2022 Black New England Conference to open with provocative panels

Portsmouth Herald
·3 min read

PORTSMOUTH — The Black New England Conference 2022 with the theme Where the Money Resides: An Exploration of Racialized Access and Historic Exclusion from Wealth opens on Friday, Oct. 21 with two provocative panels on the historic barriers African Americans faced as they sought to accumulate wealth.

Left to right are Mehrsa Baradaran, author of "The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap"; Richard Rothstein, author of "The Color of Law"; and Ibram X. Kendi, author of "How to Be An Antiracist."
Left to right are Mehrsa Baradaran, author of "The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap"; Richard Rothstein, author of "The Color of Law"; and Ibram X. Kendi, author of "How to Be An Antiracist."

The first panel, “The Rise and Fall of Enslaved and Free Blacks of Affluence,” features University of Oklahoma Associate Professor Karlos Hill, Najee Brown, founder of Theatre for the People, and University of Rhode Island Professor Marcus Nevius. These panelists will share the history of the devastation of Tulsa Oklahoma’s “Black Wall Street,” the role the Black theater played in financially sustaining major Black communities, and the economics of enslavement and the informal economic systems that developed where enslaved and free Blacks came together.

The second panel, “By Decree: Laws and the Systemic Barriers to the Acquisition of Wealth,” scheduled for 10:45 a.m. on Friday, features best-selling author Richard Rothstein, and UNH Professor Karen A. Spiller, in conversation with Shelley Walcott, a former WMUR anchor and communication specialist. Rothstein and Spiller will discuss some of the government policies outlined in Rothstein’s ground-breaking book, "The Color of Law."

“The scars of racial segregation can still be seen in many parts of America today. This is a difficult topic, but one that is necessary for collective healing. I’m really looking forward to what promises to be a meaningful conversation with Richard Rothstein and Karen Spiller,”  Walcott said.

Other presenters of note on the opening day include author Mehrsa Baradaran who will deliver the Lunchtime Keynote Address and Professor Ibram X. Kendi who will be joined in conversation at the BNEC 16th Annual Awards Dinner and Keynote Event.

The BNEC is an annual two-day gathering that brings together academics, citizen scholars, and the public to share insights and scholarly work around a particular theme.  In the past, the conference has tackled issues such as the role of the Black press, and the history of the Black Church.

This year’s theme, Where the Money Resides: An Exploration of Racialized Access and Historic Exclusion from Wealth, will not only highlight the legal framework that supported barriers to wealth for non-whites (racial zoning, redlining, school segregation, and government-sanctioned racism) but will also celebrate the success stories of individuals and institutions that serve as beacons of hope for current generations.

BNEC 2022, scheduled for Oct. 21 to Oct. 22 at Southern NH University in Manchester, is presented by the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire in partnership with Southern New Hampshire University and is sponsored by Delta Dental, Eastern Bank, New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, Novocure, New England Black in Philanthropy, Riverstone, South Church, University of New Hampshire and the Center for the Humanities at the University of New Hampshire.

For more information on the conference including schedule, conference panels topics, registration, cost, and how to become a conference sponsor please visit blackheritagetrailnh.org/black-new-england-conference-2022, call 603-570-8469, or send an email to info@blackheritagetrailnh.org.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: 2022 Black New England Conference to open with provocative panels