Past Events

As we honor the incredible legacy of Black history, we also look ahead with boundless optimism and imagination. AfroFutures invites us to explore the limitless possibilities of tomorrow while celebrating the resilience, creativity, and vision of the Black community. Throughout the month of February, join us for a series of events, discussions and activities that envision and empower AfroFuturism in all its forms. From film screenings to critical conversations and Black Prom, we're charting a course toward a future where Black voices, stories and dreams shape the world.

Let's come together to celebrate, learn, and dream of the vibrant futures ahead. Stay tuned for updates on how to get involved this Black History Month with MICA! Click the link for more info and to see the full calendar of events.

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A multimedia performance installation about “human value,” Food for the Gods is a three-part expression of rage and indifference. Inspired by the killings of Black men, this work uses object and puppet performance to explore dehumanization, light, invisibility and well…the magical-less-ness of it all.

Nehprii Amenii is a Brooklyn-based writer, director, production designer and educator. As a theater artist, she has a passion for personal narratives, puppetry and grand-scale spectacle. She is known for creating experiences that dismantle the wall between players and audiences, enchant the imagination and inspire new ways of seeing and thinking. Amenii has worked with Bread & Puppet Theater, Alvin Ailey, La Mama, The O'Neill, NY Philharmonic and more. She is a member of Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab and a resident director with the Drama League. Amenii is artistic director of Khunum Productions, a platform for creative anthropology.

Food for the Gods has been presented at Sarah Lawrence College, The University of Cape Town, South Africa, Connecticut Repertory Theatre and La MaMa Experimental Theatre Company, NYC.

Learn more here.

The last quarter of the twentieth century witnessed vigorous debates about the functions, aesthetics, and funding of public art in the United States. Some questioned the appropriateness of sponsoring art projects that showed the country's shortcomings or promoted non-elite perspectives. Simultaneously, others looked at abstract public art and wondered whether artists have become too elitist and out of touch. Alonzo Davis became a leading creator, administrator, and educator of public art in the midst of these fierce debates. In this exhibit, we explore how Davis navigated this tumultuous period while maintaining his belief that art can promote social justice. "The Public Art of Alonzo Davis" is created by Master of Library and Information Science students in the "Arrangement, Description and Access for Archives" course at the University of Maryland under the supervision of Dr. Eric Hung. It uses materials from the Alonzo Davis Papers archived at The David C. Driskell Center. The project is made possible by the work of David Conway and Karina Nelson, archivists at the Driskell Center, and their student assistants. Tonight's event is co-sponsored by The David C. Driskell Center and Center for Archival Futures (CAFé) at the College of Information Studies.

This event will be followed by the reception (7 pm – 8 pm).

Learn more here.

Sara Rahnama is an Assistant Professor of History at Morgan State University and the author of The Future is Feminist: Women and Social Change in Interwar Algeria, forthcoming with Cornell University Press. The Future is Feminist examines how commentators saw women’s advancement as key to a prosperous and modern future for Algeria. Her writing has appeared in both academic and popular spaces, including Gender & History, French Historical Studies, and The Washington Post. She was formerly a fellow at the Library of Congress’s Kluge Center.

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The Department of African American Studies is thrilled to welcome Dr. Jenn M. Jackson from Syracuse University - Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs!  

Abstract:

The contemporary moment requires that all those who are interested and invested in the preservation and perpetuation of Black life take full stock of the work that Black communities have long performed away from public sight. The creation of physical spaces for the deliberation of Black struggle and the centering of political imagination have been the life-blood of grassroots politics and their sustained pressure on the American political system. In this talk, Jackson will discuss their concept of the "radical intersectional sphere," a site for the creation of movement organizing, radical rememory, and the building of revolutionary Black futures. This work extends beyond their existing work on abolition and racial threat and asks, simply, "what counterpublics and alternative spheres have young Black Americans already created to (re)imagine the potential for Black life?"

