Ericka Hart, a Black queer femme activist and writer, will give the inaugural University Pride Lecture on April 11 to kick off UB’s Pride Week celebration.

Hart will speak at 7 p.m. in Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall, North Campus. The talk is presented by the Intercultural and Diversity Center. Co-sponsors are UB’s Office of Inclusive Excellence and the LGBTQ Faculty and Staff Association.

Hart, an award-winning sexuality educator, broke ground in 2016 when she went topless in public, showing their double mastectomy scars. Her work focuses around the idea of human sexual expression as inextricable to overall human health and its intersections with race, gender, chronic illness and disability.

In addition to the University Pride Lecture, UB Pride Week, April 11-15, includes such events as a Tough Topics session on “Sexuality & Gender in POC Communities” on Monday; a Pride March and Mixer on Tuesday; a Pride Paint and Sip for students and Pride Week Social for faculty and staff, both on Wednesday; and a Queer Prom on Friday with the theme “A Night in Enchancia.” 

For more information, visit IDC’s Pride Week webpage.

Around the country, many pride parades and festivals take place beginning in June, including Buffalo Pride Week. But with many students and faculty away for the summer break after May, the April timing of UB’s Pride Week gives members of the university community a chance to celebrate together on campus.

"Pride Week provides us the opportunity to celebrate queer joy, educate the university community on ways to make our campus community inclusive for all LGBTQ+ people, and advocate for social justice within and beyond UB," says A.C. Williams, program coordinator for the Intercultural and Diversity Center.

The IDC organized Pride Week activities in collaboration with UB partners including the LGBTQ Faculty and Staff Association; UB Prism; the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Alliance; and Office of Inclusive Excellence.