Dear Vendor + Exhibitor

Dear Vendor + Exhibitor

Drawing from the Black Southern colloquial expression (you actin’ womanish), the word “womanist” is a dynamic term that describes a growing field of study and social movement that takes seriously the historical and contemporary experiences of Black women while advocating for the wholeness and wellbeing of all humanity.

Union Presbyterian Seminary encouraged the development of the Center for Womanist Leadership “to inspire, equip, connect and support Black women divinely motivated to serve as change makers in their community.” The guiding statement reflects the visionary insight of the late Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon, Annie Scales Rogers Professor of Christian Social Ethics at Union, who, in 1974, became the first African-American woman to be ordained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). In 2019, Union Presbyterian Seminary Trustees named the Center in memory of Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon.

The Katie Geneva Cannon Center for Womanist Leadership (KGCCWL) at Union Presbyterian Seminary recognizes the significance of centering Black women’s scholarship and wisdom as viable sources and resources for theological education and the global community. The Center serves as a site of participatory learning for scholars, students, clergy, laity, activists, artists, entrepreneurs, and community leaders. As her last living testament, Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon launched the Center in April 2018 with an inaugural conference featuring Pulitzer Prize novelist and womanist progenitor Alice Walker as the Keynote Speaker for opening night gathering more than 1,500 attendees and 250 conference participants. Today, KGCCWL’s Virtual conference is the premier gathering of womanist scholars, practitioners, activists, and leaders in the nation. The conference features leading womanist voices who explore pressing questions, engage rigorous inquiry, and energize open dialogue essential to the freedom and flourishing of Black womankind. Through panel presentations, table talks, plenaries and multifaceted, transgenerational, innovative conversations across disciplines, this conference is the culmination of the work of the Center integrating its six core tenets – womanist wellness, witness, wisdom, worship, wares, and works – which represent the holistic interconnections that make womanist leadership possible.

The Katie Geneva Cannon Center for Womanist Leadership will host the 2021 Virtual Conference virtually beginning Thursday, April 8, 2021 through Saturday, April 10, 2021. The theme of the conference is “The Hinges Upon Which the Future Swings: The Living Legacy of Womanism as a Gateway to Our Future(s).” Womanism celebrates more than 30 years in theological education and religious studies. As we look to the future, KGCCWL seeks to help Black women cultivate new pathways for whole communities. The Future Is Womanist!

KGCCWL is excited to partner with The ARTisan Café, who hosted our first Vendor Expo at the 2018 Inaugural Conference. The ARTisan Café has welcomed the opportunity to host an exciting, inviting, and

entertaining virtual format to showcase vendors and exhibitors for this year’s virtual conference. The ARTisan Café was birthed by two women with a desire to provide a platform which reflects the diversity of the bustling arts movement in the local and international market. Their work with local, regional and international artists continues to grow and attract wide audiences.

We invite you to become a Vendor or Exhibitor for the KGCCWL Virtual Conference. This opportunity will connect your business or non-profit entity with a growing womanist movement. Your alignment with KGCCWL will communicate your company or institution’s investment in the growth and development of the next generation of Black women leaders striving to make transformational change that nurture individuals and communities.

We have designed Vendor and Exhibitor guidelines to elevate exposure of your brand and to stimulate interaction between your leadership and conference participants at the upcoming Virtual Conference. We invite you to explore the sponsorship levels that best serve you and your company while considering a level that will generate sustained engagement with your brand. I have included the general guidelines of the sponsorship levels for the 2021 Virtual Virtual Conference in this packet where you will find rewarding opportunities to partner with us.

Please contact The ARTisan Café by email at info@artisancafeva.com and KGCCWL Event Coordinator Ms. LaTiscia Fowlkes at latiscia.fowlkes@upsem.edu if you have questions about the Vendor or Exhibitor Guidelines. You may secure your status as a KGCCWL Virtual Conference Vendor or Exhibitor by visiting the conference registration website to complete the Vendor or Exhibitor form and submit your donation.

