By Cassady Brockman 

LEXINGTON, Ky. —  The 30th Annual University of Kentucky  Black Women’s Conference presents “We are the Culture: A Symposium on Black Girls & Girlhood.”  

The conference is hosted by the UK College of Arts and Sciences along with the Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies, which will function as a two-day retreat from Friday, March 7, to Saturday, March 8, at the Campbell House. The conference is free for the UK community with registration.  

The conference includes keynotes from Black girlhood scholars, a film screening, workshops and editorial sessions. According to Aria Halliday, Ph.D,   Marie Rich Endowed Professor in Arts and Sciences and associate professor in the Department of Gender and Women's Studies and the program in African American and Africana Studies, the event has been a signature of UK since its beginning in 1995.  

“Over the years, each conference has covered an array of topics such as the experiences of Black women in Appalachia, Afrofuturism and literature, healthcare, and poetry,” Halliday said.  

Guests at the conference include scholars, artists and activists, along with parents, “who are interested in learning more about how we can all better support and love Black girls as they progress through girlhood” she said.  

Halliday said everything planned was based on her decades-long ambition to feature some of the best scholars, artists, and activists from all over the country, at a conference on Black girlhood, while attendees can learn, play, network and leave with information and books to pass on in their communities.  

“Attendees will engage with a broad swatch of approaches to the study of Black girlhood and to the experience of Black girls,” Halliday said.  

Visitors can see a curated exhibit at the UK Art Museum titled “A Tisket —  A Tasket.”  

“It features fabulous work by artists such as Kara Walker and Carrie Mae Weems, among others, that focuses on the complex lives of Black girls in collaboration with the conference,” she said.