skinfolk salons

A Conversation About Black Women & Political Power

Inspired by the film, a 2017 experimental film profiling the contentious race between two Black women running for mayor of New Orleans, these private virtual gatherings create a safe space for BIPOC and allies to convene, ask questions and interrogate the unique role Black women hold in positions of political power.

nia weeks, esq. / citizen she united

Nia Weeks is the Founder and Executive Director of Citizen SHE United, and advocacy group in Louisiana that is building an aligned base of Black Women who inform, advocate for and enact a collective policy agenda to address the needs of Black Women across the state. She is the former director of Policy and Advocacy at Women With A Vision located in New Orleans Louisiana. Nia is a native of New Orleans, and has spent years fighting for the rights of women, children, and families. Nia received her bachelor’s degree in Communications with a minor in Women’s studies at Indiana State University, where her advocacy training began. After completing her undergraduate education, she worked in public relations before beginning law school. She then graduated with a law degree from the Loyola School of Law in New Orleans in 2009.

minister janaé bates / faith in Minnesota

Minister JaNaé Bates is the communications director for Faith in Minnesota and ISAIAH – multi-racial, multi-faith, state-wide vehicles for people and communities of faith dedicated to building a multiracial democracy by moving collectively and powerfully for racial and economic equity in the state of Minnesota. JaNaé specializes in integrating grassroots faith-based organizing and narrative strategy. She has been instrumental in the implementation of the “Race Class Narrative” framework in both Minnesota and across the U.S. She has over a decade of academic and professional experience in ministry, social justice, and communications.

dr. akilah a. Jefferson shah / covid expert

Akilah A. Jefferson Shah, MD, MSc is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine, Allergy, and Immunology Section. Prior to this appointment, she was faculty at the University of California San Diego and Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego in the Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology. She completed her allergy and immunology fellowship training at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID/NIH) in Bethesda, MD, and residency in internal medicine at The George Washington University Hospital in Washington, DC. She received her medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine and her BA in Bioethics from Brown University. Dr. Jefferson Shah is also an expert in health policy and bioethics, completing post-graduate training in both fields at Georgetown University and the National Institutes of Health, respectively. In addition to clinical care, her work focuses on the intersections of health care, clinical research, health disparities, health policy, and ethics.

Emma shakeshaft, jd., phd. / aclu Wisconsin

As an Equal Justice Works fellow sponsored by Quarles & Brady LLP & The John M. Kohler Foundation, Inc. Emma works to combat legal procedures that criminalize poverty and perpetuate racial inequality. Her specific project challenges modern-day debtors’ prisons in Wisconsin by urging courts to pursue more rational and equitable approaches to criminal justice debt. The project aims to implement constitutional court procedures and legal advocacy through 1) coalition-building 2) attorney training and pro-bono opportunities 3) community outreach and education 4) data collection and evaluation 5) impact litigation.

Emma received her law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School where she was on the Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender, & Society and the Wisconsin International Law Journal. She completed her doctorate and a master’s of science degree in Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was awarded an Institute for Legal Studies - Law and Society fellowship and an Advanced Opportunity Fellowship. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California, where she majored in Sociology and International Relations.