events.

Yasmine Falls, a feminist economist at the United Nations Development Fund for Women, will be speaking on Thursday about the unrecognized contributions African women make to their local communities and the global economy. Today, there will be a lunch discussion with black women involved in art, philanthropy, and education.

"Celebration of Black Womanhood Week came out of black students at Barnard realizing that people like themselves were not necessarily being celebrated on a consistent, or even a random basis," Vanessa Anderson, BC '07 and one of the week's coordinators, said. "Students took it on themselves to say, 'We're here and we've made contributions to the world and our community and it's important that we as black women are also celebrated.'"

Abdus-Salaam, who was a junior at Barnard when she and other members of BOSS organized the first celebration weekend in 1973, said she was impressed by how much both the week and organization had expanded since then. "I'm so thankful and grateful, and applaud you for keeping up a tradition that was started over three decades ago," she said.

Anderson said she feels that Barnard could do more to recognize black women's unique contributions to Barnard and other communities, and that the problem extends to other underrepresented groups on campus. "Do I think the college is doing its best at promoting awareness and celebration of marginalized communities?" Anderson said. "No, I don't. ... They can always do more."

Kim Hall, Barnard's director of Africana studies, said she was unaware of any similar celebration of Black Womanhood Week anywhere. "I think this is a lovely bridge to remind us that Women's History Month isn't just about white women," Hall said. "I'm loving that people are networking and just enjoying themselves. ... You feel like you can see the future."