Student Roundtable: Black Lives Matter at JMU

Moderator: Fawn-Amber Montoya, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Allison Fagan, James Madison University, USA

Zenobia Lee-Nelson, James Madison University, USA
Kyel Towler, James Madison University, USA
Norman Jones, James Madison University, USA

AAAD Senior Research Experience Presentations

Moderators: Besi Muhonja and Mollie Godfrey, James Madison University, USA
Zoom Coordinator: Seán McCarthy, James Madison University, USA

8:00 – 8:15 am: Zoom Link Opens

9:00 – 10:15 am: Concurrent Sessions   

Session 1: Preserving Our Social and Creative Energy in Collectives (Special guests: Wintergreen Women Writers Collective)
Moderator: Joanne Gabbin, James Madison University
Daryl Dance, University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University
Trudier Harris, University of Alabama
Opal Moore, Independent Scholar, Poet, Fiction Writer, Essayist

Session 2: Movement in Blackness: Black Women’s Mental Wellness in the Academy
Celeste Thomas, Eastern Mennonite University
Traci Ballou-Broadnax, James Madison University
Briana Gaines, James Madison University
Zenobia Lee-Nelson, James Madison University

Session 3: Revolutionary and Transformational Healing: A Collective Act
Marsha E. Mays-Bernard, James Madison University
Shanza A. Isom, James Madison University

Session 4: Black Women Movements: The Legacy of Uplift
Nikuyah Walker, Mayor of Charlottesville, VA
Amy Lewis, James Madison University and Michigan State University
Taylor Geyton, James Madison University and Morgan State University

10:30am – 12:00 pm: Keynote
“Witnessing the Growing Political Power of Women in National Movements”
Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broom, Baton Rouge, LA

Official Opening – 11th AAAD Conference: Movement(s), Collectives, and Collectivity

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

Panel 1a. Amplifying an Intersectional Feminist Collectivity at JMU: Decolonizing Shout Out! JMU

Moderator: Melissa W. Alemán, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Emily Gravett, James Madison University, USA

Savannah Brown, James Madison University, USA
Christine Donald, James Madison University, USA
Bia Jackson, Southerners on New Ground, USA
Cecily Thomas, Ali Forney Center, USA
Sarah Taylor Mayhak, Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College, USA
Melissa W. Alemán, James Madison University, USA

Panel 1b.  Bodies, History, Community, and Trauma: Making New Spaces in a Post-Civil War America
Panel sponsored by the Honors College, James Madison University

Moderator: Fawn-Amber Montoya, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Mary Thompson, James Madison University, USA

Briana Gaines, James Madison University, USA
“The Lasting Effects of Trauma: Taking an In-Depth Look at the Legacy of Slavery”

Stephanie Sulik, University of Texas, Arlington, USA
“Garveyism Beyond Garvey: The Membership of the Akron and Barberton, Ohio, Divisions of the Universal Negro Improvement Association”

Benita Dix, Morgan State University, USA
“What Say Ye, Sisters?: Centering Black Women’s Voices in Family Planning During the Age of the Moynihan Report”

Panel 1c. Thinking with the Marlene Cunha Archives: Black Collectives and Anti-Racist Agenda in Brazilian Universities (1978-2020)

Moderator: Rafael Moreira Serra da Silva, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Zoom coordinator: Case Watkins, James Madison University, USA

Rafael Moreira Serra da Silva, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
João Alípio Cunha, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Filipe Romão Juliano, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Priscilla Lessa Mello, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 

Panel 1d. Activist Performances

Moderator: Aderonke A Adesanya, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Mary Beth Cancienne, James Madison University, USA

Brittney S. Harris, Old Dominion University, USA
“Embodying Redemption through Theatre: Performing Being B.A.D.”

Kimberly F. Monroe, Trinity Washington University, USA
“Exploring Senegalese Women Hip-Hop Artists and Transnational Social Change”

Malika Booker, Newcastle University, UK
“Disruptive Decolonization of the Kings James Bibles from a Caribbean Perspective”

Angela Carter, James Madison University, USA
“Silence is Not Golden”

Panel 2a. Turning Points in Education

Moderator: Modjadji Choshi, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Joshua Rashon Streeter, James Madison University, USA

Lisa R. Starr, Grand Canyon University, USA
“Comparison of Female Undergraduate STEM Students’ Mathematics Self-Efficacy by Ethnicity and Academic Levels: A Causal Comparative Study”

Hakim Mohandas Amani Williams, Gettysburg College, USA
“Maroonage as Positive Attractor”

Shelley Aley and Sarah O’Connor, James Madison University, USA
“Building on Black Lives Matter in First Year Writing”

Panel 2b. Keep on Walking, Keep on Talking: North Carolina A & T’s University Galleries

Moderator: Amy Schwartzott, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Liana Bayne, James Madison University, USA

Paul K. Baker, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, USA
“Black Art Matters!”

