Source: AAPF / African American Policy Forum
Every year at the end of March, which is Women’s History Month, the African American Policy Forum (AAPF) holds their event, Her Dream Deferred. The week-long series of activities is meant to elevate the voices of Black women and girls and bring awareness to trials faced by this group.
Per the AAPF’s page for the event series:
“Black women, girls, and femmes have continually been on the front lines of progressive social movements, yet the challenges they face at the intersections of race and gender have consistently been relegated to the margins of dominant racial and gender justice discourses. Since its inception, the annual Her Dream Deferred week has countered that marginalization by amplifying the voices and narratives of Black women and girls and providing the tools to dismantle the structural barriers that plague them in their homes, schools, and communities.”
The event has taken place since 2015, and a pandemic couldn’t hold it back this year.
This time around, the programming included poignant panels and films about the experience of Black women. The panels, running Monday and Tuesday, ranged from conversations about Black women’s healthcare to the activism work being taken on unabashedly by Black athletes — women especially. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, films were showcased as part of a mini festival. The documentary Coded Bias was screened about racial bias in artificial intelligence technologies, as was the doc Still I Rise, which examines the connection between racism and sex trafficking. The recently Oscar-nominated short film, A Love Song for Latasha, about the life of Latasha Harlins, whose killing was a catalyst in the LA uprisings in the early ’90s, was also showcased for participants. Each event was followed up by a “talkback,” or a chance to discuss the work shown.
And while most of the major events have played out already, this year, the AAPF has decided to extend Her Dream Deferred to Tuesday, April 6 in order to hold a conversation that evening about the importance of self-care and healing for Black women. Learn more about that event (and reserve a spot) here. Also, take a look back at the great offerings from this year’s event for yourself and be sure to take part in next year’s programming.
