ABOUT KLT CONFERENCE™ 2015

Health. Beauty. Environment.

The Kinks, Locks and Twists Conference™ will take place in the Hill District on April 22nd-April 26th.

The Kinks, Locks and Twists Conference™ was created as a signature event during Women of Color HERStory Month® – a citywide celebration of women of color hosted annually between February 15 – March 15 presented by New Voices Pittsburgh.

This year we have decided to host the conference in April in order to incorporate Earth day and to honor our deepening commitment to our Environmental Justice Project. Symbolized through the adinkra symbol Asase Ye Duru, or the earth has weight, we pay homage to mother earth and the many gifts she has and continues to offer us. We recommit ourselves as stewards of the earth and to our enduring legacy as women of color healers and keepers of earth’s wisdom.

The goal of the KLT Conference™ during the first two years was for women of color in Pittsburgh to discuss how our pursuit of elusive standards of beauty impacted our health and well-being. The politics of Black hair specifically served as the compelling access point for women of color to enter conversations about Environmental and Reproductive Justice.

KLT has expanded to explore a broad range of important environmental issues from the high rates of asthma in some of Pittsburgh’s most marginalized neighborhoods, fracking in Pennsylvania and toxic hair, makeup and personal products and their relationship to a host of reproductive cancers.

The 7th Annual Kinks, Locks & Twists Conference™ will transform the Hill District into a living campus utilizing green space, farms, parks, historical sites and the entire Hill House complex. We will offer a five-day experience of workshops, skill shares, plenaries, DIY farm and gardening trainings, the Asase Ye Duru Family Festival, the Black Hair Institute and health and wellness tutorials.

We will be offering Green Tours, highlighting the dynamic history and contributions of the Hill District as well as the abundance of green space affirming the identity of the Hill as a “Village in the Woods.” Conference participants will build community with one another and explore the connections between beauty, culture, policy, media, and the environment.