Conference Program

12th Annual Interdisciplinary Conference
African, African American & Diaspora Studies (AAAD)

Voices of Race, Modes of Advocacy

February 16 – 19, 2022

All events are virtual unless otherwise noted. All times are in EST (UTC-5)
Registered participants and attendees may access the Zoom portal here.

The AAAD Center at JMU is hiring a new Director!

 

For more information, click here.

Keynote Speaker

Dorothy Roberts

University of Pennsylvania
George A. Weiss University Professor of Law and Sociology and the Raymond Pace and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Professor of Civil Rights

“Policing Black Families”

Friday, February 18, 2022
10:00-11:30am

Featured Speaker

Andrea Ritchie

In Our Names Network
Author, Advocate, Researcher

“Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women”

Wednesday, February 16, 2022
10:00-11:15am

AYA: Black Women in Higher Education 
A plenary panel produced by the Sisters in Session Caucus, co-sponsored by the Office of Access & Inclusion and the Office of the Provost, James Madison University

Narketta M. Sparkman-Key, Old Dominion University, USA
Associate Professor, Academic Affairs Director of Faculty Diversity and Retention
Menah Pratt-Clarke, Virginia Polytechnic and State University, USA
Professor of Education, Vice President for Strategic Affairs and Diversity

Wednesday, February 16, 2022
11:30am-1:00pm

Performances by the College of Visual and Performing Arts, James Madison University

Featuring:

  • The School of Theatre and Dance
  • The Madison Art Collection
  • The School of Music

Wednesday, February 16, 2022
3:00-4:30pm

Poetry Reading
Hosted by the Furious Flower Poetry Center, James Madison University

Khadijah Queen

Khadijah Queen, PhD, is the author of six books, including I’m So Fine: A List of Famous Men & What I Had On, Conduit, Black Peculiar, and ANODYNE. Event may be accessed via our Zoom portal page, or streamed at www.facebook.com/furiousflower.

Wednesday, February 16, 2022
5:00pm

Madison Vision Series

“Future of Leadership Challenges: 21st Century Mayors”

Karen Freeman-Wilson, Former Mayor of Gary, Indiana, President/CEO of the Chicago Urban League
Sharon Weston Broome, Mayor-President of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and East Baton Rouge Parish
Tishaura Jones, Mayor of St. Louis, Missouri

Moderator: Deanna Reed, Mayor of Harrisonburg, Virginia

Wednesday, February 16, 2022
6:00pm
Tune in at https://youtu.be/4kCetOsPEz4

Silences and Silencing: Empowering Voices, Championing Diversity, and Promoting Acceptance
A plenary roundtable sponsored by the Department of History, James Madison University

Narketta Sparkman-Key, Old Dominion University, USA
Lesa Clark, Old Dominion University, USA
Bridget Anderson, Old Dominion University, USA
Delores Phillips, Old Dominion University, USA
Shuntay Tarver, Old Dominion University, USA

Thursday, February 17, 2022
10:00-11:30am

Celebrating the Life and Legacy of
Mary Awkard Fairfax

Deanna ReedMayor of Harrisonburg, Virginia
Stephanie HowardSimms Center Supervisor
Billo Harper, Producer/Documentarian
Mary Ann Smith-Tucker, Richmond, Virginia
Joanne GabbinJames Madison University
Mollie GodfreyJames Madison University
Seán McCarthyJames Madison University
Special Musical Guest: David Berry III, Eastern Mennonite University

Thursday, February 17, 2022
4:00-5:30pm

Conference Reception & Faculty Book Party

Remarks by:
Heather Coltman, Provost and Senior Vice President, James Madison University
David Owusu-Ansah, Associate Provost for Diversity, James Madison University
Besi Muhonja, Associate Vice Provost for Scholarship, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (AVPSDEI), James Madison University

Friday, February 18, 2022
3:30-5:00pm

Africana Studies Workshop
A plenary workshop featuring this year’s AAAD Studies Fellows, sponsored by the AAAD Center and JMU Libraries

Kwabena Opoku-AgyemangUniversity of Ghana, Ghana
Mshai Mwangola, African Leadership Centre, Kenya
Jane Mutune, University of Nairobi, Kenya

Saturday, February 19, 2022
10:00-11:30am

Conference-Themed Zoom Backgrounds

Looking to enhance your Zoom presence? We’ve got you covered.

