Ujima Wednesdays | Land, Labor, Legacy with Jessica Gordon Nembhard & Dr. Assata Richards

Liberation Study Hall: 

In honor of the 60th anniversary of the Freedom Schools of 1964, the Boston Ujima Project proudly presents "Liberation Study Hall," a year-long exploration of historical figures, schools of thought, experiments and sites that have contributed to shaping our contemporary movements and global landscape.

Black Utopias Workshop Series:

What does utopia look like in Black? Join us as we conclude our Liberation Study Hall year at #UjimaWednesdays, centered around the theme of Black Utopias! This series will explore Black utopic experiments. On Wednesday November 13, we kick off the series with #BlackTrust: Black Utopias, Then & Now featuring Aaron Robertson and Dr. Stacey Sutton in conversation, centering Robertson's new book The Black Utopians and Sutton's latest research, Real Black Utopias. On November 20th, we will be joined by Dr. Jessica Gordon Nembhard, who will build on these themes, offering an opportunity to reflect on how Black communities have historically envisioned and created utopian spaces rooted in collective trust and shared purpose.

Facilitator: 

Jessica Gordon-Nembhard, Ph.D., is Professor of Community Justice and Social Economic Development, in the Department of Africana Studies, John Jay College, City University of NY. Dr. Gordon-Nembhard is an internationally recognized and widely published political economist specializing in cooperative economics, community economic development and community-based asset building, racial wealth inequality, solidarity economics, Black Political Economy, and community-based approaches to justice. Gordon-Nembhard earned a Ph.D. and an M.A. in economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (1992 and 1989, respectively). She earned her B.A. degree, magna cum laude, in Literature and African American Studies from Yale University (1978); and an M.A.T. in Elementary Curriculum and Teaching from Howard University (1982).  She is the proud mother of two children (Stephen and Susan) and two grandsons (Stephon and Hugo Nembhard).

Assata Richards is a native of Houston, Texas and received much of her education in East Texas in the community known as “County Line”. After completing her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Houston, she earned a Master’s and PhD from Pennsylvania State University in Sociology with a concentration on political and community participation, research methods and mass incarceration. After serving as a faculty member at University of Pittsburgh, Assata returned to her community of Third Ward in Houston, Texas, where she is living and working with Project Row Houses and serving as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston. As a scholar and community organizer, she is fulfilling her lifelong commitment to social change and justice. Assata also serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Commissioners for Houston Housing Authority, as a appointee of Mayor Annise Parker.