Affinity Celebration Months
Affinity Month programming at Goucher features an array of ways—educational, cultural, political, activist, and social—to explore identities. By inviting speakers and leaders, presenting diverse media, and supporting student-led events, we will honor the lived experiences of historically underserved groups and celebrate the community built right here on campus.
Please check back regularly for more information to come. Visit the Goucher Events Calendar to see additional events year-round, including student-led programs.
Peabody at Goucher: Tyrone Page
February 9, 2 p.m. I Haebler Chapel
Saxophonist Tyrone Page Jr. has had success working with composers to expand contemporary
repertoire. Tyrone performs across the United States as a solo, chamber, and orchestral
musician. He performs with Mind on Fire, a musical arts cooperative, and recently released the album True Fluorescent Skeleton. Tyrone is a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory and is on the faculty at the Peabody Preparatory.
BIRCKHEAD
February 15, 8 p.m. I Hyman Forum, Athenaeum
Award-winning saxophonist Brent Birckhead and his quartet perform original music from his 2024 album, Cacao. A Baltimore native, he has performed with legends like Lauryn Hill, Nas, SWV and
Wale. Free for Goucher students, staff, and faculty, $15 for the general public.
Imani Barbarin
February 19, 5 p.m. I Hyman Forum, Athenaeum
Imani Barbarin is a disability rights and inclusion activist and speaker who creates
conversations engaging the disability community. Born with cerebral palsy, Imani uses
her platform to speak from the perspective of a disabled Black woman. Imani holds
a master’s in global communications from the American University of Paris. Her published
works include those in Forbes, Rewire, Healthline, Bitch Media, and more. She runs
the blog CrutchesAndSpice.com and a podcast of the same name.
2024 Affinity Celebration Month Events
February: Black History Month
Black History Month Kickoff Concert With Dat Feel Good
February 1, 2024, 7 p.m. I Hyman Forum, Athenaeum
Goucher College kicks off Black History Month with a performance by Baltimore’s own
Dat Feel Good, led by saxophonist/trumpeter Clarence Ward III. Dat Feel Good delivers soulful grooves to appreciative audiences nationwide.
Iyun Ashani Harrison
February 5, 2024, Noon I Hyman Forum, Athenaeum
Duke University dance professor Iyun Harrison, founder of Ballet Ashani, shares his insights.
Dr. Tyrone Hayes
February 5, 2024, 6 p.m. I Hyman Forum, Athenaeum
Dr. Tyrone Hayes, professor of integrative biology at University of California, Berkeley,
is known for his groundbreaking work on the impacts of the herbicide atrazine on amphibians
and his advocacy for transparency about the use of environmental chemicals and the
effects they have on our health.
The Woman King Film Screening
February 15, 2024, 7 p.m. I Hyman Forum, Athenaeum
Join us for a screening of the 2022 film The Woman King, starring Viola Davis. The Woman King is the remarkable story of the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African
Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike the world has
ever seen.
Radical Reversal: Workshop and Performance
February 20, 2024
Workshop: 4-6 p.m.| Batza Room, Athenaeum
Performance: 7 p.m.| Hyman Forum, Athenaeum
Dr. Randall Horton, along with members of his band, Radical Reversal, will perform original music and poetry that addresses social concerns with a focus on the criminal justice system. Radical Reversal works inside prisons to conduct workshops and demo-recordings, lifting up the voices and communities of folks inside. At Goucher they will present on their work as well as perform original compositions, a sound that crosses many boundaries of music and spoken word.
Dr. Horton is a writer, poet, artist, and an associate professor of English at the University of New Haven. He is the only person in the United States with seven felony convictions and academic tenure. Horton is the recipient of the 2022 Creative Capital Award, the American Book Award for Oral Literature, the Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award, the Bea Gonzalez Poetry Award, a National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship in Literature, the GLCA New Writers Award for Creative Nonfiction for Hook: A Memoir, a Poet-in-Residence at the Civil Right Corpse, and a Soze Foundation Right to Return Fellow. His poetry collection {#289-128} was published by the University Press of Kentucky, and Dead Weight: A Memoir was published by Northwestern University Press in 2022.
*Sponsored by the Peace Studies Program; the Kratz Center for Creative Writing; the
Goucher College Prison Education Partnership; the Center for Race, Equity, and Identity;
the Isabelle Thomas Fund; the E. and D. Robertson Fund; and the Bassey Memorial Fund.
