15th Annual Black New England Conference:
Crossing River Jordan:
Healing Racial Wounds Through Accountability & Truth-Telling
A Virtual Conference
October 22 and 23, 2021
We want to ensure that this conference is available to all who are interested in attending. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, we can reduce the registration fee and offer several complimentary tickets and student scholarships to attendees. Please inquire at info@blackheritagetrailnh.org or call 603-570-8469 for more information.
CONFERENCE VIRTUAL TOUR #1
Never Caught: The Washingtons & Ona Marie Judge in NH
A living history virtual tour with Sonya Martino as Ona Marie Judge Stains
During the Spring of 1796, George Washington’s final months in office, Ona Judge, an enslaved woman held by the First Family, escaped the Executive Mansion in Philadelphia with the aid of that city’s free Black community and made her way to Portsmouth. On this tour, you will hear the true story of Ona’s quest for freedom and the President’s relentless efforts to get her back. See the waterfront where she landed and visit the properties of some of early America’s most powerful families whose stories were also bound to hers.
View virtual tour here
CONFERENCE VIRTUAL TOUR #2
Meet Jack Staines, a “Black Jack” in Historic Old Portsmouth
A living history virtual tour with Kevin Wade Mitchel as sailor Jack Stains
Seafaring was one of the most significant occupations among both enslaved and free Black men between 1740 and 1865. Black sailors sailed on whalers, warships, and privateers. Some were enslaved and forced to work at sea, but by 1800 most sailors were free to seek adventure and economic opportunity aboard ships. On this tour, you will meet a mariner who was also husband to Ona Marie Judge, the escaped woman who was enslaved by the President and Martha Washington. Experience old Portsmouth through the stories of Jack Staines, one of the seafarers known as a “Black Jack.”
View virtual tour here
2021 Conference Schedule
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2021
VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS
Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, NH
8:45 AM WEBINAR WAITING ROOM OPENS
OPENING EVENT
9:00 – 9:15 AM
THE CALL OF THE DRUMS: HONORING THE ANCESTORS
Featuring
Chief Wándé Abímbọ́lá & Dr. Robert Bellinger
The Conference opens with a special traditional African healing ceremony with drumming and chants to honor the ancestors, and to heal the community.
View opening event here
9:15 – 10:45 AM
PANEL #1
THE PAST IS NOT PAST: HISTORICAL BLACK PRACTICES OF SURVIVAL & CLAIMS TO FREEDOM
From the moment of capture, through the treacherous Middle Passage, after the final sale, and throughout their lives in the Western Hemisphere, the experience of enslaved Africans was characterized by loss, terror, and horrific abuse. Yet somehow they managed to survive, foster community, and maintain an unwavering belief in their own humanity. What sustained them? What beliefs did they bring from their homeland that allowed them to find hope in deep despair? Where did this abiding faith in the ultimate triumph of good over evil come from? This panel will explore these questions and more.
Panelists:
Chief Wándé Abímbọ́lá, Author & Educator on African Cosmology, Boston, MA
"The Faith of Our Ancestors"
Rev. Robert Thompson, African American Spirituals, Exeter, NH
"Songs of Sustenance"
Christopher Cameron, Professor of History, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
"African Americans and Religious Liberalism in Colonial and Revolutionary New England"
Moderator:
Deborah Karyn King, Associate Professor of Sociology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
View panel presentation here
10:45 – Noon
PANEL #2
A CHECK UNCASHED: PAST & PRESENT PROJECTS FOR REPARATIONS
In 1963, when Dr. King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech, he began not with a utopian image of racial harmony but with the metaphor of a bad check. It is a stark description, an accusation articulated in blunt, economic terms on a debt of justice owed to a people. What would a “good” check entail? What are fair and just reparations? What would constitute genuine and meaningful repair? Panelists will discuss the complexities inherent in addressing these issues and share their thoughts on why more than a century and a half after slavery was abolished, reparations remain an emotionally charged and unresolved issue.