Thank you in advance for showcasing your organization during this very special occasion.

Sincerely,

The Reverend Melanie C. Jones

Director of The Katie Geneva Cannon Center for Womanist Leadership

Instructor of Ethics, Theology, and Culture Union Presbyterian Seminary

THE KaTIE GENEVa CaNNON CENTEr

FOr WOMaNIST LEadErSHIP

M I S S I O N

The Katie Geneva Cannon Center for Womanist Leadership (KGCCWL) of Union Presbyterian Seminary is an organization that aims to inspire, equip, connect and support Black women divinely motivated to serve as change makers in their community. The mission of KGCCWL is to nurture the soul work of Black women for the cultivation of new pathways to whole communities.

V I S I O N

KGCCWL is committed to equipping Black women for change making by curating ways to mine their diverse gifts within and offering holistic support (mind, body, spirit) for the benefit of Black and marginalized communities. The vision of KGCCWL is to become the premier catalyst illuminating and embodying womanist theory and practice in the globe.

C O R E I N I T I A T I V E S

KGCCWL outlines six, high-priority initiatives that enliven the flourishing of womanist leadership:

 Womanist Wellness – fostering health, healing and holistic wellbeing

 Womanist Witness – engaging communities through advocacy and inspiring emerging leaders

 Womanist Wisdom – academic, publishing, and archiving component

 Womanist Worship – connectional programming with faith communities and affirming Black women’s religious leadership

 Womanist Wares – encouraging social entrepreneurship and building sustainable communities

T R A I L B L A Z E R . P I O N E E R . L E G E N D . O U R F O U N D E R .

R E V . D R . K A T I E G E N E V A C A N N O N

Cannon was born to Esau and Corine Lytle Cannon. A woman of firsts. Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon was the first African-American woman ordained in the United Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in 1974. Dr. Cannon earned a degree in education at Barbara Scotia College (Concord, NC) and a Master of Divinity from Johnson C. Smith at the Interdenominational Theological Center (Atlanta, GA). Cannon became the first African-American to earn the Doctor of Philosophy degree from Union Theological Seminary of New York in 1983.

A scholar among scholars. Dr. Cannon was the Annie Scales Rogers Professor at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia from 2001-2018 and served on the faculty at Temple University, Episcopal Divinity School, Davidson College, Williams College, New York, and Harvard Divinity School. She lectured globally and locally to diverse audiences on a wide range of topics, including African-American social ethics, womanism, pedagogy, and preaching. Cannon authored Black Womanist Ethics (1988), Katie’s Canon: Womanism and the Soul of the Black Community (1995), Teaching Preaching: Isaac Rufus Clark and Black Sacred Rhetoric (2002), and a host of edited anthologies, articles, and other works. Most notably, she served as the President of the Society of the Study of Black Religion (2004-2008) and founding convener of The Daughters of the African Atlantic Fund. A decorated teacher. Dr. Cannon received the 2006 Distinguished Professor Award from Spelman College, the 2011 Excellence in Teaching Award from The American Academy of Religion, the 2015 UNION MEDAL (the highest award of distinction presented by Union Theological Seminary in New York City), and the 2018 Beautiful Are the Feet Award from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference. At the 223rd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Dr. Cannon was bestowed the Excellence in Theological Education Award.

A guiding Spirit. Dr. Cannon organized and founded the Center for Womanist Leadership on the 44th anniversary of her ordination in April 2018. She died on August 9, 2018, after a brief illness with acute leukemia. The Board of Trustees of Union Presbyterian Seminary named the Center in her honor in 2019 following her passing. “Teaching is my ministry,” she said in a final interview with PCUSA, “I love teaching to empower, to equip, to set people free.” Dr. Cannon did the work her soul must have.

S T A F F

Reverend Melanie C. Jones

Director

Reverend Paula Owens Parker, D.Min.

Program Associate

LaTiscia P. Fowlkes

Event Coordinator

Aria M. Kirkland-Harris

Womanist Graduate Fellow

A D V I S O R Y B O A R D

Gay Byron, Ph.D.

