The regional conferences and convenings listed below have been organized by the Partner institutions in CIC’s Legacies of American Slavery initiative. Each program has its own registration process, so please visit the specific website or contact the listed organizer for more details. Although the programs have a regional focus, faculty and staff member from CIC institutions in other parts of the country are strongly encouraged to participate! Limited travel subsidies may be available for CIC faculty and staff members from outside each region—please contact the local organizer and Philip M. Katz at CIC (pkatz@cic.edu).
September 9–10 ● Meredith College (Raleigh, NC)
Voices of Change Conference
This conference provides a collaborative educational, action-oriented space for those who want to study and support the voices of Black women and women of color seeking to bring change to the political system in the United States, starting with North Carolina. We will strategize about ways to elevate the political voices of Black people and people of color in the face of sustained efforts to silence those voices.
Website ● For more information, email legacies@meredith.edu
September 23–24 ● Austin College (Sherman, TX)
Confronting Racial Violence and Resistance
This convening will highlight ongoing work to identify racial violence and resistance as legacies of American slavery, confronting those histories of violence and lifting up strategies of resistance. Bringing together community leaders, writers, artists, scholars, educators, and students, this convening will acknowledge and address such legacies with a particular focus on the Texas-Oklahoma region. Looking at everything from community history and commemoration efforts to the visual arts and creative writing, we invite you to join us to learn, contribute, and move the conversation forward in spaces designed for generating conversations and sharing experiences.
Website ● For more information, email Felix Harcourt (fharcourt@austincollege.edu)
October 6–8 ● Sewanee: The University of the South (Sewanee, TN)
Memory Works: A Symposium on Remembering and Reckoning with Slavery’s Legacies
The symposium will spotlight ongoing initiatives that community organizations, colleges, and universities have undertaken, often in innovative partnerships, to identify, confront, and alter the legacies of slavery that still resonate in their local environments. It will bring together community leaders, museum professionals, scholars, and students in a small and friendly setting designed for generating conversations, sharing experiences, and workshopping new approaches to commemoration for a region that still reflects a century of fealty to the “Lost Cause.” Registration deadline: September 15, 2022.
Website ● For more information, email Kathleen Solomon (krsolomo@sewanee.edu)
October 21–22 ● Lewis University (Romeoville, IL)
Confines of Place: The Intersections of Race, Place, Migration and Mass Incarceration as Legacies of American Slavery
Not enough attention has been paid to the histories and contemporary experiences of race, place, migration, mass incarceration and their intersections in smaller towns, cities, and suburbs. At Lewis University, located 35 miles southwest of Chicago, many enduring legacies of enslavement are present in policies and practices that have created and continue to sustain racial exclusion through contemporary realities of segregation, redlining, criminalization, and incarceration that disproportionally affect African American communities near the nation’s third largest city. This convening will bring together activists, artists, practitioners, scholars, students, as well as both formerly incarcerated and directly impacted people to illuminate lived experiences, research, visual art, music, and other creative practices on the themes of “Race, Place, and Migration” and “Mass Incarceration,” as well as wellness and healing as they relate to those seeking justice. Registration deadline: October 14, 2022.
Website ● For more information, email Tennille Allen (allente@lewisu.edu)
October 28–29 ● Dillard University (New Orleans, LA)
Rising from the Depths of Slavery: Legacies of Cultural Expression
As a Partner in the national Legacies of American Slavery network, Dillard University is focusing on the broad theme of “cultural creativity”—defined as cultural expression in all its forms, whenever it has been used to understand and cope with slavery and its aftermath. The conference will bring together regional and national scholars from a variety of disciplines and expertise to explore the sub-themes of food, music, and tourism. The program includes a poster session, cooking demonstrations, walking tours, and night of curated music. Registration deadline: October 20, 2022.
Website ● For more information, email Zella Palmer (zpalmer@dillard.edu) or Jessica Bantum (jbantum@dillard.edu)
November 11–12 ● Centenary College of Louisiana (Shreveport, LA) and Huston-Tillotson University (Austin, TX)
Legacies of American Slavery and Resistance: Race, Health, and Medicine
This conference will bring together academics, health practitioners, students, and community members to discuss how the legacies of American slavery continue to affect the health of our communities and strategies we can use to overcome them. There will be conference events at both institutions and a common keynote address. The organizers are seeking panels and workshops from any discipline or perspective addressing the intersection between the legacies of American slavery and health. Interdisciplinary, community-facing approaches are especially welcome. Registration deadline: October 14, 2022.
Website ● For more information, email Christopher Ciocchetti (cciocchetti@centenary.edu)