Event Schedule

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

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1:00 - 2:00 pm

AAAD Senior Research Experience Presentations

Moderator/Zoom Coordinator: Erin Phillippi, James Madison University, USA

Hannah Vanlandingham, “Spotlighting the Heteronormative, Whitewashed Nature of Psychology”
John Paine, “Critical Race Theory and its Application to the ‘Myth’ of Wild Africa”

Wednesday, February 16, 2022

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8:00 - 8:15 am

Official Opening – 12th AAAD Conference:
Voices of Race, Modes of Advocacy

Presiding: Robert Aguirre, Dean, College of Arts and Letters, James Madison University, USA

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Panel Session 1

8:15 – 9:45 AM

Panel 1a. Organizing Potentialities

Moderator: Besi MuhonjaJames Madison University, USA
Zoom Coordinator: Juhong Christie LiuJames Madison University, USA

Upasana Banerjee, Independent Scholar, India
“Dissecting the Eurocentric Concept of Modernity: Tracing the Position of East African Consumerism in Global Economy”

Adebayo Ogundipe, James Madison University, USA
“Reappropriating Technology: On Lived Experiences and Cultural Empathy”

Stephen Magu, Norfolk State University, USA
“Conceptual Paradigms in Understanding African RECs: A Communitarian, Humanist African Theory of Regional Integration (Ubuntu)”

Egbule Philip Onyekachukwu, University of Delta, Agbor, Nigeria
“Women Voices in Shaping the Narrative of Sovereign Peoples and Negotiations in Violent States: Findings from Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) Protest Movement in Nigeria”

Panel 1b. The Potential of Virtual Exchange in Kenya and Virginia: Does Sharing Narratives in Online Context Lead to Greater Advocacy?

Moderator: Michelle Cude, James Madison University, USA
Zoom Coordinator: Modjadji Choshi, James Madison University, USA

Florence Kisirkoi, Maasai Mara University, Kenya
Michelle Cude, James Madison University, USA
Michele Estes, James Madison University, USA
Dana L. Haraway, James Madison University, USA
Robbie Higdon, James Madison University, USA
John Hulsey, James Madison University, USA
Kris Wiley, James Madison University, USA

Panel 1c. Priorities in Education and Leadership Training

Moderator: Amy LewisJames Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Melissa Alemán, James Madison University, USA

Angela W. Webb and Joi D. Merritt, James Madison University, USA
“Situating the Teacher-Scholar in Course-Based Equity Work”

Hannah Kim Sions, James Madison University, USA
“Schools and Incarceration: Another Case for Anti-Racist/Anti-Bias Education”

Kennedy Musyoka, James Madison University, USA
“Historical and Emergent Leadership Models in the North-West and South-East”

Zenobia Lee-Nelson, James Madison University, USA
“Holistic Living and Music Therapy in Overcoming and Healing from Trauma as Black First Gen College Students at a PWI”

Panel 1d. The Value of Genuine Partnership: JMU in Rwanda
Panel sponsored by Rwanda Working Group, James Madison University

Moderator: Mike Davis, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: B. Rae Perryman, James Madison University, USA

Mike Davis, James Madison University, USA
Neil Marrin, James Madison University, USA
Nelson Girinshuti, James Madison University, USA
Clemence Mbabazi, African Leadership University, Rwanda
Cara Meixner, James Madison University, USA

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10:00 - 11:15 am

Featured Speaker
Co-sponsored by the AAAD Center and the Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence, James Madison University

Andrea RitchieIn Our Names Network, USA

Moderator: Taimi CastleJames Madison University, USA
Zoom Coordinator: David BabcockJames Madison University, USA

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11:30 am - 1:00 pm

AYA: Black Women in Higher Education 
A plenary panel produced by the Sisters in Session Caucus, and co-sponsored by the Office of Access & Inclusion and the Office of the Provost, James Madison University

Moderator: Sofia Samatar, James Madison University, USA
Zoom Coordinator: B.J. Bryson, James Madison University, USA

Panelists:
Narketta M. Sparkman-Key, Old Dominion University, USA
Associate Professor, Academic Affairs Director of Faculty Diversity and Retention

Menah Pratt-Clarke, Virginia Polytechnic and State University, USA
Professor of Education, Vice President for Strategic Affairs and Diversity

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Panel Session 2

1:15 – 2:45 PM

Panel 2a. Formations in Mass Media and Culture

Moderator: Stephen C. PoulsonJames Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Melissa Alemán, James Madison University, USA

