Those attending East Central University’s Louise Young Diversity Lecture on Thursday, Sept. 29, will be able to purchase Yousef Khanfar’s most recent book, “Invisible Eve,” and get it personally signed by Khanfar following the lecture.
The lecture, free and open to the public, is set for 7 p.m. in the Ataloa Theatre of the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center and the book signing will take place at approximately 8:30 p.m. in the Lockmiller Grand Lobby.
Khanfar is an award-winning and Palestine-American writer, photographer and humanitarian who will lead a panel discussion at the event which will also launch Khanfar’s “Invisible Eve” photography exhibit in the Pogue Art Gallery. The exhibit is being sponsored by the Lockmiller Lecture in Art History.
With “Invisible Eve,” Khanfar went behind women’s prison walls in Oklahoma to not only photograph non-violent female prisoners, but to let them express themselves through their writings. Khanfar’s desire for the project was sparked by Oklahoma’s high incarceration rate.
The hardcover books, published by Rizzoli, are $50 apiece and $25 for ECU students with identification.
“They contain both Mr. Khanfar’s photographs along with the women’s own writings of their hopes for the future or reflections on their decisions,” said Dr. Taryn Chubb, director of the event. “Mr. Khanfar also wrote an introduction for the book. A portion of the proceeds from the book goes to “Women in Recovery,” an alternative to incarceration program, sponsored by the George Kaiser Family Foundation.”
Chubb said the cost for the book at the lecture is a great deal, considering the book is being sold on Amazon for $75 each.
“The prices he is offering for this event are substantially discounted,” Chubb said.
Among the panelists for the lecture and discussion are Kris Steele, executive director of TEEM (The Education and Employment Ministry), dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty and incarceration in Oklahoma; Terri Woodland, executive director of the ReMerge program, a female diversion program designed to transform pregnant women and mothers facing incarceration for nonviolent charges into productive community citizens and Sarah Edwards, outreach director of Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform.
The lecture is sponsored by Young, who is a graduate of Ada Public Schools and East Central University (B.A. in geography in 1969). She earned a master’s and doctorate from the University of Colorado. From 1971 to 1974, Young was an instructor of geography at ECU. In 2008, Young established an endowed lectureship within the ECU Foundation with the goal of presenting an annual free lecture for students, faculty and community members on various aspects of diversity.
Young retired as senior software engineer with Raytheon Company, where she worked for 34 years. In addition to her software engineering career, she has received numerous awards for her work in diversity, both inside and outside of corporate America, especially with regards to equal treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals. In 2003, she received the prestigious Raytheon Diversity Heroes Award from Raytheon CEO, Bill Swanson.
The Louise Young Diversity Lecture is being held in conjunction with the Lockmiller Lecture, which was established through an endowment, in honor of David Lockmiller and his interest in art history. Lockmiller is the father of former ECU professor Dr. Carlotta Lockmiller.
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