Charis welcomes Dr. Joy Cox in conversation with Makia Green for a celebration of Cox's highly anticipated, Fat Girls in Black Bodies: Creating Communities of Our Own. This event is co-sponsored by the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.

Combatting fatphobia and racism to reclaim a space for womxn at the intersection of fat and Black.

To be a womxn living in a body at the intersection of fat and Black is to be on the margins. From concern-trolling--"I just want you to be healthy"--to outright attacks, fat Black bodies that fall outside dominant constructs of beauty and wellness are subjected to healthism, racism, and misogynoir. The spaces carved out by third-wave feminism and the fat liberation movement fail at true inclusivity and intersectionality; fat Black womxn need to create their own safe spaces and community, instead of tirelessly laboring to educate and push back against dominant groups.

Structured into three sections--"belonging," "resistance," and "acceptance"--and informed by personal history, community stories, and deep research, Fat Girls in Black Bodies breaks down the myths, stereotypes, tropes, and outright lies we've been sold about race, body size, belonging, and health. Dr. Joy Cox's razor-sharp cultural commentary exposes the racist roots of diet culture, healthism, and the ways we erroneously conflate body size with personal responsibility. She explores how to reclaim space and create belonging in a hostile world, pushing back against tired pressures of "going along just to get along," and dismantles the institutionally ingrained myths about race, size, gender, and worth that deny fat Black womxn their selfhood.

This event is free and open to all people, especially to those who have no income or low income right now, but we encourage and appreciate a solidarity donation in support of the work of Charis Circle, our programming non-profit. Charis Circle's mission is to foster sustainable feminist communities, work for social justice, and encourage the expression of diverse and marginalized voices. https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/CharisCircle?code=chariscirclepage

We will be archiving this event and adding closed captioning as soon as possible after airing so that it will be accessible to deaf and HOH people. If you have other accessibility needs or if you are someone who has skills in making digital events more accessible please don't hesitate to reach out to info@chariscircle.org. We are actively learning the best practices for this technology and we welcome your feedback as we begin this new way of connecting across distances.

By attending our virtual event you agree to our Code of Conduct: Our event seeks to provide a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), class, or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate. Anyone violating these rules will be expelled from this event and all future events at the discretion of the organizers. Please report all harassment to info@chariscircle.org immediately.

Dr. Joy Cox is a body justice advocate, researcher and leader who addresses the intersections of race, body size, accessibility and “health.” She holds a PhD from Rutgers University, is the host of the pro-fat, pro-Black podcast Fresh Out the Cocoon and has been featured in articles by the Huffington Post and SELF magazine. Additionally Dr. Cox serves on the Advisory Board for the Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH) and is the cofounder of Jabbie, a body inclusive, identity affirming fitness app.

Her new book, Fat Girls in Black Bodies: Creating Communities of Our Own, contends with the systemically harmful treatment of fat Black girls and womxn and the methods through which belonging, resistance and acceptance can be cultivated.

Makia Green is a queer non-binary fat Black liberation organizer with Black Lives Matter DC and the DC Working Families Party. They are also a lead trainer for Momentum. Makia fights to abolish the prison state, end intra-community violence and eliminate wealth inequality by facilitating community dialogues, leading direct actions, and building coalitions centered in Black joy, healing & abolition. A "New Yorker" living in DC, they joined the movement by co-founding an activist collective in Rochester NY, during the aftermath of the Ferguson Uprising, and has since then led mass actions such as J20 Resist, BlockDevos, and #DefundMPD. As an activist and organizer, Green's passion is using radial honesty to give others the permission to be themselves, unapologetically so that we all have the power to manifest the world within which we want to live.

Fat Girls in Black Bodies--Dr. Joy Cox in conversation with Makia Green