Elizabeth Gritter, Indiana University Southeast, USA
“New Frontiers: The Role of Black Memphians in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Campaign and Administration”

Timothy Riggio Quevillon, Kansas State University, USA
“Neutrality, not Equality: The Atlanta Daily World and Acquiescence to White Hegemony in Georgia’s Desegregation and Prayer in School Movements”

Liam Buckley, James Madison University, USA
“Black Experiences with Yoga in the USA, 1893-1929”

Panel 2b. Grassroots Voices of the Crescent City: Social Justice and Nonprofit Advocacy

Moderator: D. Caleb Smith, Tulane University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Case WatkinsJames Madison University, USA

Lexi Peterson-Burge, Orleans Parish Prison Reform Coalition (OPPRC), USA
Ernest Johnson, Ubuntu Village NOLA, USA
Vedisia “Dee Dee” Green, Peace by Piece New Orleans, USA

Panel 2c. Activist Veins within Pop Culture

Moderator: Liana BayneJames Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Juhong Christie Liu, James Madison University, USA

Tatiana Konrad, University of Vienna, Austria
“Black Women’s Lives Matter: Revisiting The Bodyguard Thirty Years Later”

Iris Reddick Manburg, University of Chicago, USA
“Toward a Womanist Pneumatology: A Theomusicological Analysis of Prophetic Rhetoric in Mary’s Magnificat and Beyoncé’s Black is King

Tyler Bunzey, Johnson C. Smith University, USA
“The Politics of Hip-Hop Writing: Resisting an Ideology of Literacy”

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3:00 - 4:30 PM

Performances by the College of Visual and Performing Arts, James Madison University

Moderator: Rubén Graciani, James Madison University, USA
Zoom Coordinator: Wren StevensJames Madison University, USA

Featuring:

  • The School of Theatre and Dance with Professors Kate Arecchi, Ryan Corriston, Ingrid De Sanctis and Jessica Del Vecchio. Also featuring students Jazmine Frye, Aya Nassif, and Caitlin Foster
  • The Madison Art Collection with Director Ginny Soenksen and students Rachel Gregor, Wynn Martinez, and Rebecca Krest.
  • The School of Music with welcome by Director John Allemeier and video featuring Professors John Peterson, Amy Lewis, Joe Taylor, and Bob Hallahan
  • }

    5:00 PM

    Poetry Reading
    Hosted by the Furious Flower Poetry Center, James Madison University

    Khadijah Queen

    Khadijah Queen, PhD, is the author of six books, including I’m So Fine: A List of Famous Men & What I Had On (YesYes Books 2017), praised in O Magazine, The New Yorker, Rain Taxi, Los Angeles Review, and elsewhere as “quietly devastating,” and “a portrait of defiance that turns the male gaze inside out.“

    The event may be accessed via our Zoom portal page,  or streamed at www.facebook.com/furiousflower.

    }

    6:00 PM

    Madison Vision Series

    “Future of Leadership Challenges: 21st Century Mayors”

    In observance of Black History Month, join us for a virtual panel of Black female current and former mayors who will address the challenges of 21st century leadership. The panel will feature Karen Freeman-Wilson, former mayor of Gary, Indiana, now president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League; Sharon Weston Broome, mayor-president of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and East Baton Rouge Parish; and Tishaura Jones, mayor of St. Louis, Missouri. Deanna Reed, mayor of Harrisonburg, Virginia, will serve as moderator. Topics will include crisis communication, the COVID-19 pandemic and strength during a time of social upheaval. Following the discussion, the audience will have the opportunity to submit questions to the panelists. Tune in at https://youtu.be/4kCetOsPEz4

    Thursday, February 17, 2022

    }

    Panel Session 3

    8:15 – 9:45 AM

    Panel 3a. Bidirectional Exchange between Educators in Kenya and the US on Innovations in Higher Education during COVID-19

    Moderator: Justin Henriques, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Jennifer PeeksMease, James Madison University, USA

    Edel Churu, Tangaza University College, Kenya
    Jonas Yawovi Dzinekou, Institute for Social Transformation, Togo
    Justin Henriques, James Madison University, USA

    Panel 3b. Political Movements in Print

    Moderator: Allison Fagan, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Bailey McInturff, James Madison University, USA

    Dzifa Peters, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Portugal
    “Independence, Resistance and the Postcolonial Invention of Self”

