Pictured is Drea Finley.
(Oneida, NY – Feb. 2015) Drea Finley, the Outreach and Programming Coordinator for Colgate University’s ALANA Cultural Center, comes to Oneida Public Library Wednesday Feb. 11 at 4 p.m. to talk about “Social Justice in an Era of Social Change” in an after-school program on civil rights for elementary and middle-school students.
Finley will focus on American civil rights activists, both well-known and lesser known, who were fighting for social change. In addition to such luminaries as Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, she will introduce students to the efforts of Bayard Rustin, Joachim Prinz, Mahalia Jackson and others.
Finley’s particular interest involves the “complexity of identity,” wherein race, gender, class and sexuality intersect and play a role in the development of individuals and their understanding of society.
Finley, a 2013 graduate of Colgate University, has developed her academic interest in sociology and anthropology to become a rising voice in the social justice arena. As Outreach Coordinator for ALANA, she has spoken to many audiences across the state on social identities and social justice. Colgate’s ALANA Cultural Center is an on-campus meeting place that supports students of color and the university’s LGBT community.
Finley is also the youngest cabinet member of the National Abolition Hall of Fame in Peterboro and serves as co-chair of it Cultural Diversity Committee. The NAHF is a co-sponsor of Finley’s appearance at the OPL.
For more information, stop by the Oneida Library, 220 Broad St., or call 315-363-3050.