My name is Kerry Goldmann, and I am a PhD candidate at the University of Texas at Dallas. I am putting a panel together for the 2019 Western Historical Association Conference in Las Vegas. The theme is "What Happens in the West Doesn't Stay in the West," which emphasizes work that makes connections between the West and other places, exploring how regional histories can inform larger historical narratives. My panel title is: "Owning the Means of Cultural Production: Democratizing and Disseminating the Culture of Freedom Struggles in the West." The panel should revolve broadly around the connection between cultural and social activism, and how culture has aided various freedom struggles (gender, sexuality, race, etc.) by starting in the West and then becoming a national movement. My paper will specifically cover the Black Repertory Group (1964- ) in Oakland, California and how it sparked a Black repertory theatre movement for the nation, embodying and shaping the tenets of the larger Black Power Movement.
Please get in touch with me if you have a project that would fit with this panel.