    Lynette Mills, The University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago
    “Trinidad’s Black Power Movement in the Nexus of British, Caribbean and the US Black Press from the Late 1800s to Late 1900s”

    Jeslyn Pool, James Madison University, USA
    “Robbert Wedderburn and the African American Jeremiad”

    Panel 3c. Advocating Democracy in Africa

    Moderators: Joanne Gabbin and Carah Ong Whaley, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Jody Condit Fagan, James Madison University, USA

    Melinda Adams, James Madison University, USA
    Tamara White, Brookings Institution, USA
    Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International, South Africa

    }

    10:00 - 11:30 am

    Silences and Silencing: Empowering Voices, Championing Diversity, and Promoting Acceptance
    A plenary roundtable sponsored by the Department of History, James Madison University

    Moderator: Maura HametzJames Madison University, USA
    Zoom Coordinator: Savannah BrownJames Madison University, USA

    Narketta Sparkman-Key, Old Dominion University, USA
    Lesa Clark, Old Dominion University, USA
    Bridget Anderson, Old Dominion University, USA
    Delores Phillips, Old Dominion University, USA
    Shuntay Tarver, Old Dominion University, USA

    }

    Panel Session 4

    11:45 AM – 1:15 PM

    Panel 4a. Slavery across Deep Time

    Moderator: Becca PaulischJames Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Bailey McInturffJames Madison University, USA

    Ken Rutherford, James Madison University, USA
    Village on the Hill: History, Slavery and Memory in Mauritania”

    Maria Elena Indelicato, The University of Coimbra, Portugal
    “Seeing Slavery through the Lenses of Sensibility: Hosea Easton and Black Abolitionists’ Engagement with Racial Sciences”

    Grace Thomsen, James Madison University, USA
    “Obeah Criminalization and Black Resistance in Romantic-Era Literature about Jamaica”

    Panel 4b. Africana Digital Pedagogy: Cultural Exchange, Learning, and Innovation

    Moderator: Ja’La J. Wourman, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Paul Mabrey, James Madison University, USA

    Ja’La J. Wourman, James Madison University, USA
    Shingi Mavima, University of Toledo, USA
    Clarence George III, California State University, Sacramento, USA

    Panel 4c. Geographies of Race, Power, and Environments in the African Diaspora I

    Moderator: Case Watkins, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Alleyn Harned, James Madison University, USA

    Lucas Santa Cruz de Assis Brasil, Pontifícia Universidade Católica – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
    “More than Just Pastures: Cattle Raising in Colonial Brazil and the African Knowledge Embedded in African Grasses”

    John C. Finn, Christopher Newport University, USA
    “Climate Change, Social Murder, and the Violence of Urban Redevelopment in Norfolk, Virginia”

    Alex A. Moulton, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA
    “Black Skins, Red Masks: Ancestrality, Indigeneity, and Rights in Contemporary Jamaican Maroon Struggle”

    }

    Panel Session 5

    1:30 – 3:00 PM

    Panel 5a. Multivocal Histories

    Moderator: D. Caleb SmithTulane University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Mary Beth CancienneJames Madison University, USA

    Mark Metzler Sawin, Eastern Mennonite University, USA
    “The 1939 Gay St. Mission Photograph: Newtown, Mennonites, and the Life of Doris Harper Allen”

    Alli Crandell, Coastal Carolina University, USA
    “Gullah Geechee Digital Project: Voices and Silences”

    Nilgun Anadolu Okur, Temple University, USA
    “Life, Liberty and the Language of the Unheard: James Baldwin”

    Panel 5b. Power in Performance

    Moderator: Nicole JenkinsJames Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Kara Kavanagh, James Madison University, USA

    Brittney S. Harris, Old Dominion University, USA
    “Personifying Resistance through Theatre: Performing Pedigree

    Miracle Ogbor, James Madison University, USA
    “Decolonizing and Enriching Opera”

    Panel 5c. Geographies of Race, Power, and Environments in the African Diaspora II

    Moderator: Case Watkins, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Talé Mitchell, James Madison University, USA

    Levi Van Sant, George Mason University, USA
    “The Invisibility of Black Shenandoah: Methodological Reflections on Property and Power”

    Case Watkins, James Madison University, USA, co-authored with Judith A. Carney, University of California, Los Angeles, USA 
    “Amplifying the Archive: Methodological Plurality and Geographies of the Black Atlantic”

