The UIS Women’s Center and Queer Student Ambassador Program hosted an event on February 10 centered around the poet, essayist and activist Audre Lorde. Titled, “Revolution in Verse: Celebrating Audre Lorde,” this event focused on Lorde’s poem, “There is No Hierarchy of Oppressions.”
The event was presented by Alex Collins, Women’s Justice and Policy Intern at the Women’s Center and Social Media Coordinator for the Queer Student Ambassador Program. They chose to highlight Audre Lorde for her activism and style of writing.
“Her call to action when she pushes those to not only see their need within their own identities but also the needs of other identities,” Collins said, when asked why they chose to create an event centered on Lorde’s work.
Collins gave a presentation on Lorde’s poem, “There is No Hierarchy of Oppression,” which Lorde wrote in 1983 when she was 49 about intersectional identity within the Black and Queer communities.
“Oppression cannot be ranked or compared because freedom for one group cannot exist without freedom for all,” Collins said.
Collins said that an important aspect that Audre Lorde wanted readers to reflect on is the different titles a person carries in their lifetime. For Audre Lorde, at the time she wrote “There is No Hierarchy of Oppressions”, and as stated in the poem, her titles included “Black, lesbian, feminist, socialist, poet, mother of two including one boy and member of an interracial couple.”
Afterwards, Collins played a recording of Audre Lorde reading “There is No Hierarchy of Oppressions” and emphasized listening and paying attention to the words she was saying. When the recording ended, they asked all those who were attending to then read the poem on their own and highlight or annotate what resonated.
For the remainder of the event Collins guided those attending to reflect and discuss the literary techniques and themes of the poem, which included fear, silence, and false divisions.
“As a campus, we are all different. Everyone’s struggles are not higher or lower than the next. I specifically want to show students, especially during Black History Month, that in our past, present, and future matter, you matter,” Collins said.
For those interested in upcoming events, the Women’s Center will be hosting “Banned Book Bedazzling“ on March 27thand “Day of No Silence to Take Back the Night“ on April 17th.