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The Fragility of Strong Ties: Kinship, Marriage and Child Outcomes in Nairobi, Kenya

Dr. Sangeetha Madhavan (African American Studies and Sociology) and Dr. Kirsten Stoebenau (Behavioral and Community Health) are our featured speakers.

The study of kinship and marriage has loomed large in social science scholarship in Africa. However, both are undergoing significant transformation on the continent due to multiple factors including increased labor force participation of women, changing gender roles, insufficient employment opportunities, changing marriage practices, migration and urbanization. Yet we do not have robust data on these two key social institutions both of which are vitally important to protecting the health of women and children. In this presentation, we describe the JAMO project, an NIH funded mixed methods longitudinal study of kinship, marriage and child well-being in two low-income communities in Nairobi, Kenya and share some of our findings from data collected so far.

The event will be held on November 13 at 1:30pm at H.J. Patterson Hall, room 2124, and will also be available via Zoom for online attendees. Online attendees must register to receive a Zoom link. In person attendees are strongly encouraged to register. Light refreshments will be served. 

Learn more and register to attend.

Please join us for a talk exploring the history of Black women organizing in DC around housing rights.

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Andre Odendaal, the pioneering historian of black political organization in South Africa, will speak about his new book and discuss constitutionalism in the frame of recurring crises in South Africa’s government and services. The moderator will be Professor Paul Landau.

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In this talk, prominent activist, writer, poet, and cultural entrepreneur, Efray Yerday, will ask questions about the fluidity of blackness and whiteness in the Israeli context, especially within the Israeli Jewish community, which reflects diverse as well as conflicting histories and legacies that revolve around race and ethnicity.

Learn more and register here.

Join us for a GEOG seminar special edition on Nov. 6 from 10 a.m. to noon at STAMP and on Zoom. Assistant Professor Sheena Michele Mason from SUNY Oneonta will explore the intersection of human migration and DNA research, drawing from her upcoming book, "The Raceless Antiracist: Why Ending Race Is the Future of Antracism."

Through her work, Dr. Mason challenges conventional beliefs about the construct of "race" and invites attendees to examine their cultural upbringing. She presents findings from the Theory of Racelessness, a framework that redefines traditional notions of “race,” culture, and language.

This seminar offers an exploration of ideas surrounding “race,” human migration, and language. Dr. Mason's commitment to questioning the status quo makes this event essential for anyone dedicated to fostering an inclusive antiracist society. Don't miss this opportunity to engage with scholarship. Join a vital conversation on dismantling the concept of “race” for a more inclusive future without racism.

Learn more and register here.

We want to formally invite you to join us during Black Health Week: a fun-filled week with different workshops and interactive activities that offer an opportunity for Black students to learn more about important aspects of identity, cultural experiences, mental health, physical well-being, and different ways to thrive! This will also be a great time
for self-expression and finding community.

Join us for:

Recwell: Health Day (Monday, 11/06)
Gendered Racial Microaggressions and Radical Healing for Black Women (Tuesday, 11/07)
Dance Workshop (Wednesday, 11/08)
Resistance, Resilience, and Restoration: Promoting Joy and Wellness for Black Men  (Thursday, 11/09)
Paint & Sip Event (Friday, 11/10)

Check us out on instagram @racclab for specific details about each event.

It’s going to be a fun-filled week with food, treats, and giveaways (along with various grand prizes at the end of the week!). Please note that this event is only for undergraduate students, graduate students, and post-bac students. So, come out and bring a friend! Professors, post-docs, and staff please share this with your students.

Register here.

As part of the University of Maryland Libraries' year-long programming accompanying the new major exhibition, Rising Up: 100 Years of Student Activism for Justice and Civil Rights at the University of Maryland, we are happy to announce Creating Liberating Spaces: Activists, Archivists, Librarians and Social Justice: A Talk with Mariame Kaba.