    Brian Williams, Mississippi State University, USA, co-authored with Carrie Freshour, University of Washington, USA
    “Cotton Chemicals and Poultry Speedups: Carceral Geographies of Agricultural Productivity”

    Panel 5d. Afro-Latinx Revolution: Puerto Rico
    Panel sponsored by Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies, James Madison University

    Moderator: Jaimee Swift, Emory University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Allison Fagan, James Madison University, USA

    Marisol LeBrón, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA
    Mónica Jiménez, University of Texas, Austin, USA

    }

    4:00 - 5:30 PM

    Celebrating the Life and Legacy of
    Mary Awkard Fairfax

    Join us for the unveiling of a new exhibit honoring the life, work, and legacy of beloved Lucy F. Simms and Waterman Elementary school teacher and community leader Mary Awkard Fairfax, now available in the very room where she taught for decades.

    Moderator: Justin AttasJames Madison University
    Zoom Coordinator: Megan Medeiros, James Madison University

    Deanna ReedMayor of Harrisonburg, Virginia
    Stephanie HowardSimms Center Supervisor
    Billo Harper, Producer/Documentarian
    Mary Ann Smith-Tucker, Richmond, Virginia
    Joanne GabbinJames Madison University
    Mollie GodfreyJames Madison University
    Seán McCarthyJames Madison University

    Special Musical Guest: David Berry III, Eastern Mennonite University

    The exhibit, located in the conference room of the Lucy F. Simms Continuing Education Center, will be open for viewing daily from February 14, 8-5pm.

    Friday, February 18, 2022

    }

    Panel Session 6

    8:15 – 9:45 AM

    Panel 6a. Transformative Politics: Social Activism, Advocacy, and Immigrant Justice

    Moderator: Tatiana Benjamin, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Melissa Alemán, James Madison University, USA

    Tatiana Benjamin, James Madison University, USA
    Tiffany Gonzalez, James Madison University, USA
    Graciela Perez, James Madison University, USA
    Rachel Torres, James Madison University, USA

    Panel 6b. Modes of Feminist Advocacy in Africa

    Moderator: Miriam Jerotich Kilimo, Emory University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Melinda Adams, James Madison University, USA

    Miriam Jerotich Kilimo, Emory University, USA
    “Laying Grounds for Feminist Advocacy: The Impact of Training Seminars for Female Politicians and Aspirants in Kenya”

    Sombo Muzata, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA
    “Understanding the Salient Barriers to Women’s Political Participation in Zambia”

    Maureen Malomba, James Madison University, USA
    “The Curse of My Gender”

    Panel 6c. The Power of the Visual

    Moderator: Maura HametzJames Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator:
    Juhong Christie Liu, James Madison University, USA

    Adetola Abatan, Seattle University, USA
    “Let the Artifacts Speak – Contemporary Considerations in African Art Collections”

    Hannah Jeffery, University of Edinburgh, UK
    “Knowing Your Name Only After You’re Gone: Murals and Black Lives Matter”

    Donna Banks, University of Barcelona, Spain
    “Disrupting the Status Quo: The Visual Politics of Jasmine Thompson”

    }

    10:00 - 11:30 AM

    Keynote Speaker

    Dorothy Roberts, University of Pennsylvania, USA

    “Policing Black Families”

    Moderator: Deborwah Faulk, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom Coordinator: David Babcock, James Madison University, USA

    }

    Panel Session 7

    11:45 – 1:15 PM

    Panel 7a. Reproduction and Parenting

    Moderator: Melissa Alemán, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Courtney R. C. Swartzentruber, James Madison University, USA

    Tayon R. Swafford, Indiana University, USA
    “​​Daddying 2.0: Using Role and Relational-Cultural Theories to Reimagine Black Fathers and Fathering in the United States”

    Alysia Davis, James Madison University, USA
    “Learning from the History of Poor Mothers: Critically Examining Race, Gender, Poverty & Policy”

    Rose Archer, Florida State University, USA
    “The Politics of Birthing Space: The Historical and Contemporary Formations of Black Birthing Hush Harbors”

    Lisa E. Wright, Oklahoma State University, USA
    “Gems for the Fire: A VBAC for a Queen”

    Panel 7b. Scholar Activism on Campus: Academic Study and Programs of Racial Justice at Universities

    Moderator: Stephen C. Poulson, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Mary Beth CancienneJames Madison University, USA

    Gianluca De Fazio, James Madison University, USA
    Racial Terror: Lynching in Virginia

