Global Blackness in the 21st Century Conference

Black Femicide and Morrisonian Democracy

Kimberlé Crenshaw argues that “There’s never been a moment in our society where there’s been a reckoning with the particular kinds of violence that’s meted out against Black women.” In this lecture, Threadcraft challenges Crenshaw’s assertion that such a reckoning is necessary and argue that Toni Morrison’s conception of democracy, a conception practiced by ephemeral collectives of Black women throughout history and today, is best for responding to the disproportionate violence to which Black women are subject.

“Garífuna People and Culture,” a World Heritage by Emilio Alvarez Quioto

A talk about the fascinating Garífuna culture, its history, and its diaspora—from its land of origin (Saint Vincent) to its current settlements (Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, and the USA). We will explore Garifuna customs, their present reality, and some significant musical aspects of their culture.

In this performance, Emilio will present songs with a traditional Garífuna musical base, today popularly known as “Parranda.” In its original traditional format, this performance was performed in local festivities, while visiting friends, or for those who wanted to share with the “Parranderos Musicians” making tours from house to house, especially on important festivities.

The songs were accompanied by guitar, donkey’s jaw, and snail. In its modern form, the bands added other elements, such as the bass and the electric guitar, giving a particular unique color to this Garífuna form of performance. The Parranda lyrics deal with themes linked to daily life, love, heartbreak, complaints, memories, life and death, and other topics linked to our vision of the world as Garífunas.

Presenter 1: Oluwatosin Ibidokun | Williams College

Discursive Tensions Between Reconciliation and Justice: An Analysis of Conflict Resolution in Post-Genocide Rwanda’s Gacaca Courts

The gacaca courts established in post-genocide Rwanda are often lauded as a means of conflict resolution system in the 21st century that sought to reconcile Tutsi victims with Hutu perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide of the late 20th century. The name gacaca refers back to traditional mediation gatherings in pre colonial Rwandan society that sought to ensure social harmony by seeking to acknowledge the wrong doing perpetrated and redress the harm doing  towards the victim. In the decades after the genocide, gacaca courts became a state-ordered mechanism to prosecute perpetrators of the genocide with the aims of reconciliation between perpetrators and victims and the enforcement of national unity. However, many have critiqued the efficacy of the post-genocide gacaca courts in not only meeting these purported goals but also in accomplishing the often oppositional aim of restoring justice. I seek to further complicate this discussion by noting how the Rwandan governments attempts to merge traditional and Western legal systems in the formation of the post-genocide gacaca courts results in an uneven reconciliation and healing among victims of the genocide and ethnic groups in Rwanda. Furthermore, I will argue for how the gacaca courts of post-genocide Rwanda can provide insight as to how to combat the punitive norms of Western judiciary models when constructing restorative justice measures.

Presenter 2: Harryson Ferreira | Williams College

Exploring the Link Between Modern and African Traditional Medical Practices

This presentation focuses on the intricate relationship between modern medicine and African Traditional Medicine (ATM). Presenter’s work delves into the historical development of ATMs (both as cultural and spiritual practices and using Yoruba and Afro-Brazilian practices/ medicine examples), highlighting the significant contributions of Black medical professionals to modern medicine and how their work has shaped healthcare practices today, and addressing the challenges of integrating ATM principles into modern medicine, including issues of cultural erasure, distrust in healthcare systems, and the need for collaborative efforts to foster more inclusive healthcare practices.

The goal is to contribute to a broader understanding of the intersections between culture, medicine, and social justice, advocating for a healthcare system that respects diverse healing practices which aligns with the conference’s theme of Global Blackness in the 21st Century by exploring how Black contributions to medicine can transform contemporary healthcare practices on a global scale.

Presenter 3: Peter Kenedi | Carleton College

Art as an Anchor: Why Black Americans Must Use Art to Maintain their Cultural Identity

W.E.B Du Bois and Richard Wright were some of the first Black scholars to argue that art must be used as propaganda to advance the African American people. I disagree. Art is a vessel for human expression and cannot be shackled by purpose. It should be chaotic, rather than controlled; and spontaneous, rather than calculated. To reduce art to practicality is to smother the human spirit — it is to oppress.

