WASHINGTON – The Women, Gender, and Sexualities Collective (WGSC) at Howard University will host its annual International Women’s Day celebration on Wednesday, March 4, from 2 – 4 p.m. in the Browsing Room of Founder’s Library, located at 500 Howard Place. The theme of this year’s celebration is Generation Equality: Black Women and the Struggle for Equality and the event will focus on creating inclusive communities.

“International Women’s Day is a day the world pauses to reflect on the contributions, challenges and activism of women in different spaces,” said J. Jarpa Dawuni, Ph.D., associate professor of political science and co-convener of the collective. “For the past four years, Howard University has joined in this global tradition by celebrating both the women in Howard’s history and the wider Black diaspora. We are excited to build on the momentum from past years and my hope is that we will continue to build an inclusive community, and spaces for not only women, but other non-gender binary identities and sexualities.”

This year’s celebration will feature a conversation with two extraordinary global leaders. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Ph.D. is serving her second term as the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and is the executive director of UN Women. She has a long history of advocacy and activism in South Africa, where she fought in the struggle against apartheid and worked as a member of Parliament and deputy minister in the Mandela government to ensure the rights of women in the new constitution. As a leader for the United Nations and influencer, she has had an extensive career as an advocate for gender equality and the empowerment of women and was named twice as one of the most influential persons in gender policy around the world. Under Mlambo-Nguka’s leadership, UN Women launched the HeforShe campaign, a global solidarity movement for gender equality, which the WGSC plans to bring to Howard.

Also joining the conversation is Ambassador of St. Kitts and Nevis to the United States, Dr. Thelma Phillip-Browne. After earning a medical degree from the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona, Jamaica, Phillip-Browne served in various medical positions in St. Kitts as a civil servant and in 1995 served as director of primary health care and later chief medical officer of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. In 2011, Ambassador Phillip-Browne obtained a Master of Theological Science (MTS) degree from Anderson University in Indiana. She has served as a lay preacher and active member of the Women of the Church of God as well as being a partner of Child Evangelism Fellowship (C.E.F.), St. Kitts and Nevis chapter.

 “As we join the United Nations Women to celebrate this day under the theme of Generation Equality, let us continue to engage in activism and our pursuit of social justice and equity for all women, while focusing on the peculiar challenges of Black women,” said Dawuni.

In addition to the featured speakers, Anna Mwalagho, an internationally-renown actress, comedian, poet and spoken word artist, African dancer, singer, songwriter and storyteller, will return to this event to perform. The celebration is free and open to the public and will be followed by a networking reception.

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About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced one Schwarzman Scholar, three Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows and more than 70 Fulbright Scholars. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu.

Media Contact: Misha Cornelius, misha.cornelius@howard.edu