Conchita Ndege, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, USA
“Artifact as History and Multiculturalism”

Kimberly Harper, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, USA
“Everyday Use: African American Storytelling/Quilting and Literature”

Amy Schwartzott, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, USA
“African Art in the Mattye Reed Collection: Context is King!”

Panel 2c. The UndocuBlack Movement: Activism, Agency, and Justice
Panel sponsored by Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies Minor, James Madison University

Moderator: Allison Fagan, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Karina Kline-Gabel, James Madison University, USA

Tatiana Benjamin, City University of New York, USA
“The Intersections of Race and Anti-Blackness in the Contemporary Immigrant Rights Movement”

Breanne Palmer, UndocuBlack Network, USA
“Building the Connective Tissue Between Black American and Black Immigrant Communities”

Nana Brantuo, University of Maryland, College Park, USA
“Capturing the Moment: The Role of Research in Advocacy for the Undocumented Black Community”

Brittnee Meitzenheimer, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
“‘Know That We Exist’: Storytelling as Self-Making for UndocuBlack Students”

Panel 2d. Paved with Good Intentions: Discussing the Lack of Black and Brown Spaces within Social Media and Podcasts
Panel sponsored by the Cohen Center for the Humanities, James Madison University

Moderator: Rebecca Paulisch, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Heidi Pennington, James Madison University, USA

John Albrite, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
“Black Squares and Performative Allyship: The Ephemerality of Activism in the Digital Age”

Tessa Crosby, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
“Be Safe, Don’t Die’: Myths of the Vulnerable Body in True Crime Podcasts”

Megan Medeiros, James Madison University, USA
“Vulnerability in Well-Intentioned Spaces: Analyzing Black and Brown Spaces in Hashtags”

Rob Porter, James Madison University, USA
“What is ‘Social’ in Social Media? Rethinking Spectacle and Struggle in the 21st Century”

Panel 2e. AAAD Studies and Systemic Change in Science & Technology
Panel sponsored by the AAAD Critical Perspectives and Pedagogies Institute, James Madison University

Moderator: Alysia Davis, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Traci Zimmerman, James Madison University, USA

Santo Coleman, James Madison University, USA
Rory DePaolis, James Madison University, USA
Amanda Evans, James Madison University, USA
Juhong Christie Liu, James Madison University, USA
Joi Merritt, James Madison University, USA

Panel 3a. The Changing Structure of Economies

Moderator: Carah Ong Whaley, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Edward J. Brantmeier, James Madison University, USA

Swabra Abdallah, United States International University – Africa, Kenya
“Influence of Organizational Culture on Competitive Advantage of Top 100 Small and Medium – Sized Enterprises in Kenya”

Orlandrew E. Danzell, James Madison University, USA
“Resource Scarcity and Violence: Climate Change and Civil Conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa”

Panel 3b. Generations

Moderator: Allison Fagan, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Siân White, James Madison University, USA

Tatiana Konrad, University of Vienna, Austria
“Intergenerational Struggle and Racial Progress in The Help and The Butler”

Natasa Thoudam, IIT Jodhpur, India
“‘Maternal rage’ in ‘Complaint’ and the Kangla Protest: Stories of Manipur in India’s Northeast”

Brittany L. Collins, Saginaw Valley State University, USA
“Our Former First Lady: Michelle Obama as Our Auntie and Our Idol – An Analysis of Responses to Michelle Obama’s Becoming”

Norah Kiereri, Aix-Marseille University, France
“Finding respectability: Discourses on Marriage and Divorce on Kenyan YouTube”

Panel 3c. Producing Black Feminist Cultures

Moderator: Kara M. Kavanagh, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Hannah Sions, James Madison University, USA

Yayra Sumah, Columbia University, USA
“Black Feminist Topographies”

