The Margaret Walker Center is housed inside of Ayer Hall at Jackson State University. (Photo by Charles A. Smith/JSU)
The Margaret Walker Center, in collaboration with JSU’s student organization G.I.R.L. (Gathering Information Related to Ladies), will host a screening and panel discussion of the short narrative film “Grrrl Justice” on Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, at 6:00 pm CST.
“Grrrl Justice” explores three characters’ journeys – one released from juvenile detention, another exploited by a sex trafficker, and one navigating the school to prison pipeline. The film also examines how traumatic backgrounds, including family violence, racism, poverty, sexual abuse, homophobia, and transphobia, attach young people to systems that criminalize them, rather than alleviate systemic oppression in their lives. It also takes an honest look at how these youth employ their agency, body autonomy, and healthy resistance in pursuit of their liberation.
A student representative from “One Girl One Vote” will moderate the panel discussion. Panelists include:
- Shontina Vernon, director of Grrrl Justice
- Jensen Luke Matar, TEAP-MS Advocacy Coordinator
- Ayana Jones, Jackson State University student, and
- Arekia Bennett, Executive Director of MS Votes.
To view the screening and join the discussion, please click here. For more information, contact the Margaret Walker Center at 601-979-3935 or email [email protected].
G.I.R.L was established as an official campus organization on Nov.18, 2015 and since then has gone on to be an educational centerpiece of social justice conversations at Jackson State University. To learn more, click here.
The Margaret Walker Center is an archive and museum dedicated to the preservation, interpretation, and dissemination of African American history and culture. The Center is open Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm and by appointment on the weekends.
