Revolutionary Mothering: Laboring for a Just World

About the event: In celebration of International Women’s Day, this event honors the often invisible mothering and caretaking labor that has been essential to Chicago-based movements for racial justice over the years. Our keynote speaker, Paula X. Rojas will lead us in honoring collectives that have been at the forefront of care-work within Chicago’s movements seeking to dismantle the prison industrial complex and undocumented, Palestinian, and American Indian movements. Elected officials will also comment on the policy implications of these issues.

Panelists are: Fernanda Castellanos (Organized Communities Against Deportation), Monica Cosby (Moms United Against Violence), Bertha Escamilla (Mothers of the Kidnapped), Jasmine Gurneau (Native American & Indigenous Initiatives, Northwestern), Susila Gurusami (Criminology, Law, and Justice at UIC), Ahlam Jbara (Union of Palestinian Women’s Associations), Dima Khalidi (Palestine Legal), Nadine Naber (IRRPP, GWS, & GLAS at UIC), Frank Ornales (Mothers of the Kidnapped), Robert Peters (Illinois State Senator for the 13th District), Paula X. Rojas (Mama Sana Vibrant Woman), Armanda Shackelford (Mothers of the Kidnapped), Pamala Silas (Visionary Ventures), and Celina Villanueva (Illinois State Senator for the 11th District).

About the series: Events in the interdisciplinary Embodied Inequalities series build on important work that has documented extensive health disparities to explore why race is so consequential for health outcomes. Sessions focus on a range of topics including how race matters for access to healthcare and healthcare delivery, how structural and interpersonal racism impact mental, emotional, and physical health, and how scholars, practitioners, and community groups can intervene to improve health outcomes for vulnerable communities.

Register for the event here. For additional information, email IRRPP at irrpp@uic.edu.