Jennifer Muchiri, University of Nairobi, Kenya
“African Women’s Lives Matter: Poetry as a Tool of Resistance to State Oppression”

Panel 3d. Ubuntu and Decolonial Feminist Doing, Knowing and Sense-making
This panel is dedicated to Kenyan-American Scholar-warrior, Prof. Micere Githae Mugo, Syracuse University

Moderator: Besi Muhonja, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Emily Gravett, James Madison University, USA

Wangui wa Goro, King’s College, London, UK
“B(l)ack to Decolonial Feminist Futures and Intersectional Thought and Practice”

Besi Muhonja, James Madison University, USA
“Minds with Hearts: Micere Mugo’s Conceptualization of Utu-Centric Scholarship”

Mshai Mwangola, The Orature Collective, Kenya
“Fighting the Ogre: A Reflection on Ubuntu and Feminist Performance”

Betty Wambui, State University of New York at Oneonta, USA
“Learning from Mwalimu Michere – Un-Righting,  Righting, Writing, Telling Herstories “

Featured Speaker
Sponsored by the Department of History, James Madison University

Cassandra Newby-Alexander, Norfolk State University, USA
“Silences Revealed: The Urgency of Now in Understanding Race in America”

Moderator:  Maura Hametz, James Madison University, USA
Zoom Coordinator: Rebecca White, James Madison University, USA

Panel 4a. Black Communities and Environmental Justice
Panel sponsored by Environmental Humanities Minor, James Madison University

Moderator: Katey Castellano, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Liana Bayne, James Madison University, USA

Oyunga Pala, Independant Scholar/The Elephant, Netherlands/Kenya
“Missing the Forest for the Trees: Mathare’s Environmental Apartheid”

Kristopher Samuel, James Madison University, USA
“Youth as Coalitional Possibility in the Youth Climate Movement: An Analysis of the Climate Justice Rhetoric of Hilda Flavia”

Carlos Alemán and Pete Bsumek, James Madison University, USA
“Unsettling Outdoor Spaces in Environmental Communication”

Panel 4b. Activist Alliances

Moderator: Charles Blake, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Erica Cavanagh, James Madison University, USA

Adewale Fadugba, University at Buffalo, USA
“Resistance from Below: Civic Activism in Nigeria”

Patrick Earl Hammie, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA and Vanessa I. Rouillon, James Madison University, USA
“On Representation, Identity, and Cross-Racial Collaborations”

Emma Penney, University College Cork, Ireland
“The Politics of ‘Telling It Like It Is’ amongst Welfare Rights Activists in the US and Ireland in the 1980s”

Panel 4c. Living Spaces

Moderator: Beth Hinderliter, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Sarah Brooks, James Madison University, USA

Kliagkona Konstantina, University of Portsmouth, UK
“Black-On-Black Crime and Displacement in Gentrified African-American Neighborhoods of Chicago and Los Angeles (1990s-2010s)”

Raymond S. Jennings, Paris Sorbonne Université, France
“Race, Privilege, and Mobility: A Case Study of High School Youth in a Parisian Banlieue”

Mark Edwin Peterson, George Mason University, USA
“Poverty, Privacy, Race & Renewal: Questions of Access and Illustration of the Housing Authority Records of Asheville, North Carolina”

Panel 4d. Narrating the Black Lives Matter Movement

Moderator: Annette Federico, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Ingrid De Sanctis, James Madison University, USA

Louis M. Maraj, University of Pittsburgh, USA
“A/poetics of the Wake: Ecological AntiBlackness in/as/by Rhetorical Asphyxia”

Asmaa A. Alshehri, University of Bisha, Saudi Arabia
“Collective Narrative, Activism and #BlackLivesMatter”

Fred Kuwornu, Independent Scholar, USA
“Black Lives Matter in Italy and the Legacy of Colonialism”

Panel 4e. Silences and Silencing: Empowering Voices and Promoting Acceptance at a Diversifying Virginia Public Institution

Moderator: Maura Hametz, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Carole Nash, James 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 5a. Research Showcase – Department of Justice Studies
Panel sponsored by the Department of Justice Studies, James Madison University

Moderator: Taimi Castle, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Case Watkins, James Madison University, USA

Taimi Castle, James Madison University, USA
“Decolonizing Criminology: Exploring State Harm through the Lens of Zemiology”

