In a kick-off celebration of women's history month, women activists from the Memphis area will gather for a panel discussion Sunday at the Community Foundation of Memphis.
The discussion, entitled "Change Makers: Women's Activism in Memphis," will focus on political, community and workplace activism.
Barbara Ellen Smith, director of The University of Memphis Center for Research on Women, was one of the people who initiated the women activists panel in collaboration with two other women's organizations, Women of Achievement and the Women's Foundation for a Greater Memphis. This is the first collaboration between these three organizations, Smith said, which adds to the uniqueness of the event.
"What we tried to do for each topic was to pair a woman who represented an earlier generation of activism with a more contemporary activist," Smith said.
Panel participant Maxine Smith, a representative of the older generation of activism, was president of the NAACP for many years. Smith is paired with younger activist, Gayle Rose, co-founder of the Women's Foundation for a Greater Memphis and 10,000 Women for Memphis. Smith and Rose will be discussing their roles in political activism for women in Memphis.
"We've asked the panelists to speak about the causes they're passionate about and why that is--what really drove their activism," Barbara said.
Rose said the Center for Research on Women conducted a study funded by the Women's Foundation, which found that 80 percent of the people in poverty in Memphis are women and their children.
"Because women remain our primary caretakers, when women are better off, society as a whole benefits," Rose said. "Conversely, when women lose, we all lose."
Another panel member, Roshun Austin Wilson, executive director of the Orange Mound Development Corporation, will be representing the younger generation of community activism. Wilson said she is excited at the opportunity to hear what the older generation of activists have to say at the discussion.
"I'm interested in finding out what kind of changes have taken place from the 1960s to now because that's important to know," Wilson said. "If there haven't been any changes, that's kind of scary."
Each panel member will speak for about 10 minutes, Smith said, so this is not a lecture type of environment.
"It will be energizing, promoting the idea that women have made history in Memphis and continue to make history in Memphis," Smith said. "We want to celebrate that."
The panel discussion will be begin at 4 p.m., with a reception following. The Community Foundation of Memphis is located at 1900 Union Ave.
