"Intersectional Rural Identity" with Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson

The power of rural community is frequently overlooked in the shaping of a state’s larger identity. Through this event, audiences will engage with prolific organizer and community leader, Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson on recognizing, empowering, and activating their intersectional community. This audience-led lecture will incorporate conversation around preserving rural culture, combating stereotypes, and celebrating the lived experiences of rural community members that aren’t often recognized (LGBT+, BIPOC, youth, economically vulnerable, etc.).

About the Speaker

Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson is an Affrilachian (Black Appalachian) woman from the working class, born and raised in Southeast Tennessee. She is the first Black woman to serve as Co-Executive Director of the Highlander Research & Education Center in New Market, TN. As a member of multiple leadership teams in the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL), Ash-Lee has thrown down on the Vision for Black Lives and the BREATHE Act.

Ash-Lee has served on the governance council of the Southern Movement Assembly, the advisory committee of the National Bailout Collective, and is an active leader of The Frontline. She is a long-time activist who has done work in movements fighting for workers, for reproductive justice, for LGBTQUIA+ folks, for environmental justice, and more.

Our Annual Lecture topic aligns with our 2022-2023 multi-site traveling Smithsonian Exhibit Crossroads: Change in Rural America. The exhibit prompts discussions about what happened when America’s rural population became a minority of the country’s population and the ripple effects that occurred. Don’t forget to visit your local historical society site and check out Crossroads today!

About Dr. Joseph P. del Tufo

The Annual Lecture memorializes and honors Dr. Joseph P. del Tufo, an admired member of the Delaware Humanities Council. In 1979, Dr. del Tufo was named the first recipient of the Delaware Humanities Award. After his death that same year, the award was renamed in his honor to recognize academic accomplishment and commitment to providing accessible humanities programs for public enrichment.

Host or Publisher Delaware Humanities