‘Living Thinkers’ screening, panel discussion scheduled for Feb. 12

A documentary screening and panel discussion of “Living Thinkers: An Autobiography of Black Women in the Ivory Tower” will be at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 12, in the College of Health and Human Services, Room 128.

Kristen Reynolds, a master’s student in English literature and a Graduate Life Fellow of the Center for Graduate Life, will host the event.

“Living Thinkers” is brings to light the experiences that black women academics have had with education during their lives. Specifically focused on the issues of diversity that can arise at the intersection of race, class and gender, the film is part of a larger project created by Roxana Walker-Canton that interviews 100 black women working in various roles on college campuses across the nation.

Canton’s documentary chronicles the narratives of eight women from diverse backgrounds and illuminates some of the obstacles that black women have faced in their academic careers both as students and as a professionals in their respective fields.

Following the screening of “Living Thinkers,” there will be a panel discussion involving Banita Brown, chemistry; Bettie Butler, middle, secondary and K-12 education; Janaka Lewis, English and a recent graduate from the doctoral program in educational leadership Cathy Howell.

The Graduate Life Fellows’ (GLFs) mission is to help build a sense of community within the graduate student population. Coordinating activities and events on or near campus that foster diverse social and academic engagement is one of the most effective strategies used by the GLFs. They also work with incoming graduate students as mentors, offering guidance and first-hand experience with the UNC Charlotte academic system. The GLF program continues to provide engaging opportunities for graduate students to give back to the local Charlotte community via philanthropic efforts.