Benjamin Meade, James Madison University, USA
“Within the Bounds of Law: Real Life Superheroes, Vigilantism, and Identity”

Case Watkins, James Madison University, USA
“Discerning Afro-Brazilian Economies: Decolonizing Methods in Environmental Justice Research”

Panel 5b. Breakdowns in the Educational Mission

Moderator: Kara Kavanagh, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Talé Mitchell, James Madison University, USA

Karen Wallace, Independent Scholar, USA
“I am More Than the Skin That I’m In”

Johnetta Anderson, City Colleges of Chicago, USA
“Sentenced: An Open Discussion on The School-to-Prison Pipeline”

Daaiyah Heard, Independent Scholar, USA
“You in Danger, Girl!: The Weight of Language Diminishes Black History’s Rightful Place in Mississippi’s Curriculum”

Jessica Lantz, Ivan Guadarrama, and Juhong Christie Liu, James Madison University, USA
“Overcoming Barriers to Online Learning Access: Taking Practical Steps Toward Learning Environment Justice”

Panel 5c. Black Compass: Navigating New Directions in Africana Studies

Moderator: Besi Muhonja, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Courtney R. C. Swartzentruber, James Madison University, USA

Quito Swan, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA
Noelle Chaddock, Bates College, USA
Cheikh Thiam, School for International Training, USA
Tolu Odumosu, James Madison University, USA

Panel 5d. Decolonizing Research Methodologies through Socially Inclusive Practice

Moderator: Cara Meixner, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Monica Smith-Woofter, James Madison University, USA 

Pranee Liamputtong, Western Sydney University, Australia
Dan Spitzner, University of Virginia, USA
Cara Meixner, James Madison University, USA

Celebrating Simms – Launch Event

Moderator: Ember Rensel, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Brooks Hefner, James Madison University, USA

Mollie Godfrey, James Madison University, USA
Seán McCarthy, James Madison University, USA
Deanna Reed, Mayor of Harrisonburg, VA, USA
Michael Richards, Superintendent of Harrisonburg City Public Schools, USA
Kirk Moyers, Social Studies Coordinator for Harrisonburg City Public Schools, USA
Don Burgess, Teacher & Varsity Boys Basketball Coach for Harrisonburg High School, USA
Colleen Morris, Counseling Secretary for Harrisonburg High School, USA
Betty Buck, Former Lucy F. Simms School Student, Harrisonburg , USA

Taking Action Through the Arts

Co-organizers: Wren Stevens and Andrew Neckowitz, James Madison University, USA

See full program of performances here.

Panel 6a. Global Partnerships in the Age of Virtual Educating and Living

Moderator: Melinda Adams, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Andrew Witmer, James Madison University, USA

Swabra Abdallah, United States International University-Africa, Kenya
Cherk Klutse, Institute of International Affairs, Ghana
Nkunu Akyea, Institute of International Affairs, Ghana
Taryn Roberts, James Madison University, USA

Panel 6b. Political Developments and Economic Liberalization in Zambia: Marking the 30th Anniversary of the 1991 Multiparty Elections

Moderator: Michael Gubser, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Jennifer PeeksMease, James Madison University

Muna Ndulo, Cornell University, USA
Caesar Cheelo, Southern African Institute for Policy and Research (SAIPAR), Zambia
Michael Gubser, James Madison University, USA

Panel 6c. Circular Vibranium: Lessons from Wakanda on Creating a Circular Economy
Panel sponsored by African Leadership University

Moderator: Alaa Ben-Abdallah, African Leadership University, Rwanda
Zoom coordinator: Hannah Sions, James Madison University, USA

Chandni Hirani, African Leadership University, Rwanda
Ghislain Irakoze, African Leadership University, Rwanda
Rudi Ackerman, African Leadership University, Rwanda
Salam Al-Khateeb, African Leadership University, Mauritius
Elke Nijman, Circular Africa, Kenya and Rwanda

Panel 6d. Environmental Movement, Peace Building and Society Justice
Panel co-sponsored by the Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence, James Madison University, and the Wangari Maathai Institute of Peace and Environmental Studies, University of Nairobi

This panel is dedicated to the memory of Professor Terry Beitzel, Director of the Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence, James Madison University

Moderator: Edward Brantmeier, James Madison University, USA
Zoom Coordinator: Katey Castellano, James Madison University, USA

