Artwork by Helina Metaferia
Manchester, NH
Leadership of Black Women, an extraordinarily prescient topic in 2020, is the focus of the two day 14th Annual Black New England Conference, entitled Black Women Rock: Leading the Charge for Social and Political Change, Friday and Saturday September 25 & 26, 2020. The conference presented each fall by the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, combines the scholarship of an academic conference and the joyfulness of celebrating Black life and history.
JerriAnne Boggis, Executive Director of the Trail, explains the origin of the decision to spotlight this issue at this time, “We select our program a year in advance. At the time Stacey Abrams was doing great work on voter suppression. And Black women were starting to be recognized more for their activism and for their foundational role in so many movements. As we looked toward 2020 as an election year, we thought spotlighting Black women would be a perfect topic.”
And this year, Covid-19 has thrown a curveball but the Trail has risen to the occasion by moving the two-day conference online, with the assistance of its partner, Southern New Hampshire University, which will produce the event.
Boggis explains, “There’s a silver living with the virtual platform since we will be able to broaden our reach beyond an in-person New England conference to embrace a national and international audience. And, beyond the vital conference topic itself, we expect that we’ll be able to introduce a larger audience to the important work of the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire – that of promoting awareness and appreciation of African American history and life in order to build more inclusive communities today. We believe attendees will appreciate hearing about our signature events – Spring Symposium, Sankofa Walking Tours, Juneteenth Celebration, Frederick Douglass Community Readings, Black New England Conference each fall, and Winter Tea Talks.”
The 14th Black New England Conference will celebrate, examine, and make visible Black women’s leadership and activism in fights for political and social change. Panelists will discuss Black women’s leadership and activism in a variety of social and political arenas—the classroom, the courtroom, business and economics, technology, the environment, the arts, religion, government, and others. Six panels anchor the conference on the following topics: Black Women as Purveyors of Change; Body Politics & Movements Toward the Sacred; Black Women’s Present-Day Leadership & Activism; Activism Through The Arts; Black Women in Electoral Politics; and The Next Generation. Attendees will hear three keynote addresses: lunchtime presentations by Sheryl Lee Ralph, Tony-nominated actress (Dreamgirls) and activist who created the DIVA Foundation devoted to AIDS advocacy; and US Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA), the first Black woman elected to Boston City Council and to the US Congress from Massachusetts. Friday evening’s conference keynote will be delivered by Susan L. Taylor, founder and CEO of National CARES Mentoring Movement (and Editor-in-Chief Emerita, Essence Magazine).
As artists and activists, politicians and pundits, Black women continue to stand on the front line and lead the charge for social and political change. From Sojourner Truth calling for the abolition of slavery and for women’s rights to Tarana Burke coining “Me Too” in 2006, Black women have played a vital role in the political and social (re)formation of the United States, even as their leadership and activism has often been eclipsed and erased.
The Black New England Conference, now in its 14th year, is an annual two-day gathering, presented by the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, in which academics, artists, activists, and community members share insights and research on Black experiences, past and present, in New England and beyond. The Conference is both an academic conference and a celebration of Black life and history.
Registration Information and Conference Schedule
https://blackheritagetrailnh.org/website/2020bnec/
Conference Sponsors include, at the Visionary Level: TD Bank; NH Charitable Foundation; SNHU; at the Benefactor Level: Eversource: Geoffery E and Martha Fuller Clark Foundation; UNH; at the Innovator Level: Delta Dental; and at the Explorer Level: Bangor Savings Bank.
