2009-2010
Bastian Foundation Diversity Lecture Series
presents 

Margarita Alcantara-Tan
Creating New Truths: How my quest for personal strength engendered strength in numbers

Monday, September 28, 2009
Vieve Gore Concert Hall
7:30 PM 

Margarita Alcantara-Tan is a loud and proud ‘Queer Pilipina Mestiza’ and the editress of the ëzine Bamboo Girl which she founded in 1995 as a tool to explore her identity as a mixed blood Pilipina. She is also a performance artist, video maker and community activist within the Pilipino, Asian Pacific Islander (API), feminist, and lesbian gay communities.

She is co-founder of the Campaign for Safer Subway Stations, launched in response to a rape and beating robbery of an Asian American woman, as well Kilawin Kolektibo, a New York lesbian/bi/transgender Pilipina collective. Alcantara-Tan has also been active with the Gabriela Network, a Philippine women's solidarity organization and the New York Chapter of Pilipino Civil Rights Activists.

Patrice Gaines
The Power of One: Changing Your Life and Your Community

Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Vieve Gore Concert Hall
7:30 PM

As Co-Founder of the Brown Angel Center, a nonprofit organization focused on supporting at-risk women and girls as they become financially independent, Gaines has used some of her own life experiences, including overcoming drug addiction and time in prison, to mentor and support others. An award-winning journalist and former Washington Post reporter, Gains has written her autobiography, Laughing in the Dark: From Colored Girl to Woman of Color –A Journey From Prison to Power and Moments of Grace: Meeting the Challenge to Change. (A book signing will follow her presentation.) 

Shakti Butler, Ph.D.
Facing the Mountains: Breakthroughs to New Racial Landscapes

Thursday, January 21, 2010
Vieve Gore Concert Hall
7:30 PM  

Dr. Shakti Butler uses documentary film and dialogue groups as vehicles for addressing and working to eliminate racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia. In 1995, when she was executive director of World Trust Educational Services, Butler created and implemented a national public dialogue program—Heart-to-Heart Conversations—aimed at facilitating learning and sharing about race and culture. This same focus on dialogue is seen in the documentaries she has produced and directed—including The Way Home, Light in the Shadows, and Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible. Her work helps us to consider how genuine dialogue about difficult issues can be a vehicle for promoting social justice.

Steve Fitzhugh
Profiles of Transformation for At-risk Youth and Communities

Thursday, March 11, 2010
Vieve Gore Concert Hall
7:30 PM

Fitzhugh, a strong advocate for youth leadership and empowerment, spends much of his time working with and speaking to youth throughout the U.S. and abroad. As Executive Director of PowerMoves, his focus is on challenging young people to make positive choices when facing today’s critical issues—academic challenges, peer pressure, drug and alcohol use, among them. Using stories from his own life as well as his time in the NFL, Fitzhugh connects with young people to encourage positive growth. As co-founder of “The House,” Fitzhugh worked with others to transform crack houses in Washington, D.C., to a teen drop in center with programs focusing on skill development, academic tutoring, music, and physical fitness, all with a spiritual emphasis supported by connections to local churches and ministries.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010
TBA 

Open to the public at no charge

Reasonable prior notice is required to arrange accommodation for people with disabilities.  Please call 801.832.2822 if you need this accommodation. 1840 South 1300 East • Salt Lake City, Utah 84105  www.westminstercollege.edu