17th Annual Black New England Conference Schedule
I, Too, Sing: Art, Music, and Writing in Our BIPOC Communities
A Virtual & In-Person Conference
October 20 and 21, 2023
Northeastern University
Registration Opens Wednesday, August 30
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 offer several complimentary tickets and student scholarships to attendees.
Please inquire at info@blackheritagetrailnh.org or call 603-570-8469 for more information.
CONFERENCE TOUR #1
The World Through African-American Eyes
Thursday, October 19 | Noon | AAMARP Artist | Cost $15
Lead Artist: L'Merchie Frazier
Created in 1978 by Dr. Dana Chandler the African American Master Artists in Residency Program at Northeastern University (AAMARP) is a collective of artists, writers, and photographers under the African American Studies Program at Northeastern University. Many of the artists in the program have participated in exhibitions around the world and have been published in various books and periodicals.
For this tour, participants will visit the AAMARP studios and see the work of the fourteen master artists in residence. Participants will also get to meet some of the artists.
Studio: 76 Atherton Street in Jamaica Plain.
Boston Jazz History Walking Tour
Thursday, October 19 | 4:00 PM | Cost $25
Tour Guide: Laurel Schlegel
There was a time when the South End of Boston was home to a vibrant Jazz scene with a variety of jazz clubs lining its streets. These clubs fostered community, welcomed some of America’s jazz greats, and nurtured prominent Boston jazz musicians. Yet there is almost no trace of these spots today and little knowledge of this significant part of the city’s history. Out of the many jazz clubs started in the mid-twentieth century only Wally’s Cafe remains standing, a lone testament to the lively jazz scene that once was.
Join the “Boston Jazz History Walking Tour” to stand at the place of Boston’s once-prominent jazz clubs and learn how they contributed to Boston’s rich but little-remembered jazz history. The tour was created by a group of public history graduate students at Northeastern University.
Meeting Place: Outside the Symphony Hall
Address: Symphony Hall, 301 Massachusetts Ave, Boston, MA 02115
2023 CONFERENCE SCHEDULE, DAY #1
Friday, October 20, 2023
VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON PRESENTATIONS
11:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
PANEL #1
GENERATIONS RISING: RECOVERING LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
Forced assimilation and the violence of settler colonialism were cataclysmic to the use and preservation of Indigenous languages. Concerted efforts were directly aimed at severing the sacred thread of interconnectedness between spoken word and culture. Nevertheless, Indigenous languages have persevered, but not without significant challenges.
This presentation explores the continuance, recovery, and celebration of ancestral languages and the creative ways Indigenous artists are keeping these cultural traditions alive.
Presenter
Silvermoon LaRose, Assistant Director, Tomaquag Museum, Exeter, RI
Host
Dottie Morris, Associate Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, Keene State College, Keene, NH
12:10 P.M. – 1:10 P.M.
LUNCHTIME KEYNOTE ADDRESS
McKinley Wallace III, a mixed-media painter and art educator, paints, draws, and collages to tell stories of power manifested in resilient peoples.
Exploring race, history, and intersectionality, Wallace’s artistic ideas are often expressed in a graphic style that incorporates realism, minimalism, and hard-edge painting. "Strengthened by my role as a Black educator, I capture moments of atmospheric and direct tension and rebellion to rattle America's exclusionary ideals and legacies – choices enacted by the impact of deferring Black joy for centuries."
Host
Uta Poiger, Special Advisor on Humanics, Professor of History, Northeastern University, Boston, MA
1:20 P.M. – 2:30 P.M.
PANEL #2
THE PEOPLE COULD FLY: MYTHS, LEGENDS, FOLKTALES, AND SONG
Folklore is universal. It is the cornerstone of all cultures. It affirms and informs religious beliefs, the arts, and daily life. It reveals the moral truths that connect us. And, in our complex modern world, this form of storytelling rooted in oral traditions is taking on new significance.
In this panel, presenters share stories that will demonstrate how the BIPOC community uses folktales and folksongs to create meaning and understand the world in which we live.
Panelists
Akeia De Barros Gomes, Senior Curator at Mystic Seaport Museum, Mystic, CT - "Crossing Waters: Reclaiming Ancestry and Returning Home"
Mintzi Martinez-Rivera, Assistant Professor of English (Folklore) and Latinx Studies, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH - "La Llorona, the Wailing Woman, and her continued relevance for Latinx Communities in the United States"
Cliff Notez, Assistant Professor and Multi-media Artist, Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA - "Voodoo: Surrealism Explored in Black Music"
Moderator
Pierre Morton, Chief Diversity Officer, Franklin Pierce University, Rindge, NH
2:40 P.M. – 4:00 P.M.