Kariuki Muigua, Wangari Maathai Institute of Peace and Environmental Studies, University of Nairobi, Kenya
Jane Mutune, Wangari Maathai Institute of Peace and Environmental Studies, University of Nairobi, Kenya
Thuita Thenya, Wangari Maathai Institute of Peace and Environmental Studies, University of Nairobi, Kenya
Jens Emborg, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Wangari Maathai Institute of Peace and Environmental Studies, University of Nairobi, Kenya

Keynote Speaker
Sponsored by the Furious Flower Poetry Center, James Madison University

Claudia Rankine, Yale University, USA

Moderator: Joanne Gabbin, James Madison University, USA
Conversant: Lauren Alleyne, James Madison University, USA

Panel 7a. Black Music Faculty Challenging White Supremacy
Panel sponsored by the School of Music, James Madison University

Moderator: Diane Phoenix-Neal, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Kate Arecchi, James Madison University, USA

Amy Lewis, James Madison University, USA
Diane Phoenix-Neal, James Madison University, USA
Juliet White-Smith, Ohio State University, USA
Timothy Holley, North Carolina Central University, USA
David Berry, Eastern Mennonite University, USA

Panel 7b. Teaching Hard Histories for Racial Healing: The Lynching in Virginia Curriculum Project

Moderator: Gianluca De Fazio, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Mallory Marsh, James Madison University, USA

Mary Beth Cancienne, James Madison University, USA
Ashley Taylor Jaffee, James Madison University, USA
Anna Adler, James Madison University, USA
Rebekah Bloxom, James Madison University, USA
Ryland Jones, James Madison University, USA
Roumario Bector, James Madison University, USA
Jackson Rogers, James Madison University, USA
Emily Stegner, James Madison University, USA
Alia Stone, James Madison University, USA

Panel 7c. Systemic Racism in US Political Institutions
Panel sponsored by the Department of Political Science, James Madison University

Moderator: Tim LaPira, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Carah Ong Whaley, James Madison University, USA

Nadia Brown, Purdue University, USA
Alexandra Filindra, University of Illinois-Chicago, USA
Kerry Haynie, Duke University, USA

Panel 7d. Contesting Cultural Histories

Moderator: Steven Reich, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Taimi Castle, James Madison University, USA

Alonzo Smith, Texas Christian University, USA
“Gentlemen, Gentle Men and Gentility: Venture Smith’s 19th century challenging of White, Masculinist Discourse Conceptions”

Bennett Brazelton, Boston Public Schools, USA
“Du Bois in Harlem: Radicalism, Conservatism, and the New Crowd, 1915-1924”

Dewitt King, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, USA
“Embodied Racial Capitalism: The Biopolitics of Boxing”

Panel 8a. Preserving The Stories of African Americans in Small Towns: Uniontown and Chester Pennsylvania

Moderator: Norma D. Thomas, Widener University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Carole Nash, James Madison University, USA

Raina León, St. Mary’s College of California, USA
Twyla Simpkins, Yes We Can Achievement & Cultural Center, USA
Norma D. Thomas, Widener University, USA

Panel 8b. Activism Across Boundaries

Moderator: Neil Marrin, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Case Watkins, James Madison University, USA

Frances Flannery, James Madison University, Co-Founder of BioEarth, Rodrigue Makelele, Co-Founder of BioEarth, and Liz Blackman, Co-Founder of BioEarth
“Teaching Environmental Resiliency in the Democratic Republic of Congo: An Adaptive, Faith Based-Public-Non-Profit Partnership”

Tye Deal, Kamehameha Schools, USA
“Conducting Research Within Indigenous Populations As a Non-Native”

Panel 8c. Political Formations within Literature

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

Michael Washington, California College of the Arts, USA
“Sylvia Wynter’s Time”

Sarah Lofstrom, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
“On the Pleasures of Love: Affective Politics of Love and Labor in June Jordan’s Poetry”

David Magill, Longwood University, USA
“Representing Civil Rights and the Politics of Cultural Memory”

Martin Rayburn, Independent Scholar, USA
“Protagonicity Without a Protagonist: Blackness and Accumulation in Morrison’s Beloved”