Mariame Kaba is an educator, organizer, and librarian who is active in movements for racial, gender, and transformative justice. She is the founder and director of Project NIA, a grassroots abolitionist organization with a vision to end youth incarceration. Mariame co-leads the initiative Interrupting Criminalization, a project she co-founded with Andrea Ritchie in 2018. She has co-founded multiple organizations and projects over the years including We Charge Genocide, the Chicago Freedom School, the Chicago Taskforce on Violence against Girls and Young Women, Chicago Alliance to Free Marissa Alexander (now Love & Protect), Just Practice Collaborative, Survived & Punished, and For the People Leftist Library Project.

Learn more and register here.

South African Narratives of Wellness

Dr. GerShun Avilez from the Department of English is our featured speaker. In this talk, Avilez will offer an overview of his research as it pertains to South African literature and history. Specifically, he will discuss two lines of inquiry in his work: (1) mental health legislation and (2) the public rhetoric surrounding HIV. From these two vantage points, he will demonstrate how the realm of literary production provides insight on state and popular understandings of health in South African life. In charting the historical and medical discourse surrounding mental health and HIV/AIDS in South Africa in the late 20th century, the talk will show how the literary texts under consideration re-imagine what wellness means in contemporary South Africa.

The event will be held on October 30 at 2pm at H.J. Patterson Hall, room 2124, and will also be available via Zoom for online attendees. Online attendees must register to receive a Zoom link. In person attendees are strongly encouraged to register. Light refreshments will be served. 

Learn more and register to attend.

You're invited to The Bowie State University and The University of Maryland Social Justice Alliance's Social Justice Workshop! The theme of this meeting is Healing from the Trauma of Racism and will be led by Dr. Tony Richard.

The purpose of this community meeting is to foster a creative and collaborative spirit among and between Bowie State University and the University of Maryland, by cultivating an environment where differences are used to build an inclusive community that supports the interruption of oppressive patterns, individual and collective responsibility, power sharing across dominant and subordinated social identity groups, and love. This is an interactive workshop meant to spark dialogue, collaboration and understanding.

Learn more and register to attend.

Black Patience: Performance, Civil Rights, and the Unfinished Project of Emancipation

Black Patience: Performance, Civil Rights, and the Unfinished Project of Emancipation (2022) reconsiders the Civil Rights Movement from the perspective of black theatre. It argues that theatre—like television and photography—was a vital tool of civil rights activism and a crucial site of black artistic and cultural production. During this historical moment, black artists and activists turned to the stages of Broadway. They produced plays in the Netherlands, and in U.S. prisons. They performed in the cotton fields of Mississippi, once dodging a bomb tossed from the audience to the stage. Analyzing a largely underexplored, transnational archive of black theatre, this book charts a new cultural and political history of the Civil Rights Movement, and offers new routes to perennial questions about race, gender, sexuality, performance, and black political modernity.

Learn more and register here.

Dr. Wheeler will speak on the intricate dynamics that shapes the relationship between language, race, and identity. Through a keen raciolinguistic lens, she examines the transformative power of language in shaping our sense of self and our place in the world.

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Join UMD Libraries for an opening reception celebrating our new major exhibition, Rising Up: 100 Years of Student Activism for Justice and Civil Rights at the University of Maryland. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet the exhibit’s curators, hear from speakers who will share experiences about their struggle for civil rights and social justice, and participate in guided tours of the exhibit. The exhibit will be on display in Hornbake Library during the 2023-2024 academic year, and features archival photos, oral histories, multimedia displays, and memorabilia documenting the history of student activism at the University of Maryland.

Learn more and register here.

Many see the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to end race-conscious admissions as the latest attempt to politicize and restrict diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in education.

National expert on racial equity Dr. Shaun Harper will lead a timely conversation on the challenges facing educators and institutions that promote DEI efforts, strategies for advancing equity work, and the importance of fostering an inclusive learning environment.

Learn more and register here.

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the publication of Dr. Richardson's book, The Queer Limit of Black Memory: Black Lesbian Literature and Irresolution., scholars, authors, and artists come together for a day of panels and performances.

Learn more and register here.