The MSU Womxn of Color Initiatives (WOCI) is an effort to organize events for womxn of color and their allies on the MSU campus and in the greater Lansing community. In doing so WOCI aims to create spaces for students to be in conversation with each other and engage with women of color and allied faculty, guest speakers, staff, and community members.
Our Mission is to advance women of color feminist theory as a way for women of color and allies to:
- Build community in relation to pressing sociopolitical issues
- Cultivate community-based self-care practices
- Bring together undergraduates, graduates, staff, faculty, and community members in the greater Lansing area
- Develop a robust and diverse network of support
We carry out our mission in a variety of ways. We have hosted a speaker series that has brought nationally recognized academic, creative, and/or political speakers who advance women of color feminist theory to MSU’s campus each semester. Our artist-in-residence program has hosted a variety of artists from muralists to podcasters to poets. They have come to campus to engage with our MSU community and the greater Lansing area. WOCI’s health and wellness workshops offer cross-disciplinary and open spaces for dialogue that address issues of representation, graduation, and retention at the undergraduate and graduate levels while offering community-building opportunities womxn of color and allies across ranks. Our graduate and early career faculty writing retreats supports writers who are advancing women of color feminism in their work while also supporting their professional development.
By bringing together speakers, artists, workshop leaders, and community members we hope to strengthen the community of womxn and allies working toward social and racial justice and equity. In doing so, we can make MSU a Midwest hub for womxn of color and allied intellectuals, artists, activists, and thinkers.