P.O. Box MP167

Mount Pleasant

Harare. Zimbabwe

Telephone: 303211

Telex: 26580 UNIVZ ZW

Telegrams: UNIVERSITY

Fax: (236)(04) 333407/333529

DEPARTMENT OF AFRICAN LANGUAGES UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE

AND LITERATURE

We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected as a Distinguished Honoree for the International Council of Africana Womanism. The Awards Ceremony will be held during the Banquet, the culminating event for the 1st International Council of Africana Womanism Conference to be hosted by the University of Zimbabwe Chapter at the University of Zimbabwe, Harare, October 27-29, 2010.The conference provides a cultural and intellectual platform for dialogue and debate among Africana people about their prospects for a workable present and a sustainable future within the broader framework of the ennobling gender worldview that has enabled Africana people to survive. It underscores the Africana cultural factor as a dynamic ideological resource from which can be retrieved values that are critical in the Africana search for, and affirmation of, harmony, balance and complementation between the Africana woman and the Africana man. The mission is to offer a vibrant gender alternative that draws from, and locates Africana knowledge systems at the centre of our struggles for collective Africana survival.

The Vice President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, the Honorable Joice Teurai Ropa Mujuru, will present the prestigious Awards. We trust that you will accept this gesture of acknowledgement for your outstanding achievements and contributions to society and that you will grace us with your presence at this grand, memorable and historic event of a lifetime in the motherland of Africa, home of all Africana people, and by extension all people in general the world over.

Yours Faithfully,

Professor Zifikile Gambahaya (PHD) Prof Clenora Hudson-Weems, PhD

Chair: Conf. Organizing Committee Conceptualizer of Africana Womanism

Tel: +263 915 099 462 573 449 5198 or 917 715 2965

E-mail address: E-mail:

Africana Honorees*

Dr. Molefi Kete Asante, Conceptualizer of “Afrocentricity,” author/Prof, Temple U

Dominic Benhura, renowned male sculpturer of Zimbabwe

Dr. Mark Christian, Author/Scholar, Prof Black World Studies, Miami U-OH

Colia Clark, Candidate for the United States Senate, New York

Dr. Jeanette R. Davidson, Dir. African/African-American Studies, U of Oklahoma

Dr. Clenora Hudson-Weems, Prof/Author/Conceptualizer of Africana Womanism

Sarah Kachingwe, 1st woman graduate at the University of Zimbabwe

Honourable Joice Teurai Ropa Mujuru, 1st woman V P, Republic of Zimbabwe

Oliver Mutukudzi, Africana womanist male musician

Dr. Hope Sadza, 1st Woman Vice Chancellor in Zimbabwe

Dr. Zulu Sofola, for. Chair, D. of Performing Arts, U. Nigeria-Illorin, Nigeria’s 1st Female Playwright

Dr. Ahati Toure, Prof. of Africana Studies History, Delaware State U

U. S. Speakers

Dr Mark Christian, International Scholar, Professor, Black World Studies, Miami U-Ohio—“Africana Womanism: Its History and Legacy” (Family Centrality: Africana Men & Women Collectively Combating Societal Ills)

Dr. Jeanette R. Davidson, Director of African & African-American Studies Program, U of Oklahoma—“Closing the Gap between On and Off Campus Communities: Africana Womanism in Strengthening the Family”(Family Centrality: Africana Men & Women Collectively Combating Societal Ills)

Dr. Munashe Furusa, Assoc. Dean , College of Arts & Humanities, California State U-Dominguez Hills—“African & African Diasporan Women ‘Who Speak their Minds Without Batting an Eyelid’: Discourses on Womanhood, Agency & Gender Relations” (The True Meaning of Africana Womanism)

Dr. Clenora Hudson-Weems, Author/Professor, UMC—“Understanding and Appreciating the True Africana Womanist” (Naming & Defining Ourselves: Ending De-Womanization; De-Feminization & De-Humanization)

Candace Murphy, U of Missouri Graduate Student in Social Work; Member of the Assoc. of Black Professional Graduate Students--“Africana Womanism and Genuine Sisterhood” (Common Bonds for Establishing & Sustaining Healthy Families)

Dr. Ahati Toure, Prof of Africana Studies History, Delaware State U —“Dr. John Henry Clark & the Sovereign Mind: The Africana Man & Woman Together” (Global Problems & Prospects: Total Parity in the Academy & in the Community)

“Removing the Wedge, Rediscoursing Family in Search for Sustainable Renaissance: Africana Womanism in Multi-Disciplinary Approaches”

SUB THEMES

  • Family Centrality: Africana Men & Women: Collectively Combating Social Ills
  • Africana Male-Female Relationships & Genuine Sisterhood: Common Bonds for Establishing & Sustaining Healthy Families
  • HIV/AIDS/Drugs: Facing the Global Problem Together for Africa & the World
  • Africana Womanism, Spirituality, Self Esteem & the Politics of Economics
  • Open Lines for Holistic Health and Successful Communication
  • Reclaiming the African Traditional Education System: Preparing the Youths for Assuming the Torch
  • The True Meaning of Africana Womanism: Total Commitment to Ourselves and Our Future
  • Africana Womanism: Life, History & African Cultural Knowledge
  • Respecting Africana Women: Cultural Bearers, 1st Teachers & Co-Partners
  • Africana Womanism in Policy & Curriculum: Mandatory Ed for Our Children
  • Global Problems & Prospects: Total Parity in the Academy & in the Community