PANEL #3
IN LIVING COLOR: RECONSTRUCTING THE CANON
White culture is so pervasive that marginalized communities have had no choice but to use the white canon as a touchstone for their work. The systematic use of the white canon and its impact on the thinking and behavior of BIPOC people is a legacy that cannot be ignored. But this homogeneous view also creates a space for BIPOC artists to decolonize the dominant cultural expression, shape-shifting into a vision that is more inclusive and compelling.
Panelists will explore how BIPOC artists are dismantling the white gaze.
Panelists
Melina Hill Walker, Program Director at New Hampshire Endowment for Health, Concord, NH - "From Monochromatic to Vibrant: Theater as an Expression of a People’s Culture, Heritage and History"
Denise Khor, Associate Professor of Asian American Studies and Visual Studies, Northeastern University, Boston, MA - “On Asian American Film and Media Matters”
Omarthan Clarke, Visual artist, Educator, and Advocate - "Cacophonous - Finding Inspiration Behind and Beyond the Western Canon"
Alison Rollins,
"Poetry, Imagination, and Black Creative Expression"
Moderator
Karen Dade
6:00 P.M. – 8:30 P.M.
AWARDS DINNER & KEYNOTE ADDRESS
9:00 A.M. – 10:00 A.M.
PANEL #4
A CONVERSATION WITH PLAYWRIGHT KIRSTEN GREENIDGE
Kirsten Greenidge is an American playwright whose work is known for employing realistic language to focus on social issues such as the intersectionality of race, gender, and class.
Panelist
Kirsten Greenidge, Assistant Professor of Theatre, Boston University, Boston, MA
Host
Jovanna Jones, Assistant Professor of English and African Diaspora Studies, Boston College, Boston, MA
10:15 A.M. – 11:45 A.M.
PANEL #5
RE-FRAMING THE MUSIC: HIP HOP AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE BIPOC COMMUNITY
K-Pop has become one of the most popular genres in the US, but there is one perception that it has not been able to shake -- that of cultural appropriation. This panel will explore what we mean by appreciation, what we mean by appropriation, and what happens when we cross those streams.
This panel will also explore who profits from Black culture. We know what it looks like when white performers appropriate Black culture, but what does it look like when the imitation and appropriation is coming from other BIPOC cultures?
Panelists
Frank Waln, Sicangu Lakota Hip Hop artist, Rosebud Sioux Reservation, SD - "Mitakuye Oyasin: An Indigenous Perspective On Hip Hop"
Lai Frances, Multimedia Journalist and Producer, Jersey City, NJ - "Appropriating and Appreciating in K-Pop: Discussing the earliest moments to when and where has this appreciation for Black culture began."
Mr. Goodbarz, Hip-Hop Musician and Producer, Boston, MA - "B.O.P Bringing Out Playfulness"
Moderator
Dart Adams, Journalist & Historian, Boston Globe & Boston Globe Magazine, Boston, MA
12:00 – 1:00 P.M.
LUNCHTIME KEYNOTE EVENT - “Blackness: The Words Behind My Walk”
Theo Wilson began his speaking career in the N.A.A.C.P. at the age of 15 and has always had a passion for social justice. Theo is the Executive Director of Shop Talk Live, Inc., an organization that uses the barbershop as a staging ground for community dialogue and healing. In 2017, his TED Talk entitled, A Black Man Goes Undercover in the Alt-Right, was seen worldwide, amassing a total of over 17 million views.
Theo is the host of The History Channel’s hit series, “I Was There.” He has been featured on Good Morning America, BuzzFeed, CNN, Good Day Canada, and TV One.
1:15 P.M. – 2:45 P.M.
PANEL #6
I AM THE FUTURE: INNOVATION IN THE ARTS AMONG BIPOC GROUPS
Artists of color have been historically underrepresented in the arts. This panel will explore innovative ways that the BIPOC arts community presents material for deeper engagement for learning, self-expression, activism, and social justice.
Emerging artists and scholars are mainstreaming the dialogue about race and its place in our society in their work. Panelists will come together to exchange ideas about the process that creates radical forms of art-making to educate and empower the next generation.
Panelists
C. Rose Smith, Visual Artist, Boston, MA - "Talking Back to Power in Photography and Self-Portraiture"
Sam Hyun, Director of Federal Relations, City of Boston Boston, MA
Dzidor Azaglo, African Folklore Performance Poet, Boston, MA - "Invitation of the Trickster: Prayers, Proverbs and Poems on Living, Imagining, and world-building"
Crystal Bi, Professor, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston MA - "Storytelling + Dreamwork as Spatial Justice"
Moderator
Bithiah Carter, President and Chief Executive Officer, New England Blacks in Philanthropy
3:00 P.M.
CLOSING REMARKS & A PERFORMANCE BY ADRIENNE MACK DAVIS
Adrienne Mack-Davis is a classically trained soul/hip-hop artist. Her sound is compiled of her struggles and triumphs weaving together gut-wrenching melodies and poignant positive hard-hitting lyrics.
She believes in each person being the change in their own lives and writes music to inspire that belief.
