30th Annual Africana Studies Conference to be Held at CCSU

“Explore the power of the word,” the CCSU Center for Africana Studies says, inviting people to the 30th Annual Africana Studies Conference at CCSU

The free conference is to be held on March 7, 2024 from 1:00pm to 5:00pm at CCSU’s Memorial Hall.

The Center says that,

This year, attendees will explore the theme “The Word from the Griot to the Pulpit to Hip Hop.” Throughout the day, speakers and panelists will examine the oral narratives that have illuminated the lives of African peoples of the continent and the diaspora, from past to present. This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Daniel Black, a novelist and professor of African American Studies at Clark Atlanta University.

Event organizers go on to say that,

African people have used various means and venues to communicate their world views while also resisting their marginalization. Through the literature of writers such as Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, August Wilson and others, their words helped shape how we see the lives of African peoples. Martin King, Malcolm X, and Nelson Mandela’s words reshaped a nation. Additionally, 50 years later we celebrate the global power of Hip Hop.

Later in the day attendees will have the opportunity to explore the power of language during an interactive poetry workshop

“Registration begins at 12:30 p.m.,” conference organizers say. “The conference will take place in the Constitution Room at Memorial Hall. For more information, contact Anthropology Chair Evelyn Phillips at Phillipse@CCSU.edu/.”

CCSU says that, “Parking will be available in the Student Center parking lot and Welte garage.”