An Evening With Cécile McLorin Salvant: The 62nd Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Lecture-Performance
February 24, 2024, 7 p.m. I Kraushaar Auditorium
The 62nd Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Lecture-Performance presents the multiple Grammy Award-winning vocalist
Cécile McLorin Salvant in concert, followed by an in-depth on-stage interview with
WYPR’s Tom Hall. General public, $30, Goucher students, faculty, and staff, free.
An Evening With Yamiche Alcindor
February 28, 2024, 7 p.m. I Hyman Forum, Athenaeum
Goucher is proud to host award-winning NBC News Washington correspondent and former anchor of Washington Week Yamiche Alcindor to deliver this spring’s Roszel C. Thomsen Lecture.
March: Women's History Month
Myra Berman Kurtz ’66 Seminar
Women in Leadership Panel Discussion
March 6, 2024, 5 p.m. I Hyman Forum, Athenaeum
Maryland Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller - Keynote Address
Tinisha Cheatham - Physician in Chief, Baltimore Service Area, Permanente Medicine
Monica Mitchell - Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff, Wells Fargo Foundation
Jaymi Sterling - State’s Attorney, St. Mary’s County Maryland
Cindy Truitt ’86 - President and CEO, Humanim
Moderated by The Baltimore Banner’s Leslie Gray Streeter
The Oil Machine Film Screening
March 7, 2024, 4:30 p.m. I Hyman Forum, Athenaeum
Join us for a screening of the award-winning documentary The Oil Machine with a live discussion with the filmmakers, hosted by Dr. Jennifer da Rosa, director of the MA in Environmental Sustainability and Management Program at Goucher College.
Oil has been an invisible machine at the core of our economy and society. It now faces
an uncertain future as activists and investors demand change. Is this the end of oil?
Sophia Bryter Band
March 8, 2024, 7 p.m. I Hyman Forum, Athenaeum
Singer-songwriter Sophia Bryter and her band perform material from her new record, Moonchild. Fronted by Bryter and searing guitarist Morgan Gonce, the band presents powerful, sophisticated pop
and rock.
Basketball Empire: France and the Making of a Global NBA and WNBA with Dr. Lindsay Krasnoff
March 28, 2024, 5 p.m. I Batza Room, Athenaeum
Dr. Lindsay Krasnoff will be speaking about her recently published book, Basketball Empire (Bloomsbury 2023), which looks at the globalization of basketball through relations between France and the United States and the colonial legacies of francophone Africa and the Afro-Caribbean.
April: Goucher's Pride Month
CREI Campus Pride Affinity Spaces
The student-led CREI Affinity Spaces seek to celebrate identity and create intentional space for connection, community, and joy.
House of Marsha
April 2, 2024, 7 p.m. | Athenaeum, Room 125
House of Marsha is exclusively for those who self-identify as both students of color and LGBTQ+. House of Marsha is named for Marsha P. Johnson, an activist, self-identified drag queen, performer, and survivor. She was a prominent figure in the Stonewall uprising of 1969. Marsha went by “Black Marsha” before settling on Marsha P. Johnson. The “P” stood for “Pay It No Mind,” which is what Marsha would say in response to questions about her gender.
Lavender
April 18, 2024, 7 p.m. | Athenaeum, Room 125
Lavender is exclusively for LGBTQ+ students, including but not limited to lesbian,
gay, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, gender non-binary, queer, questioning, intersex,
asexual, two-spirit, and same gender loving students.
Pride Month Events
Major Mimosa Affinity Mixer at Alumnae/i Weekend 2024
April 20, 2024, 10 - 11:45 a.m. | Dorsey Center Courtyard
Meet members of the AAGC and mingle with alumnae/i to explore career paths and affinity connections. Highlighted affinity groups are the LGBTQIA+ Group, Latinx Group, Black & African American Alumnae/i Affinity Group, and Men’s Group. Careers are broadly grouped in the areas of business and technology, sciences and health, social services and education, government and law, and arts and communication.
