Jennifer offers a variety of classes, lectures, and workshops on many historical topics, mostly related human and civil rights. She has been engaged to speak with nonprofits, schools, and global corporations.
In these challenging times, Jennifer is happy to work with you to offer presentations via Zoom or similar.
Talk Descriptions:
A Dangerous Unselfishness: Dr. King’s Challenge for Today, for The Dow Chemical Company Global African Affinity Network Martin Luther King Event. Rather than inspire with the soaring rhetoric for which King is famous, his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech begged us to consider what happens when we place the needs of others first. In 1967, King offered a roadmap, and today we consider how that map still applies to our efforts to build a more inclusive and just workplace, community, and nation.
American Woman: Intersection of Change lecture as part of the one-day public history event [Be]causes & Effects: The Tumultuous Sixties through the Midland Center for the Arts and the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library.
Divided by Race: Divided by Race is a two hour workshop to examine the current issues of race in America and the historical underpinnings of those issues. Divided by Race teaches participants how to understand the history of white people protecting resources and using the law, policies, and law enforcement to do so. Participants have said it was helpful and they would be likely to attend a similar event in the future.
Histories Left Unspoken, for Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy. When tensions in our country erupt over race, religion, language, gender and sexuality, sometimes it is hard to understand – why this? why now? – because far too often historically marginalized people are silenced to protect the stats quo. One of the first steps toward inclusion and equity is understanding the discrimination that has been built into the country through policy and practices so that we can dismantle those structures.
How to Make an Exhibit, for Girl Scouts of NE Kansas & NW Missouri Bridging Workshop. After watching a virtual tour of an exhibit I curated, I shared with the youth and their families about how I became a historian and the multiple steps it takes to create an exhibit. Heavy emphasis on questions and answers session.
Racial History of Incarceration, for Multi-faceted Prison Ministries: Just Justice, Memorial Presbyterian Church, Midland, MI. About this talk: Consider the history of how racial discrimination has become embedded in our judicial system. We will examine the long history of controlling marginalized people through incarceration starting with Black Codes and continuing through the War on Drugs.
Seeing the Silences, intergenerational program, Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Midland, MI. About the program: Racial tension can be hard to understand because far too often people of color have been silenced in order to protect the status quo. What happens when we listen to black voices? What happens when we see what hasn’t been taught in school? Can we go from not noticing the silences to no longer remaining silent ourselves?
Seeing the Silences, YOUTH program. United Church of Christ, Midland, MI. Activity enhanced program for 6-12 graders. Racial tension can be hard to understand because far too often people of color have been silenced in order to protect the status quo. What happens when we listen to black voices? What happens when we see what hasn’t been taught in school? Can we go from not noticing the silences to no longer remaining silent ourselves?
Votes for Women: The Politics of Spectacle, for Zoe Club, P.E.O., Woman of Midland Action Network, and multiple Rotary Club chapters. The 2017 Women’s March was not the first time activists used the timing of a presidential inauguration to draw attention to women’s rights. Led by Alice Paul, the 1913 National Suffrage Parade used spectacle to demand the right to vote.
We Demand: History of Voting Rights. Sponsored by the United Church of Christ, Midland. From the colonial era to present day, who has had the right to vote and why? This program explores the role of discrimination in limiting voting rights, with a recognition that throughout US history, we haven’t really been ‘one person, one vote.’ And the program also examines how citizens fought for and achieved the expansion of voting rights.
We Shall Rise: Spirituals, Soul, and Civil Rights, for Alpha Delta Kappa and Northwood University. A closer look at how music informed and inspired the civil rights movement and why the sound of the movement shifted from gospel-oriented spirituals to the sounds of soul.
White Privilege, for Interfaith Friends, Midland, MI. The history of whiteness and white privilege with a close examination of how privilege is built into our policies and laws.
Words You Do Not Have Yet: Representation and the Power of Language to Shape Society, workshop for The Dow Chemical Company Global African Affinity Network Black History Month Event. The workshop included foundational information about laws, policies, and societal pressures that formed the structures of our racial system. Then using a mix of individual, small group, and whole group exercises participants generated ideas about the ways language shapes our views, how to actively change perceptions, and how to be more inclusive in our daily interactions.
Fees: Jennifer is willing to negotiate a speaking fee, based on your budget. She also asks that travel costs be covered.
Jennifer Vannette 