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity, Howard University School of Divinity

Reverend Gail Henderson Belsito, MDiv

Alum, Union Presbyterian Seminary CLT

Associate Minister, Caldwell Presbyterian Church

Reverend Lacette Cross, ThM

Alum, Union Presbyterian Seminary RIC

Pastor, Restoration Fellowship RVA

Bridgett Cannon

The Katie Geneva Cannon Estate Representative

Resource Support Senior Specialist for Wealth Management Client Care, Bank of America/Merrill

Bishop Leah D. Daughtry

National Presiding Prelate, The House of the Lord Churches President & CEO of

On These Things, LLC Co-Convener, Power Rising

Stacey Floyd-Thomas, Ph.D.

E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Associate Professor of Ethics and Society, Vanderbilt University Executive Director, Black Religious Scholars Group (BRSG, Inc.)

Faith B. Harris, D.Min.

Asst. Professor of Theology, Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University

Director, Edosomwan Center for Faith, Leadership, and Public Life

Reverend Debora Jackson, D.Min.

Dean of the Robert A. Foisie School of Business, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Aimee Laramore, MBA

Owner, ALlyd Solutions Philanthropic Strategist PhD Program in AA Preaching and Sacred Rhetoric, Christian Theological Seminary

Lakisha R. Lockhart, Ph.D.

Asst. Professor of Practical Theology, Chicago Theological Seminary

Dana Purdom

Student, Union Presbyterian Seminary

Recipient, Presbyterian Mission Agency Katie Geneva Cannon Scholarship

Reverend Kimberly Ridley, D.Min.

Founding Pastor, The Light Community Church RVA

Gaynell Sherrod, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Dance, Virginia Commonwealth University

Reverend Michele Watkins, Ph.D.

Asst. Professor at University of San Diego

Executive Director, Society of the Study of Black Religion

Reverend Renita J. Weems, Ph.D.

Co-Pastor, Ray of Hope Community Church

Senior Fellow for Center for American Progress

C O N T A C T I N F O R M A T I O N

(Richmond campus) 3401 Brook Road Richmond, VA 23227  804-278-4277  cwl@upsem.edu  www.centerforwomanistleadership.org Facebook-F @centerforwomanistleadership TWITTER @JustWomanist instagram @JustWomanist

Vendor Guidelines

The following represents the general guidelines for Vendors:

$210 per vendor by February 28, 2021 or until the Vendor Slots are filled. $525 All Access Pass (includes vendor amenities + 2 conference registrations) $260 per vendor after March 01, 2021 or until the Vendor Slots are filled. $575 All Access Pass (includes vendor amenities + 2 conference registrations)

Registration closes March 15, 2021

 Access to Virtual Expo

 Special Vendor Profile with a Live Interview Segment on a mutually

agreeable and available Conference slot.

 One (1) – Three Minute Promotional

Video provided by the Vendor.

 Logo and link on the virtual platform  One piece of digital collateral

distributed to all attendees

EXHIbITOR GUIDELINES

The following represents the general guidelines for Exhibitors:

$210 per vendor by February 28, 2021 or until the Exhibitor Slots are filled. $525 All Access Pass (includes exhibitor amenities + 2 conference registrations) $260 per vendor after March 01, 2021 or until the Exhibitor Slots are filled. $575 All Access Pass (includes exhibitor amenities + 2 conference registrations)

Registration closes March 15, 2021

 Access to Virtual Expo

 Opportunity for Live Virtual Session on a designated platform

 One (1) – Three Minute Promotional

Video provided by the Exhibitor

 Logo and link on the virtual platform  One piece of digital collateral

All packages are customizable to best meet your needs! For partnerships that include input into the program, special events, or networking events, we would like to discuss the opportunities with you at your earliest convenience. To discuss your Vendor or Exhibitor agreements, contact

The ARTisan Café by email at info@artisancafeva.com and KGCCWL Event Coordinator Ms.