    Stephen C. Poulson, James Madison University, USA
    Racism on Campus: A History of Prominent Virginia Colleges and Howard University

    Franklin Dukes, University of Virginia, USA
    “The University and Community Action for Racial Equity (UCARE)”

    Deborwah Faulk, James Madison University, USA
    “An HBCU Praxis and Promise: Black Advantaged Parents Views and College Selection

    Discussant: Michael Hill, Washington and Lee University, USA

    Panel 7c. Student Panel: African and African Diaspora Artists’ “Glo-cal” Dialogues and Monologues

    Moderator: Aderonke Adesanya, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Cara Meixner, James Madison University, USA

    Emma Stover, James Madison University, USA
    Performing Feminism, Resisting Race: The Art of Tracey Rose

    Steven Phan, James Madison University, USA
    “Billie Zangewa-One in the Same”

    Hannah Kibler, James Madison University, USA
    “Gay Gelede: Gender and Queer Identity in Adejoke Tugbiyile’s Art”

    Kaylee Kline, James Madison University, USA
    “Mental Health Seen through the Art of Abi Salami”

    Panel 7d. Round Table: Book discussion, More Than Our Pain: Affect and Emotion in the Era of Black Lives Matter

    Moderator: Beth Hinderliter, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: David Babcock, James Madison University, USA

    Beth Hinderliter, James Madison University, USA
    “Emotional Work and Care Labor in the Art and Politics of Black Lives Matter”

    Steve Peraza, SUNY Buffalo State, USA
    “The New Nadir: Despair and Decline in U.S. Race Relations”

    Siona Wilson, CUNY College of Staten Island, USA
    “I Can’t Breathe: Resistance between Body, Word and Image”

    Lauren Alleyne, James Madison University, USA
    “The Hoodie Stands Witness and other poems”

    }

    Panel Session 8

    1:30 – 3:00 PM

    Panel 8a. Researching, Remembering and Honoring Lynching Victims in Virginia

    Moderator: Gianluca De Fazio, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Carlos Alemán, James Madison University, USA

    Bessida Cauthorne White, Middle Peninsula African-American Genealogical and Historical Society, USA
    “Lynchings in Two Middle Peninsula Virginia Counties: Essex and King and Queen”

    Andrea Douglas, Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, USA
    “Public History as Activism: Creating Community Knowledge”

    Christopher Milko, Alexandria Community Remembrance Project Research Group, USA
    “Restoring History: Writing the Narratives of Alexandria’s Two Documented Lynchings”

    Discussant: Steve Reich, James Madison University, USA

    Panel 8b. The Agencies of Narrative

    Moderator: Sofia Samatar, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Liana BayneJames Madison University, USA

    Omotoyosi Odukomaiya, Southern Illinois University, USA
    “Destruction Begets Creation: Wholeness and Healing in Dystopian Narratives”

    Massa Lemu, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA
    “Chewanese Films and the Poetics of Disenclosure”

    Jessica Carter, James Madison University, USA
    “It’s In the Bones: Reclaiming Black Agency from a White Cishetero Historical Tradition”

    Panel 8c. Communities in Formation

    Moderator: D. Caleb Smith, Tulane University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Erica Cavanagh, James Madison University, USA

    Christopher Ndubuizu, University of Texas at Austin, USA
    “To be Black or Not to be Black: The Navigation of U.S. Racial Politics among Black African Immigrants”

    Megan Medeiros, James Madison University, USA
    “Two Sides of the Same Coin: Analyzing Community-Building and Vulnerability in Virtual BIPOC Spaces”

    Elizabeth Peprah, Queen’s University, Canada
    “On Creating Africana Communities of Care: Exploring Reconciliation and Shared Responsibility with Our Africana Sister-Survivors Through Ubuntu”

    Panel 8d. Decolonial Methodologies

    Moderator: Beth HinderliterJames Madison University, USA
    Zoom Coordinator: Amanda GerberJames Madison University, USA

    Amsale Alemu, Harvard University, USA
    “‘Maps of Spring:’ Anti-colonialism, Secular Studies, and Black Alter-Humanism”

    Khedidja Chergui, L’Ecole Normale Supérieure de Bouzaréah, Algiers, Algeria
    “Disseminating/Decolonizing Knowledge about Africa: Research Networks as Modes of Advocacy”

    Esther Sánchez-Pardo, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
    “Finding Ceremony: Remembering, Repeating, Re-writing History in Alexis P. Gumbs’ Dub

