Panel centers Black women on the political landscape

In a panel on Feb. 5, Black female scholars from across the country came together to explore the power of Black women in American politics and their nuanced role as actors in the current political climate. The panel titled “Black Women’s Politics,” was hosted by the Women and Gender Studies, African American Studies, and Government departments to commemorate Black History Month.   The panel included Dr. Sharon Austin, professor of political science at the University of Florida; Dr. Ayana Best, assistant professor of political science at Howard University; Dr. Pearl Dowe, professor of political science and African American studies at Emory University; and Dr. Christine Slaughter, assistant professor of political science at Boston University. Alongside the five scholars, Dr. Nadia Brown, chair of the Women’s and Gender Studies department at Georgetown, moderated the discussion.  Brown began by prompting the scholars to discuss why research on Black women as a political force is necessary, asking, “What do we gain from centering this group of political actors?”  In answering the question, Austin reflected on the launch of her career as a scholar of Black women in politics in the 1990s and the opposition she received from other faculty at the University of Tennessee,...