Social Activism, Personal Mission: An Interview with Denise Oliver-Velez, Orisha Priest & Revolutionary

Join us for an interview led by Oliver-Velez's godson, Jesse Hathaway-Diaz, as Oliver-Velez talks not just about the role of her spirituality in supporting her activism, but in activism as a path that can be both sustainable through staying grounded in ones self and staying true to ones mission. From her challenging of the machismo inherent in the Young Lords, to her calling out of racism within the Orisha community, Oliver-Velez is an elder who speaks her mind. The currents of conversation will flow between Orisha tradition, activism, and her exceptional personal history. Following an introduction and contextualization of her life's work and the Orisha tradition, we will host an hour interview, with time for questions and open discussion after. Come chat with us as we dive into the life of and advice from this Revolutionary.

About the Presenter:

Denise Oliver-Velez is an activist, anthropologist, community organizer, editor and blogger, and a Priestess of Yemaya in the afro-Cuban Lucumi Orisha tradition. She was a central member of the Young Lords Party, an AIDS activist, and, a member of the Black Panther Party. She was program director and co-founder of WPFW-FM in Washington DC, Pacifica's first minority controlled radio station, and was executive director of the Black Fillmmaker Foundation. A former adjunct Professor of Anthropology and Women's Studies at SUNY New Paltz, she is currently a Contributing Editor for Daily Kos.

*This class is part of the General Admission & Friday 8/13/21 Day Pass registrations, if you are interested in attending all of the events during this festival, or all of the events offered on Friday 8/13/21, please select the appropriate registration type on our Events & Registration page.*

**Attendees will have access to this recording until the end of 2021 - class recording links will be emailed to attendees within 7 business days of the conclusion of the festival. To protect the IP of our presenters, class recordings will not be downloadable.**

***Your class link will be emailed to you in your confirmation email. If you have not received your registration confirmation email within 24 hours please email info@salemsummersymposium.com***

****PLEASE NOTE: We cannot guarantee that any class registration within 24 hours of the class start time will be admitted to the livestreaming of the class. You will however receive the class recording link within 7 business days of the conclusion of the festival and will have access to the recording for the remainder of 2021****