Panel 8d. Our Collective Notebook: Introduction to Hypothes.is Web Annotation

A workshop by Alex Gil, Digital Scholarship Librarian, Columbia University, USA

Moderator: Juhong Christie Liu, James Madison University, USA
Zoom Coordinator: Kevin Hegg, James Madison University, USA

AAAD Conference Reception

Presiding: Heather Coltman, Provost and Senior Vice President, Academic Affairs, James Madison University

Organizers: Erica Cavanagh and Gianluca De Fazio, James Madison University

Please join us at the online reception for some poetry, short stories, and music. James Madison University Provost Dr. Heather Coltman will kick off the celebration with a greeting, followed by readings from Jocelyn Johnson, author of the forthcoming short story collection My Monticello, and Lauren K. Alleyne, author of the poetry collections Difficult Fruit and Honeyfish. Jazz performances by current and former JMU students will follow the readings. These include “Malinke’s Dance” by Marty Ehrlich, arranged by Chuck Dotas, and performed by the JMU Jazz Ensemble and “Like Thad,” composed and arranged by JMU alumna Courtney Wright, and performed by the Courtney Wright Jazz Orchestra. Erica Cavanagh, who co-organized the event with Dr. Gianluca De Fazio, will emcee.

Panel 9a. Powers of Representation

Moderator: Sofia Samatar, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Monica Smith-Woofter, James Madison University, USA

Hediye Özkan, Aksaray University, Turkey
“From Personal to Collective Salvation: Spirituality and Racial Uplift in A Slave Girl’s Story”

Brendan Loon, University of Oxford, UK
“The Unheimlich of Unhomelich: Rejecting Overdetermined Commercial and Symbolic Economies of Self”

Austin Anderson, New York University, USA
“Literary Alibi: Langston Hughes, Namdeo Dhasal, and the Consumption of African American and Dalit Literature”

Dawn-Marie Gibson, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK
“Virtue: Pioneer and Reinforcer of Nation of Islam Messaging for Black Muslim Women”

Panel 9b. Growing the Collective from Home: The East Africa Field School Goes Online

Moderator: Jennifer Coffman, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Diane Phoenix-Neal, James Madison University, USA

Emmy Judith Atieno Auma, Nazarene Language Centre, Nairobi, Kenya
Jacob Mayiani Loorimirim, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), USA
Martin Mayiani, Public Radio of the Shenandoah Valley and Charlottesville, USA
Kayla Yurco, James Madison University, USA
Jennifer Coffman, James Madison University, USA

Panel 9c. Transnational Epistemologies

Moderator: Bayo Ogundipe, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Juhong Christie Liu, James Madison University, USA

Oluwasegun Ajetunmobi, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
“The Transnationalism of Herbalism, Spiritism and Divination of Yoruba Traditional Medicine”

Suchetana Banerjee, Symbiosis International University, India
“The Burden of Colonisation: Analysing the Language Debate of African Literatures”

Miracle Ogbor, James Madison University, USA
“A Trip to West Africa: Yoruba Art Songs”

Panel 9d. Movements in Global Education, Engagement and Virtual Exchange

Moderator: Felix Wang, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Traci Zimmerman, James Madison University, USA

Ravi Ammigan, University of Delaware, USA
Taryn Roberts, James Madison University, USA
James Perez, Universidad Tecnologica de Bolivar, Colombia
Jennifer Wiley, James Madison University, USA
Elishibah Msengeti Poriot, The Classroom Outside, Kenya

Panel 9e. The Changing Structure of States

Moderator: Charles Blake James Madison University, USA
Zoom Coordinator: Carah Ong Whaley, James Madison University, USA

Etana Dinka, James Madison University, USA
“Bridging and Breaking Links: Balabbatnät and ‘Bargains of Collaboration’ in Imperial Ethiopia (1920s-1974)”

Jacquelin Kataneksza, The New School, USA
“Translocal Economies in an Electoral Authoritarian State: Navigating Political and Economic Instability in Zimbabwe”

Tosin Durodola, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
“Unpacking the Actual Exilic Process: Narratives of the Journey to Exile and Remaking of a Liberian Residuals Settlement in Oru, Southwestern Nigeria”

Daniel Mekonnen, Independent Consultant, Geneva, Switzerland
“Critical Reflections on Integration Related Challenges of the African Diaspora in Europe”

Featured Workshop
Co-sponsored by the Africana Studies Workshop and the Center for Faculty Innovation, James Madison University

