DEIJ Intersectional Events: Spring 2025

Join the Loyola University Maryland delegation at the annual IgnatianQ Conference at Loyola Marymount University, April 3-6, 2025!

IgnatianQ brings together the community of LGBTQPIA+ folks (and allies) at Jesuit universities from across the U.S. We are an affirming community, brought together in part by our common experiences of marginalization and exclusion. As LGBTQPIA+ people, we believe that our own desire for social justice and the Jesuit values that inform our education are forces that can and should work together for a more just and humane world. As we explore the intersections of sexuality, gender, and spirituality together, we strive to educate and empower the whole person.

The 2025 theme of the IgnatianQ conference is "Queera Personalis: Embracing the spectrum, nurturing queer souls."

Applications due Monday, February 3, 2025. Email Yulianna Otero Asmar (yoteroasmar@loyola.edu) or Pat Cassidy (pjcassidy@loyola.edu) if you have any questions!

Hora De Café Con Leche provides native/fluent Spanish Speakers, and those looking to practice their Spanish, with a space to build community, play games, and discuss different topics in Spanish! Stop on by, enjoy delicious café, and connect with your fellow Spanish speakers in this affinity space!

Campus Ministry invites you to our 8th annual Hope and Renewal Prayer Service (HARPS), an interfaith prayer service that celebrates the beginning of Spring semester at Loyola with music and messages of hope and renewal from multiple faith traditions. Loyola's Chosen Generation Choir and Chapel Choir will be performing, in addition to campus community members. Please join in this celebration of belonging at Loyola.

Join us for brunch at the Cohn Hall common space following the prayer service!Doors open at 9:30 am, it is first come first serve seating.

Wrongfully convicted at 16, Jones spent 37 years of his life incarcerated. During that time, Jones earned a college degree, wrote a book, and is now a successful author and speaker but most importantly, free. This event is perfect for any law, political science, philosophy, or even writing majors as themes like justice and hope are explored during this talk.

Are you curious about religion and spirituality? Are you looking for ways to build faith in your life? Come along for a weekend of soulful music and meaningful conversations to deepen your faith and learn about others!

Loyola Retreat Centers is nestled in the mountains of Western Maryland and provides a glorious experience for retreatments with artisanal foods and breathtaking views.

Loyola believes that cost should never prohibit a student from experiencing a retreat. Generous donors provide scholarships for any and all students who require support to attend a retreat. Please contact Saima Sitwat, ssitwat@loyola.edu, to request scholarship assistance.

• Full Registration Fee
• Student Leader

As part of Phi Beta Kappa's ongoing visiting scholar program, Loyola will host Tammy Kernodle as she addresses topics in race, gender, and pop culture. This year's title is "All Rhythm but None of the Blues: Black Music, Black Women and the De-Mythologizing of Post-Racial America"

In the wake of Barack Obama's election in 2008, political pundits and cultural critics began declaring that the election of the first African American President was representative of America moving into a period of post-racialism. This notion of post-racialism was not simply based in political ideology, but also in the continuous globalization of black culture, especially black music. First through playlist and later through performances at the White House, Obama used music as a means of cultivating a form of nationalistic unity that was multi-ethnic, multi-racial, and intergenerational. On the surface, he had seemingly created a soundtrack for post-racial America. However, just as Obama prepared to launch his re-election campaign, a series of violent events began to undermine this notion of post-racialism. This resulted not only in the awakening of new social movements, but also new forms of protest culture. These presentation looks at four key events that occurred between 2012 and 2016 as a lens to understanding the current wave of protest and socially conscious music. It will specifically focus on the music and cultural responses of black women as a method of illuminating the long and varied history of black women musicians in shaping and promoting a public rhetoric of social change.

One Question is an interactive event designed to help the audience envision a world where we see ability rather than disability. The event combines a short film, "What Makes You Happy?" with a panel discussion and some additional activities that incorporate the audience, so that they become part of the event rather than passively receiving information. The event centers on our neighbors with disabilities, and our panel usually consists of four to six individuals with disabilities who share stories about their lives and answer questions from the audience. The goal is to raise awareness about our neighbors with disabilities and our relationship with them—to envision a world where we see potential and ability first.

Come see a childhood favorite movie in play-form at Loyola's former home (all the way back to the 1850s!) Play synopsis for those who have never seen the movie: Akeelah has a passion for words, the crazier the better! Under-challenged at school and overwhelmed by her daily life in a tough, Chicago neighborhood, Akeelah is finding it difficult to try. But with the Scripps National Spelling Bee just around the corner, her community is ready to show her she has the courage and tenacity to make her dream come true.

**Chosen showtime offers an ASL intrepreter.**

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Nikole Hannah-Jones will deliver the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation address at Loyola University Maryland on Monday, January 27, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. in Reitz Arena. The topic, "In Conversation about Truth, History, and The 1619 Project," will be moderated by Karsonya Wise Whitehead, Ph.D., the founding director of the Karson Institute for Race, Peace & Social Justice and a professor of Communication and African and African American Studies at Loyola, along with David Carey, Ph.D., the Doehler Chair and professor of History at Loyola.

The event will also be live-streamed on YouTube, with closed captioning provided.

This event is part of the Peace & Justice Bunting Speaker Series and is free and open to the public, although advance registration is encouraged.

Celebrating its 32nd year, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation is an opportunity for Loyola and the Baltimore community to come together and launch the spring semester and New Year with a shared inquiry into issues of social justice, politics, spirituality, and the legacies of race and racial justice in America.

The convocation is co-sponsored by the Office of the President, Office of Equity and Inclusion, Office of Peace & Justice, the Karson Institute for Race, Peace & Social Justice, Messina, and the African and African American Studies Program.

Persons with disabilities who may require special services should contact the Office of Disability and Accessibility Services at 410-617-2062 (TDD) or 410-617-2141 at least 48 hours before the event.

• RSVP - I'll attend in-person
• RSVP- I'll attend virtually

Let's have a kiki! Pop by the Pride Resource Room at any point during the day for a little community and connection. Drinks, snacks, movies, and resources galore! Members of LGBTQ+ Student Services will be available to chat, answer questions, and share resources. Come stay a while or pop in for a quick hello - it's up to you!