Black and African Representation and Identities in the Arts and Other Cultural Spaces
Black and African Representation and Identities in the Arts and Other Cultural Spaces
Monday, September 21, 2026 | 1:30-3:30 PM | H.J. Patterson, 2124 and 2130
Join us for the ATLAS Monthly Speaker Series! Faculty from across the College of Arts and Humanities will discuss and explore Black and African representation and identities in the arts and other spaces of cultural production. This roundtable discussion will be followed by a Q&A/audience discussion. A light reception and a short poetry reading will take place prior to the roundtable discussion.
Five-time Grammy Award winner and humanitarian Angélique Kidjo sits down with College of Arts and Humanities Dean Stephanie Shonekan for a poignant conversation about music, cultural fluency and global advocacy. Named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world and “Africa’s premier diva,” Kidjo hails from Benin and blends musical traditions from West Africa and around the globe while incorporating multiple languages, including her own personal musical language.
From October 22-25th, 2026 the international Universities Studying Slavery (USS) consortium will host its fall conference in College Park on the campus of the University of Maryland. The conference is organized by The 1856 Project, whose members include historians, archivists, librarians, and community members. This project interprets the history of slavery at UMD and the larger African American experience at the university and in the state of Maryland. 
“What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up / like a raisin in the sun?” - Langston Hughes