    Nikitah ImaniUniversity of Nebraska, Omaha, USA
    “Reconstituting Africana Agency in the Postcolonial World”

    Panel 8e. Intersectional Approaches to Understanding US Inequality
    Panel sponsored by the Department of Political Science and the Working Group on Racial Justice, James Madison University

    Moderator: Hakseon Lee, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Kristin Wylie, James Madison University, USA

    Jared Clemons, Duke University, USA
    Jake Grumbach, University of Washington, USA
    Jamila Michener, Cornell University, USA

    }

    3:30 - 5:00 PM

    Conference Reception & Faculty Book Party

    Organizers: Gianluca De Fazio and Erica Cavanagh, James Madison University, USA
    Moderator: Lauren Alleyne and Joanne Gabbin, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom Coordinator: Collin Bright, James Madison University, USA

    Remarks by:
    Heather Coltman, Provost and Senior Vice President, James Madison University
    David Owusu-Ansah, Associate Provost for Diversity, James Madison University
    Besi Muhonja, Associate Vice Provost for Scholarship, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (AVPSDEI), James Madison University

    Saturday, February 19, 2022

    }

    Panel Session 9

    8:15 – 9:45 AM

    Panel 9a. Reading Voices of Race in Science Fiction and Fantasy

    Moderator: Sofia Samatar, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Becca Paulisch, James Madison University, USA

    Sreelakshmy M, University of Hyderabad, India
    “Negotiating Life and Redefining Identities: A Study of Octavia E. Butler’s Black Heroines”

    Juyoun Jang, University of Mississippi, USA
    “Black Women’s Spiritual Migration and Fugitive Expressions in Assata Shakur’s Assata: An Autobiography and Octavia E. Butler’s Kindred

    Austin Anderson, Howard University, USA
    “‘Yes It Begins’ – Race and Black Sacrifice in Watchmen

    Panel 9b. Giving Voice to Trauma

    Moderator: Etana DinkaJames Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Megan Medeiros, James Madison University, USA

    Angela Ramsoondur, University of Mauritius, Mauritius
    “Bodies and Fractures: Igbo Cosmology and African Voice in Akwaeke Emezi’s Freshwater

    Lillie Jacob, University of Florida, USA
    “Traumas of the Body: Representations of Dissociative Identity Disorder in Akwaeke Emezi’s Freshwater

    Harismita Vaideswaran, University of Delhi, India
    “A Civil War in Fragments: Recollecting and Writing Trauma in Buchi Emecheta’s Destination Biafra and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun

    Stephanie Diane Tsakeu Mazan, University of Virginia, USA
    “Post-War. The Question of Trauma and the Meaning of Death in African Literature and Music”

    Panel 9c. Project RECRUIT – Phase 1

    Moderator: Tiara Brown, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Joi Merritt, James Madison University, USA

    Tiara Brown, James Madison University, USA
    Benjamin Riden, James Madison University, USA
    Mira Williams, James Madison University, USA

    Panel 9d. Exhibiting African American Art and History: Race, Culture and Advocacy

    Moderators: Beth Hinderliter and Sarah Brooks, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Telena Turner, James Madison University, USA

    Richard Frumess, Independent Artist, USA, and Drew Thompson, Bard College, USA
    “The 2022 Exhibition: Printmaker Benjamin Wigfall and Communications Village”

    Beth Hinderliter, James Madison University, USA
    “Exuberance: An Exhibition of African American Abstract Painting”

    Sarah Brooks, James Madison University, USA
    “The 2021 American Rescue Plan and Preserving African American Heritage”

    }

    10:00 - 11:30 am

    Africana Studies Workshop
    A plenary workshop featuring this year’s AAAD Studies Fellows, sponsored by the AAAD Center and JMU Libraries

    Moderator: Besi Muhonja, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom Coordinator: Becca Paulisch, James Madison University, USA

    Kwabena Opoku-AgyemangUniversity of Ghana, Ghana
    “Beyond Oral/Digital: Ghanaian Electronic Literature as a Paradigm for African Digital Textuality”

    Mshai Mwangola, African Leadership Centre, Kenya
    “The Fabric of our Lives: Leso as Document”

    Jane Mutune, University of Nairobi, Kenya
    “Can On-Farm Wood Meet Global Wood Supply and Save Tropical Forests? A Review”

