Date/Time
Thursday
3 Apr 2025
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm

Location
470 Stephens Hall

Event Type
Colloquium

Ijeoma Kola
Assistant Professor of History, University of Notre Dame

For many Black activists, the fight for justice has also been a fight to breathe — literally. Asthma has shaped the lives and politics of Black civil rights leaders, influencing their activism while reflecting broader racialized struggles for health and survival. This talk examines the long history of asthma as a site of Black protest and resistance, from alternative healing practices to the medical advocacy of Black physicians who challenged systemic neglect. It also explores how asthma appears in Black music and literature as a symbol of vulnerability and power, and how the criminal justice system has turned breathlessness into a death sentence for incarcerated Black men. By tracing these interconnected histories, I argue that asthma is not just a medical condition but a deeply political experience, one that has shaped Black activism, cultural expression, and collective resistance across generations.