Dr. Hillary Potter speaks March 22
The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology and the Women’s and Gender Studies Program will present “This Didn’t Begin or End with Rhianna and Chris Brown: Understanding and Confronting Intimate Partner Abuse Among African-Americans” from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Monday, March 22 at the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center, Town Square Room, 4801 Rockhill Rd., Kansas City, Mo. Tickets are not required. For more information, call (816) 235-2751.
Dr. Hillary Potter – an author and Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado at Boulder – will lead the discussion. She will speak about her book, “Battle Cries: Black Women and Intimate Partner Abuse” – an eye-opening examination of African-American women’s experiences with intimate partner abuse, the methods used to contend with abusive mates and the immediate and enduring consequences resulting from maltreatment.
Based on intensive interviews with 40 African-American women abused by their male partners, Potter’s analysis takes into account variations in their experiences based on socioeconomic class, education level and age. Her analysis also discusses the common abuses and perceptions they share. Combining her remarkable findings with black feminist thought and critical race theory, Potter offers a unique and significant window through which we can better understand this understudied social problem.
Dr. Potter received a master’s degree in criminal justice from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), one of four University of Missouri campuses, is a public university serving more than 14,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UMKC engages with the community and economy based on a four-part mission: life and health sciences; visual and performing arts; urban issues and education; and a vibrant learning and campus life experience.