Panelists:
Davarian Baldwin, Professor of American Studies, Trinity College, Hartford, CT
"The Reparations Movement in Higher Education"
Alan Bean, Executive Director Friends of Justice, Arlington, TX
“Why Reparations Talk Makes White People Crazy”
Kathleen Anderson, Female Co-Chair, New England Chapter N’COBRA, Amherst, MA
“Reparations Are Overdue”
Moderator:
Dottie Morris, Associate Vice President for Institutional Diversity & Equity, Keene State College, Keene, NH
View panel presentation here
12:30 PM
LUNCHTIME KEYNOTE ADDRESS FEATURING
Berwick Mahdi Davenport
ACCOUNTABILITY & TRUTH-TELLING
“A movement without accountability is like a lion in the wild without teeth!” Truth is the lion’s roar. Accountability is his teeth!
Berwick Mahdi Davenport, AKA “M” is a social justice, anti-racist facilitator with more than thirty years of experience. Mahdi is a pioneer in the field of Life Coaching. He is a coach who coaches coaches, facilitating and mentoring thousands of leaders from all over the globe. M is the prodigy behind the Ego Reduction Formula, which makes possible the integration of social & political consciousness with spiritual consciousness. M is a celebrated author and loving father of three very beautiful daughters.
View lunch time address here
1:30 – 3:00 PM
PANEL #3
TELL IT TRUE: HEALING THROUGH PUBLIC MEMORY & MEMORIALS
The current upsurge of memorials honoring forgotten or marginalized histories serve multiple purposes. Arguably, they stand as retroactive tokens of recognition and symbols of social and personal recovery, as well as a unifying force for communities. Or do they instead, by recognizing our tragic past, deepen the lines of division and further open the wounds inflicted by tragedy and violence? This panel of artists will explore the roles we assign to memorials and the value they may bring to our societies. As tools that go beyond remembrance, do they create opportunities for racial healing and encourage reconciliation?
Panelists:
Michelle Browder, Sculptor, and Community Artist, Montgomery, AL
"Properly Honoring and Memorializing the Mothers of Gynecology"
Imari Paris Jeffries, Executive Director, King Boston, Boston, MA
“A Living Memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King”
Jerome Meadows, sculptor and studio artist, Savannah, GA
“The Impact of Public Memorials on Truth-Telling and Racial Healing”
Liz Wright, Professor, & English Graduate Faculty, University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN
“Recognizing Native Burying Grounds”
Moderator:
Nadine Petty, Associate Vice President for Community, Equity, and Diversity, Chief Diversity Officer
6:00 – 8:30 PM | In-Person | The New Hampshire Institute of Politics | St. Anslem College
AWARDS DINNER & KEYNOTE ADDRESS FEATURING
Dr. Robert Livingston
"THE CONVERSATION"
How seeking and speaking the truth about racism can radically transform individuals
Dr. Robert Livingston is a social psychologist and one of the nation’s leading experts on the science underlying bias and racism. For two decades, he has served as a diversity consultant to scores of Fortune 500 companies, public-sector agencies, and non-profit organizations. Prior to joining the Harvard Kennedy School in 2015, he held professorships at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and the University of Sussex, where he was the chair of the organizational behavior area as well as the founder and faculty director of Centre for Leadership, Ethics, and Diversity (LEAD).
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2021
VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS
Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, NH
8:45 AM WEBINAR WAITING ROOM OPENS
9:00 – 10:15 AM
PANEL #4
MY HOME IS OVER JORDAN: THE ROLE OF RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY IN BLACK HEALING
Henry Louis Gates Jr., in his book The Black Church, speaks of the debate over whether enslaved Africans’ embrace of Christianity under slavery was a positive or negative force. Some argued that the Black Church was an example of Karl Marx’s indictment of religion as “the opium of the people” because it gave to the oppressed false comfort and hope. This panel will explore the role of religion in the African American community from its role as the source of spiritual guidance to that of community activism.
