In order to start envisioning an equitable society for people of African descent, the Seventh Annual Black Religion, Spirituality, and Culture Conference will focus on storytelling as a vehicle for racial collective healing and restorative justice. We will use storytelling to highlight the nuances of Black voices and the experiences they carry through systems of white supremacy while generating moments of radical joy and beauty through the framework of African oral traditions. We will deconstruct and reconstruct narratives by inviting in-depth listening, candid sharing, and radical imagining in order to better grasp the therapeutic value of storytelling. We will examine the role that spirituality plays in our efforts to achieve racial harmony and justice.Whiteness has created an image of Black people that aims to marginalize and narrate not only Black bodies but also Black history and Black stories. But we want to reclaim, restore, and retell our own narratives beyond the white noise. "This is our story; this is our song."

 

The goal of the conference is to explore how spirituality evades the religious sector alongside the mundane. We will critically examine how spirituality manifests itself both overtly and implicitly in the daily lives of activists, artists, clergy persons, and public leaders using a think-tank paradigm. We will pursue a multifaceted understanding of spirituality in general and its role in the pursuit of justice work.Through stories, we will use theory to engage in practical work to create a call to action that grounds the lived experiences of Black people in liberation struggles for justice and equality.

 

This year, we are taking a different approach to the conference structure. Instead of having the traditional opening program on day one with panel discussions on day two, we wanted to have a more engaging conference for participants. Please join us on Day 1 for an opening program with a keynote presentation by leading reparations scholar Darrick Hamilton.  On Day 2, join us for our "think tank" discussions that will focus on storytelling through various lenses of the arts, the Black church, public leadership, as well as reparations and justice work.

 

Colors

African print w/ Gold as main color

African print w/ Red as main color

Red, Black, Green - Black Liberation Flag