East Erie Satellite: American Requiem: Beyoncé, Country Music, and the Drive to Roll Back the New Reconstruction
How are Beyoncé's "Cowboy Carter" and country music embodying opposing cultural and political forces in America when they, in fact, should not? Join Erie's Black Wall Street Cofounder Dr. Rhonda Matthews and Chelsea Oliver, JES Director of Marketing and Community Engagement and JES Raimy Fellow, as they examine the cultural landscape of racial progress, the backlash against it, and how artists become symbols in the fight for (and against) a more inclusive nation.
Location: ECAT: Erie Center for Arts and Technology – 650 East Ave., Ada Lawrence Community Room, Erie, PA 16503
Date/Time: Thursday, September 4, 7-8:30PM
Admission: FREE
*If you do NOT receive a letter from gerlock@jeserie.org within 24-48 hours regarding your registration, please check your spam or junk folder. Thank you!
.png)
Rhonda Matthews, Ph.D., is an associate professor of political science and women’s studies in the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice at Edinboro University. Rhonda has been with the university since 2002 and served as the director of the Dr. Robert C. Weber Honors Program for three years. Prior to her work at Edinboro, she taught at several other institutions and worked in the fields of diversity affairs and residence life. Rhonda is dedicated to the advocacy and empowerment of women and children as a result of her previous work as a sexual assault survivor counselor. Using tenets of intersectional analysis, her primary areas of academic interest include gender & women’s studies, sociological theory, popular culture and stratification. She is a long-time fan of science fiction, superheroes and comic books, is married and has one daughter.
After earning a dual bachelor’s degree from Seton Hill University and master’s degree from Point Park University, Chelsea Oliver made the move to Corry and only planned to stay in this new town she never heard of for six months. Instead over the past decade, she has immersed herself in multiple aspects throughout Erie County, and fallen in love with the area, its potential for growth, and its people. Since calling Corry home in 2014, Chelsea has helped fellow small businesses and nonprofits tell their stories and grow through marketing consulting, social media management, and web design. She has served her community as an original steering committee member for the Corry Community Strategic Plan, former Chairwoman for Impact Corry, board member of the Corry Area Arts Council and Northwest PA Trail Association and was a former Corry City Councilwoman. Currently, Chelsea serves on the Board of Directors for the Corry Higher Education Council and the Crime Victims Center. She is the 2019 recipient of Corry’s Volunteer of the Year Award, a 2021 JCLA graduate, and was a member of the Erie Reader’s 2022 class of 40 Under 40. When she’s not working or volunteering in her community, you’ll find her on the local trails, at a brewery, or curled up with a book, most likely, someone’s memoir.
