Campus News

Rockford University welcomes Beverly Gooden on Monday, February 11, 7 p.m., Maddox Theatre, as part of the University’s Spring Forum Series. Beverly Gooden is an African American writer and renowned social activist known for her groundbreaking work on domestic violence, victimology, and women’s health. Beverly is also the creator of the #WhyIStayed hashtag and global movement created in 2014. The Why I Stayed movement was listed by Forbes as one of the top social change hashtags of 2014, and in 2015 was recognized as one of the eight hashtags that changed the world. Beverly has also been featured on Good Morning America. CNN, Time, The Washington Post, HLN, Inside Edition, NBC Nightly News, and more.

In this radical talk, Gooden challenges the question “Why did he/she stay?” and reveals how the current way we interact with survivors is a house of cards. From faulty blame attribution, to designating only men as abusers, it is easy to overlook the sheer volume of domestic violence when the issue has historically been framed as “them” and not “us”. That is why, as Beverly argues, domestic violence is a community issue. Victims of violence can be women and men, LGBTQ and heterosexual, or even children. Victims of violence may have fought back, or remained silent. There is no perfect victim and no specific type of abuser. Beverly discusses her personal domestic violence story, reveals the most important questions to ask victims, and outlines how we all can help.

Maddox Theatre is located in the Clark Arts Center on the University’s campus, 5050 East State Street, Rockford. Clark Arts is accessible. For a complete list of the 2019 Spring Forum Series events, visit Rockford.edu/ Arts & Lectures/ Forum Series.