Charis celebrates The Echoing Ida Collection with co-editor Dr. Cynthia Greenlee and Atlanta contributors and activists: Bianca Campbell, Quita Tinsley Peterson, and Samantha Daley, moderated by local organizer Tamika MIddleton. This event is co-sponsored by the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History and The Lola. The Lola's mission is to bring together womxn as allies and accomplices to tell our stories, raise our voices, and dismantle a system that doesn't serve us. Click here to learn more.

Rooted in reproductive justice, Echoing Ida harnesses the power of media for social justice--amplifying the struggles and successes of contemporary freedom movements in the US.

Founded in 2012, Echoing Ida is a writing collective of Black women and nonbinary writers who--like their foremother Ida B. Wells-Barnett--believe the "way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them." Their community reporting spans a wide variety of topics: reproductive justice and abortion politics; new and necessary definitions of family; trans visibility; stigma against Black motherhood; Black mental health; and more.

This anthology collects the best of Echoing Ida for the first time, and features a foreword by Michelle Duster, activist and great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells-Barnett. Imagining a gender-expansive and liberated future, these essays affirm the powerful combination of #BlackGirlMagic and the hard, unceasing labor of Black people to reimagine the world in which we live.

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

This event takes place on crowdcast, Charis' virtual event platform. Register here.

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. Cynthia Greenlee is co-editor of The Echoing Ida Collection. She is a historian, journalist, and senior editor at The Counter, a publication about the politics, business, and culture of food. She is the winner of a 2020 James Beard Foundation Award for excellence in food writing. Her writing has been anthologized in Best American Food Writing and published in outlets as diverse as Bitch, Elle, Essence, GEN, the Guardian, Literary Hub, Longreads, Men's Health, the Nation, the New York Times, Vice, Vox, the Washington Post, the Week, YES! magazine, and Zora. She is at work on book projects about black Southern identity and food, and also the politics of abortion and Black America. Follow her on Twitter @CynthiaGreenlee, and her website is www.cynthiagreenlee.com. 

Bianca Campbell is a project management coach, community-taught carpenter and a neighborhood aunty learning about music with a small group of young folks. Bianca is also sidestepping grind culture on IG @spektrawellness. They’ve been part of Echoing Ida since 2013 and now works at Forward Together.

Samantha Daley is a Jamaican, queer Black feminist whose origins in the movement are deeply rooted in Reproductive Justice. Samantha was born and raised in South Florida and has recently moved to Atlanta. She is passionate about all things that are sex-positive, herbalism, and champagne socialism. She is also a co-founder of the Carib Healing Collective which aims to heal and connect the Caribbean diaspora through herbalism, affirmation, and political education of Caribbean legacy in both in-person and on digital platforms. Her passion for working with youth, organizing, and building alternative structures have her ready to build resources in this new year as the Development Manager for BYP 100. Sam is committed to uplifting sex-positivity, writing, and enjoys traveling and crafting to-do lists. You can find her building community, twerking, or jumping on a plane for her next big adventure.

Quita Tinsley Peterson is a Black, queer femme that writes, organizes, and fights for reproductive justice and queer liberation in the South. As a Black non-binary Southerner, it is through their lived experiences that Quita has come to believe in the power of storytelling and collective resistance.

Tamika Middleton is an organizer, doula, midwifery apprentice, writer, and unschooling mama who is passionate about and active in struggles that affect Black women’s lives. Tamika has organized for abolition, reproductive justice, and for domestic workers’ rights. She is a consultant with Winds of Change Consulting, and a founding member of the Metro Atlanta Mutual Aid (MAMA) Fund and JustGeorgia. She serves as a Community Advisory Board member of Critical Resistance, a Leadership Team member of the Kindred Southern Healing Justice Collective and as treasurer of OHRD. Tamika is a member of Echoing Ida, a community of Black women and nonbinary writers and has had her work featured in multiple publications.