Events Calendar

Wednesday, February 8, 2023, 6:00pm
Location: Science Center, Lecture Hall E

Link for more information and to register for the event
*This event is open to the Harvard University Community Only

. . . . Unity implies the coming together of elements which are, to begin with, varied and diverse in their particular natures. Our persistence in examining the tensions within diversity encourages growth toward our common goal. . . . (Lorde, “Learning from the Sixties,” Harvard, February, 1982)

In 1983, Walter Fauntroy, the non-voting delegate representing Washington, D.C. and chairperson of the coalition of the commemorative 1983 March on Washington for Jobs, Peace, and Freedom,   protested the selection of Audre Lorde, a Black lesbian feminist, as a featured speaker representing the lesbian and gay community. He opined to March organizers and sponsors, among whom was Coretta Scott King (CSK), that such inclusion might be objectionable to other members of the March coalition and that the March should not be seen as “endorsing homosexuality.” CSK rejoindered, “[Audre Lorde] is esteemed. She must speak.” CSK clearly recognized Lorde as a righteous warrior for social justice and that lesbian/gay communities must be seated at the human rights table. 

Are the adherents of “The Beloved Community” still wedded to nonviolence, given their ties to  Christianity and the privileging of heterosexuality?

Is the “Beloved Community” merely derivative of Christian practice? Or is it a praxis that is ever open to inclusion of communities whose variousness and diversity challenge constricted notions of who belongs. In addition to racial justice, Martin Luther King, Jr. embraced and joined peace, anti-war, labor, and anti-poverty struggles. He was assassinated for what he fought against in 1968, and also for what his work would mean to us fifty-five years later. Have we surpassed its strictures of “reconciliation,” “redemption,” and “love?” 

With reference to Audre Lorde’s “Learning From the Sixties” and various feminist texts, Dr. Clarke’s talk “Whose Beloved Community Are We?: Interrogating Practice” will explore these issues. 

Are the adherents of “The Beloved Community” still wedded to nonviolence? 
Is the “Beloved Community” merely derivative of Christian practice? Or is it a praxis that is ever open to inclusion of communities whose variousness and diversity challenge constricted notions of who belongs?
To whom was MLK referring—his interracial followers and those others who would inherit his legacy of radical inclusion?  
What makes the Community Beloved? Of whom is it Beloved?  Is the Beloved Community going to attain “equity” and “inclusion.”  And, if so, how must LGBTQ people include ourselves, because there is no doubt we are part of this so-called Beloved Community.
If it is a practice, how does one practice Beloved Community?