Tuesday, March 18, 2025
J Finley, author of Sass: Black Women’s Humor and Humanity, visits the Bay Area for two events on Tuesday, March 18th.
They Say I’m Hopeless: Black Women’s Humor and the Politics of Joy
12:00 - 2:00 pm, 650 Social Sciences Building, UC Berkeley
J Finley will discuss her recently published book, Sass: Black Women’s Humor and Humanity (UNC Press, 2024), which offers a comprehensive study of the personal, poetic, and political dimensions of Black women’s humor from the period of chattel slavery to today. Finley illuminates the ways humor for Black women can be a tool for laying claim to our humanity– despite facing dehumanization at every turn —and in the process of the struggle, there are the prospects of raising political consciousness, eliciting laughter, and ultimately, bringing about experiences of joy.
Studying the African Diaspora in a PWI with J Finley and Nichole Brown
5:00 - 7:00 pm, Elmhurst Public Library, 1427 88th Ave, Oakland
This woman’s history month, Dr. Finley, a professor of African American Studies and author of Sass: Black Women’s Humor and Humanity, will visit the Elmhurst Library on March 18th, 2025. Dr. Finley and Ms. Brown will discuss the complexities of studying African American Studies at Berkeley, why this work is essential, and what women scholars have to offer the world. Join us for this enlightening discussion. Light refreshments will be provided.