The 31st Annual 2024-2025 Cultural Awareness Series
Over the past 30+ years, the Cultural Awareness Series has grown more successful and has become highly anticipated thanks to your continued support. We invite you to join us for a new and exciting year. The speakers and performances scheduled for this year’s Cultural Awareness Series aim to promote a greater understanding and appreciation of diversity in race, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, age, and culture.
The James Farmer Multicultural Center strives to honor the late Dr. James L. Farmer and to keep his legacy alive. Dr. Farmer was a dynamic civil rights leader and advocate for social change, and we hope that the Cultural Awareness Series helps members of the Mary Washington family and surrounding community to appreciate all aspects of diversity.
The James Farmer Multicultural Center believes that one way of educating about culture is through the arts. Arts allow individuals to see culture through a fresh lens. Artist Abby Willowroot said it best; “Art speaks the soul of its culture.” By highlighting the distinctiveness of culture through such media as poetry, theater, music, food, literature, and dance, the James Farmer Multicultural Center hopes to help students grasp new and meaningful concepts about culture.
As the world becomes increasingly globalized, we hope that the programs in the Cultural Awareness Series open minds among all individuals to appreciate our differences and commonalities. We also hope that our programs will encourage dialogue about these topics. The programs in our series are collaborative partnerships. Thanks to the offices acknowledged in this brochure, we are able to sponsor this inspiring line-up of authors, performers, pioneers, and activists. We thank you in advance for considering this invitation to join us in celebrating diversity.
With best wishes and kind regards,
The James Farmer Multicultural Center Staff
2024-2025 Cultural Awareness Series brochure coming soon.
| Cultural Program | Date |
| Cross Cultural BBQ | Thursday, August 29 | 4 p.m. |
| Latino Identities Month | Mon., Sept. 16—Tues., Oct. 15 |
| Disability Awareness Month | October 2024 |
| GSMA Celebration | Mon., Oct. 21—Sat., Oct. 26 |
| Asian Cultural Celebration Taste of Asia | Sun., Oct. 27—Sat., Nov. 2 Sat., Nov. 2 | 4 p.m. |
| Native American Cultural Celebration | Mon., Nov. 11 – Fri., Nov. 15 |
| Jewish Cultural Celebration | Mon., Nov. 18—Sat., Nov. 23 |
| Kwanzaa | Wed., Dec. 4; 6 pm |
| Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration | Sun., Jan. 19—Sat., Jan. 25 |
| Black History Month Celebration | February 2025 |
| Women’s History Month Celebration | March 2025 |
| Islamic History and Heritage Week | Mon., Apr. 7—Fri., Apr. 11 |
| Multicultural Fair | Sat., April 5; 10 am – 5 pm; Rain or shine |
| Passover Seder | Tues., Apr. 15th; 5 pm |
Suggested Readings
Eli Clare*
Brilliant Imperfection: Grappling with Cure, 2018.
The Marrow’s Telling, 2018
Dr. Elizabeth Shanks Alexander
Gender and Timebound Commandments in Judaism and Transmitting Mishnah: The Shaping Influence of Oral Tradition, 2006.
Martha Beck
The Way of INTEGRITY: Finding the Path to Your True Self.
James Farmer **
Lay Bare the Heart: An Autobiography of the Civil Rights Movement. Penguin, 2013.
Lamaya H
Hijab Butch Blues: A Memoir, 2023.
James McBride
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, 2023
Kent Nerburn
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, 2023
Tatiana Reinoza
Reclaiming the Americas: Latinx Art and the Politics of Territory (Latinx: The Future Is Now), 2023.
Linda Sarsour
We Are Not Here to Be Bystanders: A Memoir of Love and Resistance, 2020.
Lisa See
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, 2023
Jesmyn Ward
Let Us Descend, 2023.
* Cultural Awareness Speaker or Performer
**Late or current faculty member at the University of Mary Washington
Special Thanks
African Student Union, Asian Student Association, Black Student Association, Black History Month Committee, Brothers of a New Direction, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Athletics, Design Services, Office of Disability Resources, DiversAbility Club, Office of Equity and Inclusion/Chief Diversity Officer, Diversity and Unity Coordinating Committee of the SGA, Eagle Bhangra, Facility Services, Inter-Club Association, Jewish Student Association, Latino Student Association, Multimedia Services, Music Department, Muslim Student Association, Native American Student Association, Office of the President, Office of Public Safety, People for the Rights of Individuals of Sexual Minorities, Praise Dance Team, Simpson Library, Office of Student Activities and Engagement, Student Affairs, Students Educating and Empowering for Diversity, Office of Student Involvement, Student Life, UMW DiversAbility, UMW NAACP College Chapter, Talk to the Hands Club, University Bookstore, University Police Department, University Relations and Communications, Voices of Praise, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program, Women’s History Month Committee, Women of Color.