An Evening with Iyun Ashani Harrison: On-Becoming: A Journey of Self-Actualization Through Dance
April 24, 2024, 7 p.m. | Hyman Forum, Athenaeum
Hear from Duke University Professor Iyun Ashani Harrison, dance maker, educator, and executive director of Ballet Ashani. Born in Saint Andrew, Jamaica, Harrison first trained in acting, classical ballet, modern technique, and Jamaican folk dance. He graduated from the Juilliard School (B.F.A.) and Hollins University (M.F.A.), danced with the Dance Theatre of Harlem, and developed a love for neo-classical ballet, which influenced Harrison’s movement aesthetic and laid Ballet Ashani’s foundation.
Ballet Ashani Presents: Giovanni’s Room
April 25, 2024, 7 p.m. | Kraushaar Auditorium, Dorsey Center
Iyun Ashani Harrison brings his company, Ballet Ashani, to Goucher for the Maryland premiere of Giovanni’s Room, a contemporary ballet adaptation of James Baldwin’s iconic novel.
Pride Celebration With the Peer Educators
April 26, 2024, 1 - 3 p.m. | Van Meter Highway or Mary Fisher Lobby (depending on weather)
Come celebrate your LGBTQIA+ pride with the Health & Wellness Peer Educators on Van Meter Highway! We’ll have crafts, giveaways, treats, music, and more!
October: Hispanic Heritage Month
A reading with author Maria Melendez Kelson
September 17, 7 p.m. I Soper Room, Julia Rogers 227
Presented by the Kratz Center for Creative Writing, award-winning author Maria Melendez Kelson will give a reading and book signing of her upcoming thriller, Not the Killing Kind.
An evening with author Jennine Capó Crucet
September 18, 7 p.m. I Hyman Forum, Athenaeum
Jennine Capó Crucet, author of My Time Among the Whites, this year’s summer read for first-years, will address her work. She’s the author of the novel Make Your Home Among Strangers, the award-winning How to Leave Hialeah. Her fourth book, a novel titled Say Hello to My Little Friend, was released this spring.
Craft workshop: Making and decorating Mexican Alebrijes to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month
September 26, 5 p.m. I Heubeck Multipurpose Room
Alebrijes are creatures that take elements from different animals and the artist’s imagination to create a magical being. There are no limits to what an alebrije can look like; the possibilities are endless. Alebrijes are spirits that guide, accompany, and protect us. They are creatures that live in our dreams and are connected to our spirit. Sponsored by the Elizabeth and David Robertson Lectureship.
Salsa night with Las Guaracheras
October 16, 7 p.m. I Hyman Forum, Athenaeum
Las Guaracheras is an all-women salsa sextet born in Cali, Colombia, in 2017. The ensemble’s objective is to uplift female voices within Afro-Latin music and build more inclusive, diverse, and respectful cultural spaces for all. They communicate joy, memory, and transformation. With vibraphone, percussion, bass, piano, and vocals, Las Guaracheras present an explosive show that provokes dancing, singing, and reflection.
2023 Affinity Celebration Month Events
February: Black History Month
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2023 Tabling Event
February 2, 2023, 12-1 p.m. I Mary Fisher Lobby
In honor of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, the Center for Race, Equity, and
Identity (CREI) is hosting an interactive tabling event to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS
prevention and treatment and address longstanding racist systemic inequities that
have contributed to health disparities in the Black community.
Tasty Tuesday: Kenya
Date and time T.B.D. I Sanford J. Ungar Athenaeum 125
Held the first Tuesday of every month, Tasty Tuesday highlights food from a different culture for the community to explore and provides
a space for learning about the meaningful relationship between culture, community,
and food. In honor of Black History Month, CREI will be highlighting a dish from Kenya.
A Conversation With Joel Christian Gill
February 9, 2023, 7 p.m. I Hyman Forum of the Sanford J. Ungar Athenaeum
Hear from Joel Christian Gill, the inaugural chair of Boston University’s master of
fine arts (M.F.A.) in visual narrative and associate professor in the CFA School of
Visual Arts. Comic artist Joel C. Gill shares the stories of underrepresented peoples,
historical events, and dynamic illustration to illuminate why it’s important to celebrate
Black history year-round.
The Roszel C. Thomsen Lecture featuring Maya Wiley
February 15, 2023, 7 p.m. I Hyman Forum of the Sanford J. Ungar Athenaeum
Hear from Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and
Human Rights and The Leadership Conference Education Fund. Maya Wiley is a nationally
recognized civil rights lawyer and racial justice advocate, legal analyst for NBC
News and MSNBC, and former top candidate for New York City mayor in the 2021 Democratic
primary. The Henry Cohen Professor of Public and Urban policy at the New School and
the founder of the Digital Equity Laboratory, Maya Wiley will share her unique insights
with the Goucher community.