Panelists:
Pamela Ayo Yetunde, Center of the Heart, Saint Paul, MN
"Truth-Telling in an Age of "Alternative Facts"
Rev. Lauren Smith, Director of Stewardship and Development, Unitarian Universalist Association, Boston, MA
"Healing and Challenges in the Black Church"
Rev. Effie McAvoy, Pastor, York-Ogunquit United Methodist Church, York, ME
"Christian, Queer, and Black: Yes, Faith is an Option"
Moderator:
Chris Matthews, Professor, Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, NH
View panel presentation here
10:30 – 11:45 AM
PANEL #5
THE RIGHT TO BE WHOLE: NEW MODES FOR HEALING GENERATIONAL & HISTORICAL BLACK TRAUMA
Over the past few years, racial tensions have once again become more vocal and socially normalized. In this cycle of unrest, trauma-inducing events are more visible due to social media. Those who are disenfranchised are showing the world their mistreatment through videos and status updates, thus demanding accountability. This panel will examine the trauma and brokenness that African Americans experience in a radicalized society and explore ways in which communities can engage in a healing process that will produce personal, relational, communal, societal, and global restoration.
Panelists:
Sheila Wise Rowe, Executive Director, Rehoboth House, Nahant, MA
"Transcending Racial Trauma"
Geneva Ree Taylor, Community Engagement Specialist, Office of Police Accountability
"Healing Through Restorative Practice"
Moderator:
Melina Hill Walker, Program Director, Endowment for Health, Concord, NH
View panel presentation here
12:00 – 1:00 PM
LUNCHTIME KEYNOTE ADDRESS FEATURING
Yvette Modestin
GUIDED BY THE WHISPERS OF THE ANCESTORS
Yvette Modestin- Lepolata Aduke- is a writer, poet, and activist who was born and raised in Colon, Panama. Ms. Modestin was named one of “30 Afro Latinas you should know.” She is the Founder/Executive Director of Encuentro Diaspora Afro in Boston, MA. Ms. Modestin has been profiled by the Boston Globe as "The Uniter'' for her work in bringing the Latin American and African American community together and for her activism in building a voice for the Afro Latino Community. She was named an “Influeyentes” in Panama by the President and the First Lady for her advocacy in bringing attention to the struggle of the black communities in Panama with a focus on her home province of Colon. Ms. Modestin received the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ by El Mundo Boston newspaper, one of the oldest Latino newspapers in New England in October 2021. Ms. Modestin is also the Diaspora Coordinator of the Red de Mujeres Afrolatinoamericanas, Afrocaribeñas y de la Diáspora, an international network of Afro descendent women.
View panel presentation here
1:15 – 2:30 PM
PANEL #6
I’LL FLY AWAY: HOW WE MOVE FORWARD FROM HERE
Under international human rights law, governments have an obligation to provide effective remedies for violations of human rights. The right to remedy and reparation is a longstanding legal standard where people who individually or collectively suffered harm should receive full and effective reparations that are proportional to the gravity of the violation and the cumulative harm suffered. Reparation, as defined by international human rights standards, includes the Restitution, Compensation, Rehabilitation, Satisfaction, and Guarantees of non-repetition. For this panel, presenters will discuss strategies, tools, and skills that can bring about Collective Healing as well as share a variety of restorative projects that have potential as agents of transformation, restoration, and social justice.
Panelists:
Belvie Rooks, Author, Educator, and Co-Founder, Growing a Global Heart
"El Mina Slave Dungeon Heartbreak: What Would Healing Look Like?"
Kabir Hypolite, Board of Directors, Peace at Any Pace, Oakland, CA
“In Search of Hypolites: Making Sense of My African and Native American Ancestry”
Loretta Brady, Professor, Psychology and Director, Requity Labs Saint Anselm College, Manchester, NH
"Rivers of Health": Campus explorations of river ecology, enslavement, economics, and health equity through games".
Moderator:
Bithiah Carter, President/CEO, New England Blacks in Philanthropy, Boston, MA
View panel presentation here
CLOSING EVENT
Remarks by BHTNH Board President, Dennis Britton