    }

    Panel Session 10

    11:45 AM – 1:15 PM

    Panel 10a. Literary Interventions

    Moderator: Lauren K. Alleyne, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Courtney R. C. Swartzentruber, James Madison University, USA

    Anthony Salazar, Northern Illinois University, USA
    “Poetry as a Mode of HIV Advocacy in Danez Smith’s Don’t Call Us Dead and Homie

    Leah Delaney, Florida State University, USA
    “Performances of Radical Black Feminist Masculinity in Hari Ziyad’s Black Boy Out of Time and Kenneth Rogers Jr.’s Raped Black Male

    Marietta Kosma, Oxford University, UK
    “Queer Diasporic Knowledge through Shailja Patel’s Migritude

    Amanda González Izquierdo, Rutgers University, USA
    “At the End of the Alphabet are These Tender Anatomies: Grief as Decolonial Ethics”

    Panel 10b. Peer Support Programs for First-Generation Immigrant and Refugee Youth: A Dialogue between Students, Scholars, and Practitioners

    Moderator: Daniel Beers, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom coordinator: Megan Medeiros, James Madison University, USA

    Daniel Beers, James Madison University, USA
    Carlos Alemán, James Madison University, USA
    Kajungu Mturi, Harrisonburg City Public Schools, USA
    Laura Fiechtinger-McGrath, Harrisonburg City Public Schools, USA
    Rebecca Sprague, Church World Service, Harrisonburg, USA
    Muna Shamisalla, Harrisonburg City Public Schools, USA
    Suzanne Fiederlein, James Madison University, USA
    Katherine Clayton, James Madison University, USA

    Panel 10c. The Social Signification of Labor

    Moderator: Talé Mitchell, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom Coordinator: David Babcock, James Madison University, USA

    Robert Mendoza, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
    “Chicago’s Mecca Flats as a Structure of Laboring Feeling: Gwendolyn Brooks’s Critique of Gendered Labor in In the Mecca
    Julian Windhövel, University of Cologne, Germany
    “‘The Only Laboring Class We Have’ – The Efficacy of Federal Support of and Violent White Opposition to the Black Socio-Economic Struggle in Reconstruction Era Louisiana”
    D. Caleb Smith, Tulane University, USA
    “Race, Law, and Aluminum: Harris A. Parson and Twenty Years of Workplace Struggle”

    Panel 10d. The Struggle Goes On

    Moderator: Joi Merritt, James Madison University, USA
    Zoom Coordinator: Jody Condit Fagan, James Madison University, USA

    Rosemary Emordi, University of Kansas, USA
    “Relationship among Everyday Discrimination, Hope, Racial Identity, and Somatic Symptoms within the Black Community”

    Niia Bishop, Allen University, USA
    “Toward an Erasure of Whiteness: Dismantling the Master’s House by Destroying the Key”

    ​​Tiersa Lené Curry, Independent Scholar, USA
    “A Hypocritical Annexation: Black Culture in the LGBTQ+ Community”

    Rhea E. Nesbitt, James Madison University, USA
    “Reassessing the Framework for Racial Reckoning: A Psychological Mindedness Approach to Anti-Racism”

    David Babcock

    David Babcock

    Conference Convener

    Justin Attas

    Justin Attas

    Graduate Coordinator

    Morgan Lyle

    Morgan Lyle

    Graduate Coordinator

    Collin Bright

    Collin Bright

    Graduate Coordinator

    Conference Committee

    Mollie Godfrey
    Director of the African, African American, and Diaspora Studies Center

    Besi Muhonja
    Beth Hinderliter
    Daniel Beers
    David Owusu-Ansah
    Erica Cavanagh
    Gianluca De Fazio
    Joanne Gabbin
    Lauren Alleyne
    Kathryn Hobson
    William Van Norman

    Case Watkins
    Sofia Samatar
    Megan Medeiros
    B.J. Bryson
    Wren Stevens
    Kristin Wylie
    Steven Reich
    Talé Mitchell
    Taimi Castle
    Maura Hametz

    ​AAAD Interns

    Krystle Brown
    Ken Kensky

    Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies (LAXC)

    Sisters in Session

    Sisters in Session

    Department of History

    JMU Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

    Office of the President

    Task Force on Racial Equity

    Contact Us

    If you have questions about the registration process, our schedule or general information, don’t hesitate to reach out.

    James Madison University, 800 S Main St, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807
    aaadstudies@jmu.edu