Offshore Attachments: Oil and Intimacy in the Caribbean With Dr. Chelsea Schields
February 16, 2023, 5-6:30 p.m. I Buchner Hall, Alumnae/i House
Dr. Chelsea Schields ’08, a transnational historian of sexuality, race, and energy,
will be speaking about her forthcoming book (University of California Press, 2023).
17th Annual Jewell Robinson Dinner
February 17, 2023, 6 p.m. I Hyman Forum of the Sanford J. Ungar Athenaeum
Join members of the Goucher College community as we celebrate and honor our Black
and African American alumnae and alumni at this annual dinner.
Lecture-Performance With the Branford Marsalis Quartet
February 25, 2023, at 7 p.m. I Kraushaar Auditorium
Join us for the 61st Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Lecture-Performance featuring
the Grammy Award-winning Branford Marsalis Quartet.
CREI Affinity Space: #BlackJoy
February 28, 2023, 7 p.m. I Sanford J. Ungar Athenaeum 125
Sponsored by CREI, CREI Affinity Spaces seek to celebrate identity and create intentional space for connection, community,
and joy. #BlackJoy is a student-led CREI Affinity Space exclusively for Black and/or African American students, including those who are biracial
and multiracial/mixed.
Guest Artist in Residence: Maurice Brandon Curry
Residency on-campus begins February 10, 2023
Maurice Brandon Curry, executive artistic director of the Eglevsky Ballet, will teach
ballet classes and set a work for Goucher dancers to be performed on April 21 and
April 22. As a dancer, Curry appeared with the New York City Ballet and danced with
Carolina Ballet, Kaleidoscope Dance Company, Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal, and DancEllington.
Ballet Class
Saturday, February 18, 2023, 10-11:30 a.m.
Open to Intermediate and Advanced high school age dancers. Pre-registration is mandatory,
and space is limited. For questions and pre-registration, contact Elizabeth Ahearn
at eahearn@goucher.edu.
Meet the Artist
Thursday, February 16, 2023, 6 p.m. I Goucher College Dance Department – Todd Dance Studio
Come meet Maurice Brandon Curry and observe the Goucher dancers in a rehearsal of his work.
March: Women's History Month
Myra Berman Kurtz '66 Seminar Featuring Dalia Mogahed
March 1, 2023, 7 p.m. I Hyman Forum of the Sanford J. Ungar Athenaeum
Hear from Dalia Mogahed, director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and
Understanding and former executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies.
Mogahed’s work centers around the support of American Muslims and surveys conducted
of Muslim communities worldwide.
Myra Berman Kurtz '66 Seminar Featuring Sofia Teferi '93
March 8, 2023, 7 p.m. I Hyman Forum of the Sanford J. Ungar Athenaeum
Hear from Sofia Teferi ’93, M.D., who currently holds a position as assistant professor
at Georgetown University and is shaping the next generation of pediatricians. She
has experience working with vulnerable pediatric populations as the medical director
of a pediatric forensic medicine program and as a volunteer on mission trips to Ethiopia
and Peru.
The Robert & Jane Meyerhoff Visiting Professorship Series Featuring Sherrilyn Ifill
March 15, 2023, 7 p.m. I Kraushaar Auditorium, Dorsey Center
Hear from Sherrilyn Ifill, J.S.D., renowned civil rights lawyer and former president
and director-counsel of LDF (NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund).
An Evening with Ruth Rathblott
March 29, 2023, 7 p.m. I Sanford J. Ungar Athenaeum, Hyman Forum
Hear from Ruth Rathblott, an expert on diversity, inclusion, and belonging. She is
a TEDx and inspirational speaker and an award-winning nonprofit leader. Ruth was born
with a limb difference and speaks to companies on issues of equity and belonging,
the gifts of being unique, and the freedom of accepting your differences.
