The 2026 Black Feminist Symposium was held in the Student Union at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee on Feb. 6 from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.
The symposium was sponsored by the following student centers and departments: Women and Gender Studies, Center for Advocacy and Student Engagement, Black Student Cultural Center, African and African Diaspora Studies, Student Union Sociocultural Programming, Honors College and Lubar Entrepreneurship Center.
“The Black Feminist Symposium is formatted in a way that it’s for everybody, so if you could be at any basis of knowledge,” said Programming Manager at the Women’s Resource Center, Jenna Lassiter, “it’s all formatted in a way to have everyone come together and learn something new and learn new perspectives and just hear from a wide variety of people.”
The event featured a variety of presentations through which students learned about Black feminism, and the symposium’s theme was “Flesh, Soil, and Fire: Black Feminist Pathways to Liberation.”
“I think really just the idea of liberation, especially with all the things that are happening in our world right now,” said Ayanna Bost-Greer, a success coach in the Black Student Cultural Center at UWM, when asked about how the committee for the symposium selected this theme. “Like what does it look like to be free? What does true freedom and liberation look like? And how can we examine that throughout this symposium? I know for me liberation just means that everybody is taken care of, everybody’s free.”
When attendees arrived at the event, they were greeted with pastries, fruit and coffee for breakfast before heading to their seats. Many people mingled before the first keynote speaker took the stage.
The first presentation of the day was “Planting the Seeds: Organizing, Resiliency, and Transformation,” which was presented by Amber West.
“I identify as a queer, Black feminist, and I do work to liberate young people around Milwaukee and so, I always love being in community with other people who think like me, who feel the same way about different things the same things as me,” said West when asked why she felt it was important for her to speak at this event.
During her presentation, West highlighted her own experiences with Black feminism, empowerment and how students could be involved with the organization Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT) at UWM.
“I really loved the keynote from Amber. That was great,” Bost-Greer said. “I think she has a lot of great expertise in youth work, and it was cool to see her experience and what liberation and feminism look like to her.”
After the first keynote presentation concluded, attendees traveled to the Union Art Gallery, where the next session, “Visions & Voice: Exploring the Art of Brianna Cole,” took place.
During this, attendees were welcome to browse the art gallery freely. There was even an interactive part of the exhibit where attendees were able to anonymously write a wish on a slip of paper, in hopes that the stars would grant it.
“The stories told within the pieces, and the artist themself are so incredible, and to me, art touches my heart really deeply,” said Madison Gulmatico, the Digital Marketing and Communications Manager for the Women’s Resource Center. “When I see something visually, I feel like it impacts me more than other forms of media, so I just really appreciate being in an exhibit that tells a story.”
Next, students got to watch Rumba performances by Salsabrositas, along with a dance lesson. The dancers, Natalia Beans, Monica Ordaz, Jhanyvi Yepez and Luis Vieira, lead both the performances and the lessons.
After the conclusion of dance lessons, attendees indulged in lunch from Immy’s African Cuisine, accompanied by the following poster sessions, “Seeing Her: The Combahee River,” “Collective’s Recognitional Black Feminist” and “Praxis,” presented by Grace Telegdy and “Mapping Abolition Geography: Safety is Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower “presented by Brianna Angela Sas-Perez.
Next, attendees listened to a collection of poems, “The Lakes Thrash Back & So Should We: Tales of Resistance from Land to Soil,” which were presented by Taylor Bland.
After the poems were read, “An Ode to the Black Feminist Symposium” was presented by Mia Valenzuela, the assistant director of the Women’s Resource Center at UWM. The presentation highlighted the eight symposiums that have taken place over the years and addressed whether this event will return to campus in the future.
“I think in a predominantly white space, people of color really struggle to see themselves,” Valenzuela said when asked about the significance of the event. “I think scholarship and Black feminism are so precious and not talked about enough, so the fact that we have an entire event dedicated to talking solely about Black feminism, there’s nothing else like it in the Milwaukee community that I’ve seen.”
Next, “Running Toward Purpose: How Discipline Can Open Doors You Never Expected” was presented by UWM alum Tenia Smith. In this presentation, Smith spoke about how running for the UWM Cross Country and Track teams served as an outlet for her. Now, Smith has fostered her own running community, F.E.A.R., which serves as a safe place for all people to run.
“I am big on community, and I am big on always giving back to my community,” Smith said when asked about why she wanted to speak at the symposium. “UWM has given me so much and taught me so much, so there’s no way that I could not come back and fulfill my duty of giving back.”
The next session was a little bit different. Attendees chose whether they wanted to participate in a yoga session with Embody Yoga, which was presented by Johanna Brooks, or listen to a creator’s panel.
The creator’s panel was moderated by Greer and featured small business owners: Lilo Allen, Chloe Longmire, Trinity Mason and Mikel McGee. Allen is the founder of Papyrus & Charms, Longmire is the founder of Chase My Creations, Mason is the founder of Thrift-Tee and McGee is the founder of 414loral.
During the panel, each participant spoke about their small businesses and their experiences of being Black, woman business owners.
The final session of the day was “Flesh That Knows,” which was presented by Samira Payne. This was an interactive session, where attendees were split into small groups and had discussions centered around listening to their bodies and minds.
With UWM’s plans to merge eight multicultural centers, Black Student Cultural Center, the First-Generation+ Resource Center, the LGBTQ+ Resource Center, the Military and Veterans Resource Center, the Off-Campus Resource Center, the Roberto Hernández Center, the Southeast Asian American Student Center and the Women’s Resource Center, into one this fall, there is no guarantee that the event will be held next year.
“I tell the attendees to keep their fingers crossed because I hope that we get to keep programs like this, but that’s not promised,” Valenzuela said.