The greatest threat to people who face prolonged oppression is the diminishing of the spirit. To give up, to lay down arms, to sit back and exhale and let events unfold: this is acceptance, and it is lethal. If one loses the spirit to resist, one loses everything — not because it will result in failure — though it will — but because without spirit there is no point.

We must listen to art and view it as a window into the souls of people, rather than viewing it as an instructive message to be taken at face value. In this paper, I argue that the love and chaos in art can be an anchor to ensure that spiritual identity is not lost in the process.

Presenter 1: Michelle Ametekpor | Williams College

Critical Fabulation and Diasporic Communion in Beyonce’s Post-2016 Albums

Beyonce’s body of work post-2016 takes an auto-ethnographic approach to help her understand her positionality by relating it to various Black cultures and frame of references within the US and across the African diaspora. The release of “Lemonade” in April 2016 signaled a shift in Beyonce’s career. The work was able to piece together Black historical events, Black cultural references, and Beyonce’s personal life.

The shift towards Beyonce’s self-exploration through Beyonce’s subsequent works is indicative of her finding herself through different avenues of Blackness. This is achieved seamlessly through diasporic communion. Beyonce uses the albums “Lemonade”, “Black is King” and “Renaissance” to find herself and take her audience on a journey using the frameworks of diasporic communion and critical fabulation. These frameworks allow her to explore the manifestations of Black identities within and beyond assumptions of the US Black or African-American identity.

Through the framework of diasporic communion, Beyonce is able to piece together moments that informed her personhood from her own memory and beyond her lifetime. The other framework, critical fabulation, deals with a critical loss due to incomplete archives. Coined by scholar Saidiya Hartman, critical fabulation struggles with that loss by creating the space to explore the loss through works of fiction.

Beyonce’s bodies of work, Lemonade, Black is King, Renaissance, and recently Cowboy Carter, all employ different frames of Black references. Her bodies of work pulled from the memories of Ibo landing, Black queer identity, Black gatherings, and Black queer identity. Through these memories, Beyonce create a knowledge production of a Black and African American identity.

Presenter 2: Luanga Kasanga | St. Olaf College

Religious Syncretism, Resistance and Agency in the Akan Societies and Kongo Kingdom

This paper seeks to challenge the idea that the imposition of Christianity by the Portuguese during the 17th and 18th centuries on the inhabitants of the Akan Societies and the Bakongo in the Kongo Kingdom was involuntary; therefore, leading to the current religious landscape of Central and West Africa today.

Most primary sources during this period regarding the Akan Societies and Kongo Kingdom and their encounters with the Portuguese are written from the perspective of Europeans. Therefore, it seems that Christianity was imposed fully on the Africans. However, by reading African agency through European sources, one can demonstrate that Africans elected themselves to take on Christianity, and syncretize it with their indigenous beliefs.

Thanks to activists such as Kimpa Vita, a unique form of Christianity was created, one that advocated for African (and black) empowerment. These syncretic forms of religion can be found in parts of Congo today, thanks to the agency demonstrated by figures in the past.

Presenter 3: Julia Tassava | Carleton College

“Love and Rage for Liberation: An Exploration of the Uses of Political Emotions”

I am interested in exploring political emotions as a means toward liberation for Black people, particularly Black women. What happens when an oppressed people unabashedly embrace the strong emotions of love and rage, which have often been denied to them or discounted as irrational or even violent?

Where emotions are not typically seen as essential to liberation movements, many major thinkers in the field of Africana Studies, like Audre Lorde, Frantz Fanon, James Baldwin, Cornel West, and bell hooks, have long recognized the importance of political emotions within social movements for liberation. Emotions necessarily come up in situations of oppression and subjugation, and they can turn political when they are used actively to work towards liberation, as love and rage are particularly important for. I argue that love and rage are essential for Black liberation movements, especially for Black women.

Presenter 1: Xavier Wills | Williams College

Internal, External, Systematic Dismembering of the Black Body

Within this research proposal, the presenter touches on fatphobia as a medium of antiblack violence, the nuanced role of the camera and the publicized of black death, the silent and embodied anxiety this publicized lynchings, and the utter lack of autonomy and agency Eric Garner had over the intimacy of his final moments.