Goucher Virtual Authors Series: Melissa Klapper '95 and Ballet Class: An American History
March 29, 2023, 7 p.m. I VIRTUAL
Dr. Melissa R. Klapper ‘95 is a professor of history and the director of women’s &
gender studies at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ. She is the author Ballots, Babies, and Banners of Peace: American Jewish Women’s Activism, 1890-1940 (NYU, 2013), which won the National Jewish Book Award in Women’s Studies. Her most
recent book Ballet Class: An American History (Oxford, 2020) is a pathbreaking social history and exploration of the growth of ballet
class as it became an integral part of 20th-century American childhood across borders
of gender, class, race, and sexuality. This will be moderated by Vanessa Logan ’95,
the executive director of the Texas Ballet Theater.
April: Goucher's Pride Month
CREI Campus Pride Affinity Spaces
The student-led CREI Affinity Spaces seek to celebrate identity and create intentional space for connection, community, and joy.
CREI Affinity Space: Blue Pink & Blue
April 6, 2023, 7 p.m. I Sanford J. Ungar Athenaeum, 125
Beyond Pink & Blue is exclusively for transgender, gender non-binary, genderqueer, gender fluid, Two-Spirit, and agender students.
CREI Affinity Space: Lavender
April 20, 2023, 7 p.m. I Sanford J. Ungar Athenaeum, 125
Lavender is exclusively for LGBTQIA+ students.
CREI Affinity Space: House of Marsha
April 25, 2023, 7 p.m. I Sanford J. Ungar Athenaeum, 125
By Black Queers for Black Queers, House of Marsha is exclusively for students who are both Black and LGBTQIA+.
Other Events:
Happiness Hunt
April 5, 2023, Noon - 3 p.m. I Hyman Forum of the Sanford J. Ungar Athenaeum
Hosted by the Student Counseling Center, the Happiness Hunt is a carnival-style event where students can meet with various on-campus offices to discuss and practice 12 happiness principles. Important messages, positive connections, joyful giveaways, and awesome prizes abound! CREI will host an interactive booth on Queer Joy.
Pride Pop Up
April 22, 2023, 1 - 3 p.m. I Hyman Forum of the Sanford J. Ungar Athenaeum
CREI will be hosting Pride Pop Up, a fun Saturday event featuring the Gender Affirming Closet, Queer Book Fair, various resources and giveaways, and a raffle with the chance to win surprise goodies!
Lesbian Visibility Day Virtual Campaign
April 26, 2023 I Goucher CREI Instagram
CREI student staff will be sponsoring an IG virtual campaign to celebrate Lesbian Visibility Day, a day to show support, raise awareness, celebrate the accomplishments of lesbians, and show solidarity with all LGBTQIA+ women and non-binary people around the world.
October: Hispanic Heritage Month
Events sponsored by the Department of Hispanic and Latinx Studies and the Language House
Author Jennine Capó Crucet
September 18, 2023, 7 p.m. I Hyman Forum, Athenaeum
Jennine Capó Crucet, author of this year's summer read, My Time Among the Whites, will address her work.
Hispanic Heritage Month Kickoff: Salsa Night!
September 21, 2023, 7 p.m. I Hyman Forum, Athenaeum
Join us for an evening of live music and dancing with Los Hermanos Galvan Salsa Orchestra. Salsa Lessons at 7 p.m. and dancing until 10 p.m.
This event is sponsored by the Dill Fund and the Stimson Fund.
Alumni Working in Social Justice
September 26, 2023, 7 p.m. | Merrick Lecture Hall
Recent Goucher alumni share their experiences working to further the cause of social justice.
Piñatas workshop with Alejandra Martinez
October 3, 2023, 5 p.m. | Heubeck Multipurpose Room
Come participate in this traditional craft workshop led by Alejandra Martinez, a native Mexican who loves her culture and rituals.
The workshop will be open to the public, but there will be craft supplies for only the first 45 attendees.
This event is brought to Goucher thanks to the Robertson Fund.
Hispanic Heritage Month Marketplace
October 6, 2023 4-7 p.m. | Van Meter Highway
Explore artisanal vendors and food with live folkdance performances.
Movie Presentation: Elisa y Marcela
Tuesday, October 10, 2023 11:30 a.m. | Batza Room of the Athenaeum
Professors Jeanie Murphy and Maite Gomis Quinto will present the movie Elisa y Marcela (2019), directed by Isabel Coixet. This film narrates the love story of two women in the late 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s. It is based on the real-life story of two women from Galicia, Spain, who fought for their relationship in a society that was not willing to accept them.
Contact events@goucher.edu with questions.