As the first speaker of the inaugural Ousley Lecture, Dr. Moya Bailey will be discussing the significance of being the first in her own life and in the lives of prominent Black women. She complicates the celebration of the first by weaving in the silent struggle and hardship of being first, tackling the misogynoir that hides in the shadow of success.

Dr. Bailey’s work focuses on marginalized groups’ use of digital media to promote social justice as acts of self-affirmation and health promotion. She is interested in how race, gender, and sexuality are represented in media and medicine. She currently curates the #transformDH Tumblr initiative in Digital Humanities. She is also the digital alchemist for the Octavia E. Butler Legacy Network. She is an assistant professor in the department of Cultures, Societies, and Global Studies and the program in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Northeastern University.