Will You Dance Into the Fire?: The Quotidian Violence of Poisoning Your Enslavers

Tue, 07 Oct, 2025 at 06:00 pm UTC-04:00

Case Western Reserve University, Clark Hall Room 206, Cleveland, OH, United States, Ohio 44106 | Cleveland

Baker-Nord Institute for the Humanities
Publisher/HostBaker-Nord Institute for the Humanities
Will You Dance Into the Fire?: The Quotidian Violence of Poisoning Your Enslavers
Advertisement
In this talk, Kinitra D. Brooks, the Audrey and John Leslie Endowed Chair in Literary Studies at Michigan State University, will explore how enslaved Black women used herbal and spiritual knowledge gleaned from Conjure practices to poison their enslavers in antebellum Southern Louisiana.
Registration requested. Register HERE: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeaj2M_sxTBhAELtZLcvB61z4__0SaLKta-Ff37i9dVMr326w/viewform?usp=dialog
About the speaker:
Kinitra D. Brooks is the Audrey and John Leslie Endowed Chair in Literary Studies in the Department of English. She specializes in the study of black women, genre fiction, and popular culture. Her current research focuses on portrayals of the Conjure Woman in popular culture.
Dr. Brooks has a B.A. in English literature from Xavier University of Louisiana and earned a Ph.D. in comparative literature from UNC Chapel Hill in 2008. She also holds an M.P.H. in international health and development from Tulane University. Prior to joining MSU, she was the Ricardo K. Romo Endowed Professor in the Honors College at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she also completed her postdoctoral fellowship.
In addition to peer-reviewed articles in journals including The International Review of African American Art, Obsidian, and the African American Review, Dr. Brooks has three books in print: Searching for Sycorax: Black Women’s Hauntings of Contemporary Horror, a critical treatment of black women in science fiction, fantasy, and horror; Sycorax’s Daughters, an edited volume of short horror fiction written by black women; and The Lemonade Reader, a collection of essays on Beyoncé’s 2016 audiovisual project, Lemonade. She is also the co-editor of the New Suns book series at Ohio State UP. Dr. Brooks spent the 2018-2019 academic year as the Advancing Equity Through Research Fellow at the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University.
Advertisement

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Case Western Reserve University, Clark Hall Room 206, Cleveland, OH, United States, Ohio 44106

Tickets

Sharing is Caring:

More Events in Cleveland

Chipotle Fundraiser for Art Therapy Studio
Tue, 07 Oct at 04:00 pm Chipotle Fundraiser for Art Therapy Studio

Chipotle Mexican Grill (Uptown CWRU)

Hard Hat Tour: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Expansion
Tue, 07 Oct at 05:00 pm Hard Hat Tour: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Expansion

Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Museum

Take a Hike Strolls: Polish Heritage
Tue, 07 Oct at 05:30 pm Take a Hike Strolls: Polish Heritage

6501 Lansing Ave, Cleveland, OH 44105-3751, United States

National Night Out
Tue, 07 Oct at 05:30 pm National Night Out

Various Locations

Polish Heritage - Take a Hike Stroll tour
Tue, 07 Oct at 05:30 pm Polish Heritage - Take a Hike Stroll tour

Polish American Cultural Center

Hot Girls Read book swap
Tue, 07 Oct at 05:30 pm Hot Girls Read book swap

Bookhouse Brewing

Mic & Sip (Heartbreak Edition)
Tue, 07 Oct at 06:15 pm Mic & Sip (Heartbreak Edition)

The Rosehip Room at The Elliot

RSVP: Sailor Awards & Boat Owner Appreciation Night
Tue, 07 Oct at 06:30 pm RSVP: Sailor Awards & Boat Owner Appreciation Night

Edgewater Yacht Club Inc

Art Cafe: Witch Crafts
Tue, 07 Oct at 06:30 pm Art Cafe: Witch Crafts

JUKEBOX

Ice Cube
Tue, 07 Oct Ice Cube

Rocket Arena

Stereolab
Tue, 07 Oct Stereolab

Globe Iron

Rico Nasty
Tue, 07 Oct at 07:00 pm Rico Nasty

House Of Blues - Cleveland

Cleveland is Happening!

Never miss your favorite happenings again!

Explore Cleveland Events