As Eric Garner’s death by police brutality is shared across media, he is subject to scrutiny, his brutality is able to be played and replayed, over and over again. This, alone, brings about multiple questions: why are black bodies hyper-surveilled in such a way that allows for this extreme broadcasting, desensitizing, and dehumanizing? Why must the black body be made into this spectacle, this over-publicized portrayal and example of extreme white power and dominance? Furthermore, why must black death be subjected to a second degree of violence? Even in death, Eric Garner is not able to have autonomy; even in death he is not free from the scrutiny of the white gaze.

Presenter 2: Lillian Masinde | Carleton College

“Deconstructing Reproductive Justice and the Black Reproductive Body”

Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that protected women’s right to abortion, the concept of ‘reproductive freedom’ became a hot-seated topic at the forefront of American politics. While this concept is often understood through the lens of legal protections that separate individual reproductive choices from governmental interference, discussions about attaining reproductive freedom often overlook a range of social barriers that prevent Black individuals from having a full seat at the table.

In this paper, I use a racial equity lens to explore the nuances of reproductive justice and the broader politicization of Black reproductive bodies in the United States contemporarily. Additionally, I explore myriad ways in which Black individuals have reclaimed volition associated with their reproduction.

Presenter 3: Hailey Bates | Carleton College

Dunkel Deutschland (Black Germany)

Dunkel Deutschland,” translating to “Dark Germany,” carries dual meanings in the context of German history. Initially referring to the secretive and suppressed aspects of East Germany under communist rule, it also symbolizes a Germany obscured from historical narratives, notably concerning the experiences of black communities, including Black East Germans.

The history of Black East Germans is particularly poignant due to the juxtaposition of communist ideology, which purported equality and anti-racism, with the lived experiences of racial discrimination and social exclusion faced by black residents. The erasure of this history, compounded by the overshadowing of Nazi atrocities, underscores the need for dedicated research to unearth and document these narratives before they are lost to time.

This research aims to shed light on this overlooked aspect of history, exploring the formation of black identities and communities within East Germany’s complex socio-political landscape.

Presenter 1: Jonathan Birgen | Carleton College

Slavery and the Future of the Black Community

The end of slavery did not necessarily mean that Black Americans would gain the same freedom as their White counterparts. The economic and social goals that slavery aimed to accomplish were kept alive with the establishment of Mass incarceration. This is why, in this paper, I expand on the idea of mass incarceration being a continuation of slavery but also analyze the effects mass incarceration has on the Black community. Pieces of media, such as the documentaries 13TH and Slavery by another name, and various articles were employed to support this claims.

Presenter 2: Chris Sanders | Macalester College

“Building Upon the Work of Our Ancestors: A Literature Review on the History of Black Education and Building a Philosophy for Black Joy and Resilience.”

I began working on my Educational Studies capstone project at Macalester College this past school year. This research took the form of an autobiographical recollection of my educational journey and a literature review on the history of Black education in America. I used this information to create a teaching philosophy for Black history that is grounded in ancestral veneration and emphasizes joy and resilience on a historical level.

After completing this foundational work, I would like to continue my research to focus on the complexities of ancestral veneration in our current society and how we can develop a K-12 curriculum that models this philosophy so Black youth can better understand themselves within the context of their history.

Presenter 3: Taia Bush | Carleton College

An Introduction to Necropolitics: Inquiries Into Western Imaginaries and Impacts On Black/African Communities

This presentation is based on my senior work in necropoitics and Black/African modes of resistance. This project, an integrated literature review and overview of the politics of death, examines the theory and necropolitical practices proposed by Achille Mbembe. It incorporates a breadth of sociological, anthropological, historical, creative, and political scholarship to produce information and records on Black/African relations’ actions in and against necropolitical systems.

The overarching goal of this project is to introduce readers to the theory of necropolitics, as asserted by Mbembe, the imbalanced impact of necropolitical systems on some Black/African countries and populations, and scholarship on methods against these systems.

Join us for lunch (provided) to conclude the conference with closing remarks by Prof. Chielo Eze, Director and Professor of Africana Studies, and Dr. Dina Zavala, VP for Inclusion, Equity, and Community.