Annual national Black Studies conference to be hosted by UF from Wednesday through Saturday

The 47^th annual National Council for Black Studies Conference will be hosted by the University of Florida’s African American Studies Program in Gainesville.

It will be held Wednesday through Saturday at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center at 1714 SW 34^th St.

“This will be the first face-to-face (NCBS) conference since 2019 because of the pandemic, and it will include over 100 sessions dealing with topics ranging from critical race theory, the centennial commemoration of The Rosewood Massacre, Black feminism, health disparities and many other issues,” said David Canton, Ph.D., director of the African American Studies Program at UF.

Community connection:Panel urges UF to connect more with community

Book launching:Book about African American Studies program at UF to be launched

Program turns 50:UF African American studies program hits 50-year mark

Reparations will be one of the major issues discussed at the conference in light of the centennial commemoration of the Rosewood Massacre, which occurred on Jan. 1, 1923, when Fannie Coleman Taylor, a married white woman in nearby Sumner, claimed a Black man assaulted her, though some believed her lover was the real suspect, according to RosewoodFlorida.com.

Rosewood is about 100 miles southwest of Gainesville in Levy County.

Florida House Bill 591 signed into law in 1994 by then-Gov. Lawton Chiles is considered a model for reparations for Blacks, as it awarded $150,000 payments to Rosewood survivors who could prove they owned property during the massacre and set up a scholarship fund for their descendants who attended state colleges, according to CNN.com.

At least 297 students have received the Rosewood scholarship since 1994, according to a 2020 report by The Washington Post that was cited by CNN.com in a report posted Jan. 8.

A constant throughout the conference that is expected to draw 200-300 scholars will be a discussion about how America can make things whole to repay Blacks for all of the racial injustices and inequality they have endured throughout the history of this country, Canton said.

The theme of the conference will be “Reparations, Resilience, and Restorative Justice: Commemorating the Centennial of the Rosewood Massacre of 1923.”

The conference will include sessions featuring subjects such as “Rumor Has It: The Mis-Education of AP African American Studies,” “Protect Ya Neck: Combating Issues of Gentrification and Preserving the History of Black Communities, “Artistic Expression as A Means of Black Liberation,” “The Black Athlete and Athleticism in Research on Race and Sports,” “Reparations, Recovery, and Freedom: 'Give Us Our Money'” and many others.

African American Studies has steadily grown as an academic field of study since the late 1960s, and the program at UF began offering undergraduate degrees in 2014, Canton said, adding that the program has hired five new full-time professors and is increasing majors offered since he joined the program in 2020.

The program’s chapter of the Sankofa African American Studies Society was founded in 2021 by Professor Courtney Taylor, Ph.D., Canton said.

Nearly two dozen universities offer doctoral programs in African American Studies currently in the U.S., with Temple University in Philadelphia being the first to do so in 1987 under the leadership of Molefi Asanti, Ph.D., Canton said.

It’s fitting the conference will be held at UF this year because of recent decisions by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the super majority of Republicans that run the Florida Legislature who are opposed to the teaching of critical race theory and promote doing away with diversity and inclusion policies and programs at schools in Florida, Canton said.

“African Americans have played a significant role in American history,” Canton said.

Canton’s sentiments were echoed by Riché (pronounced Ri-Shay) J. Daniel Barnes, Ph.D., an associate professor of anthropology in the African American Studies Program at UF.

As an anthropologist and Zora Neale Hurston scholar and follower, Barnes said she considers it a significant honor to be a professor in the African American Studies program at UF and is excited the program is hosting the conference, especially at this time in Florida's history.

“Obviously, the conference site was selected and planning was well underway before the current controversies over Critical Race Theory, AP African American Studies, the k-12 multicultural books ban, defunding of DEI, and current challenges to higher education and protections for professors who teach and study these topics,” Barnes wrote in an email. “However, I am a strong believer in ‘everything happens for a reason,’ and we are here ‘for such a time as this.’"

Besides having the opportunity to share ideas and strategies, Barnes said she is looking forward to the conference and is excited about sharing in what hosting the conference means to "Black Gainesville and Black Florida."

“It is the recognition to our communities and especially our young people, that we are an accomplished people, historically, today, and we are charting a wonderful future. We should be proud of our experiences and the fact that we have and will continue to survive and thrive. Our history and contributions and all we have been through to get here will continue to be recognized as part of not only the fabric of the U.S. but also the world. I am also hopeful that with the approval of the conference and this national exposure, the African American Studies program at the University of Florida will also be approved to become a department.”

Middle and high school students who get a chance to attend the conference will benefit immensely from doing so because they will be exposed to information they might not receive otherwise and see role models who might inspire them to become scholars, Canton said, adding the UF African American Studies program partners with an African American history class at Eastside High School.

“You will get to see the power and beauty of African American Studies during this conference,” Canton said.

For more information, email Canton at da.canton@ufl.edu or visit https://afam.clas.ufl.edu/.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: National Black Studies conference to be hosted by UF Wednesday-Saturday