Hosted by Multicultural Affairs, this week-long series honors the life, work, and teachings of Audre Lorde LS'60 and takes place annually during her birthday week. Programs and activities invite students to reflect on her writings and words as well as to engage with and apply her philosophies as actualized ways of being in community with each other.
Year round, students can learn more about Audre Lorde by visiting the Audre Lorde Community Space in 505 Lerner, participating in Multicultural Affairs programs and dialogues inspired by her texts, and take courses that bring her work into the classroom.
Saturday, February 15: Tour de Bookstore (NYC Outings)
11:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. | Both tours depart from 505 Lerner | Register for the Lower Manhattan or the Washington Heights tour
"I write because I am a warrior and my poetry is my primary weapon."
Join Multicultural Affairs for one of two staff-guided tours across New York City of bookstores that center social justice education, liberatory texts, and underrepresented stories. Learn about their history and how they impact their local communities. One tours Lower Manhattan, and one tours Washington Heights. Learn about their history and how they impact their local communities.
Metrocards will be provided. Limited space; registration is encouraged to reserve your spot, but not required. Open to Columbia College and Columbia Engineering undergraduate students.
Tuesday, February 18: Free'd Between the Lines, A Creative Writing & Workshop Space
6:00–8:00 p.m. | Lerner Broadway Room (2nd floor) | Register
“...poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence. It forms the quality of the light within which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change, first made into language, then into idea, then into more tangible action... ”
This interactive space will explore the power of the written word (other creative mediums are also welcome!), engage in reflective exercises, and provide space to collectively workshop pieces.
Open to all students. Registration is encouraged to reserve your spot, but not required.
We encourage participants to then showcase their work at the week's closing event on Friday -- Happy Birthday, Audre! An Open Mic Night (see below for details).
Tuesday, February 18–Thursday, February 20: Quilting Difference, A Collaborative Art Project
12:00–2:00 p.m. | Lerner Ramps
“But for every real word spoken, for every attempt I had ever made to speak those truths for which I am still seeking, I had made contact with other women while we examined the words to fit a world in which we all believed, bridging our differences."
"As women, we have been taught either to ignore our differences, or to view them as causes for separation and suspicion rather than as forces for change. Without community there is no liberation, only the most vulnerable and temporary armistice between an individual and her oppression. But community must not mean a shedding of our differences, nor the pathetic pretense that these differences do not exist."
Stop by Lerner Ramps to write a poem or reflection celebrating the necessity of difference in our community in honor of Audre Lorde. Add to our community quilt of works inspired by her legacy. Open to all students.
Thursday, February 20: ROOTED Dinner + Dialogue
6:30–8:00 p.m. | Lerner Satow Room (5th floor) | Register
Dinner and Dialogue facilitated by the student facilitators of ROOTED (Respecting Ourselves and Other Through Empathy & Dialogue). Part of the ROOTED Dialogue Series, this event invites all members of the Columbia community to engage in dynamic, peer-led dialogues about identity, oppression, and social responsibility. Dialogues in this series explore aspects of the Columbia experience through interactive techniques including reflective exercises, role-playing, literature, experiential exercises, games, videos and more. Through a variety of activities, students learn communication and conflict resolution strategies to find healthy ways to talk about differences and building a socially responsible community.
Open to all students. Registration is encourage to reserve your spot, but not required.
Friday, February 21: Audre Lorde Summit
11:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. | Location and details will be provided to confirmed registrants | Applications due Sunday, February 16, 11:59 p.m.
"There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle, because we do not lead single-issue lives. Our struggles are particular, but we are not alone. What we must do is commit ourselves to some future that can include each other and to work toward that future with the particular strengths of our individual identities.”
This annual summit brings together student leaders who are committed to justice, the amplification of silenced voices, and liberation. Acknowledging the exhaustion, heaviness, and pain that often comes with fighting injustice, we hope this will be an opportunity for students to come together and think creatively about how to sustain themselves and each other as they continue to enact their activism on campus and beyond. Some topics we will explore include: exploring personal cost/ risk (time, safety, mental health); understanding intra/inter-community dynamics and working through conflict; challenges and opportunities while working in solidarity and building coalitions; and individual and group strategies to sustain the social change work. Open to all undergraduate students.
Friday, February 21: Happy Birthday, Audre! An Open Mic Night Celebrating Lorde's Legacy
7:00–8:30 p.m. | Lerner Hall, Wang Pavilion | More information and performance sign-up
“...poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence. It forms the quality of the light within which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change, first made into language, then into idea, then into more tangible action... ”
Honoring Audre Lorde's belief in the power and necessity of poetry, we close our week with an open mic night. Share your work, and support fellow creatives. Prizes will be awarded based on committee and audience choice.
If you are interested in performing, sign-up is highly encouraged by February 21, 5:00 p.m., but walk-in's are welcomed. Performances should be 4-6 minutes in length and technically simple to accommodate the space. You can sign up here: https://forms.gle/T1rac5aNSPUmBD72A.
