The Black Women’s Brunch will be held on Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. at the Corvallis Museum at 411 SW Second St., and the RSVP can be found here.  

For the third year in a row, this event will create a space for bringing together a welcoming environment for Black women who are “pivotal figures” within their community. 

Attendees can expect their brunch to be catered by Mermosa PDX, a Black women-owned restaurant in Portland.

The theme of the brunch is “All About Love,” inspired by and named after a book by the same name written by Bell Hooks. Attendees who RSVP with the link above will be given a copy for free as part of a gift bag, which will include products made for Black women or items made by Black women. The gift bags are themed to promote relaxation and healing.

This event is being done in a collaborative effort by two of Oregon State University’s cultural resource centers, the Lonnie B. Harris Black Cultural Center and the Hattie Redmond Women and Gender Center.

Milki Mohammed, one of the event’s co-founders and a community relations representative at the BCC, said she had an idea, but no vision of what to do to create a space to allow for a gathering where Black women could all come together.

“I felt that Black women didn’t have a space to be unapologetically Black. I wanted to create a space where we could come together and build community,” Mohammed said.

After the COVID-19 lockdowns were lifted and students returned to campus, Mohammed was able to meet a coworker who she had spent the last year working with remotely.

They agreed on brunch to gradually get to know each other, and it was during that first meeting they realized they could use brunch as the perfect event to make her vision a reality: cultivating an environment where Black women can freely express their authentic selves without apology. 

Mohammed added that the event would nurture the joy and power that Black women experience through shared connections and to embrace and celebrate their individuality.

She said it was important to establish an ethos of supporting Black businesses when looking for vendors for the event, and that community support is what helps the brunch event stay successful year after year. 

“One thing about us girls, we love a good brunch,” Mohammed said.

For more information, follow the BCC on Instagram for future community events and the WGC on their Instagram for future community events and classes.