Mukoma wa Ngugi, Cornell University, USA
“Africans and African Americans: A Tale of Three (Keta, Ghana and Bristol, UK and Harlem) Cities”

Moderator: Sofia Samatar, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinators: Lauren Alleyne and Ardyn Tennyson, James Madison University, USA

Panel 10a.  Interrupting and Responding to Racial Microaggressions in P-16 Education

Moderator: Kara M. Kavanagh, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Taimi Castle, James Madison University, USA

Joi D. Merritt, James Madison University, USA
Oris Griffin, James Madison University, USA
Monica B. Smith-Woofter, James Madison University, USA
Emma Thacker, James Madison University, USA
Mira C. Williams, James Madison University, USA
Aaron Bodle, James Madison University, USA
Ashley Taylor Jaffee, James Madison University, USA
Kara M. Kavanagh, James Madison University, USA

Panel 10b. Religions, Spiritualities, Experience

Moderator: Aderonke A. Adesanya, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: David Bohn, James Madison University, USA

Barbara Cruz and Noshua Amoras, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
“Black Spiritualities and the Discourses of Syncretism and Mixture in Two Afro-Brazilian Religions”

Liam Buckley, James Madison University, USA
“‘How can I soften when all of these feelings are coming up?’: Black Experiences and Practices in Yoga (Asana and Meditation)”

Nnamdi C. Ajaebili, University of Nigeria, Nigeria
“The Burden of Christianity on Igbo Religion Using the Kola Nut Culture as an Example”

Panel 10c. Black Women’s Representation
Panel co-sponsored by the Department of Political Science and the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Minor, James Madison University

Moderator: Kristin Wylie, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Morgan Smalls, James Madison University, USA

Jamil Scott, Georgetown University, USA
“Is She On the List: Understanding the Role of Women Campaign Funding Groups in State Level Politics”

Jatia Wrighten, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA
“Stacey Abrams: A Case Study in Political Ambition”

Kristin Wylie, James Madison University, USA
“The New Marielles? Intersectional Implications of Outrage for Political Ambition” (with Malu Gatto, University College London, UK)

Panel 10d. Decolonizing Educational Technology Research & Use through Cross-Cultural Collaborations
Panel sponsored by the International Research Collaborative for Established and Emerging Scholars (IRCEES)

Moderator: Juhong Christie Liu, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Bethany Nowviskie, James Madison University, USA

Alice Barlow-Zambodla, e/Merge Africa, Conservation South Africa
Hannah M Grossman, UCLA/Duke University National Center for Child Traumatic Stress, USA
Neil Kramm, Rhodes University, South Africa
Juhong Christie Liu, James Madison University, USA
Nicola Pallitt, Rhodes University, South Africa
Leah Sikoyo, Makerere University, Uganda
Nompilo Tshuma, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

Panel 11a. Thinking with Silence as Method Rhizomatically

Moderator: Cee Carter, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA
Zoom coordinator: David Bohn, James Madison University, USA

Nicole le Roux, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA
Cee Carter, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA
Mariam Rashid, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA

Panel 11b. From Theory to Practice: Facilitating a Movement, Fostering a Collective – JMU’s Task Force on Racial Equity

Moderator: Jennifer PeeksMease, James Madison University, USA
Zoom Coordinator: Modjadji Choshi, James Madison University, USA

Cynthia Bauerle, James Madison University, USA
Arthur Dean, James Madison University, USA
Rudy Molina, James Madison University, USA
Deborah Tompkins Johnson, James Madison University, USA

Panel 11c. AAAD Studies and Systemic Change in the Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Panel sponsored by the AAAD Critical Perspectives and Pedagogies Institute, James Madison University

Moderator: Taimi Castle, James Madison University, USA
Zoom Coordinator: Savannah Brown, James Madison University, USA

Melissa W. Alemán, James Madison University, USA
Zachary Dorsey, James Madison University, USA
Liam Buckley, James Madison University, USA
Bryce Hayes, James Madison University, USA
Traci Zimmerman, James Madison University, USA

Panel 11d. How Honors Studies Can Benefit from African-American and Africana Diaspora Studies

Moderator: Fawn-Amber Montoya, James Madison University, USA
Zoom coordinator: Holly Yanacek, James Madison University, USA
Commentator: Brad Newcomer,James Madison University, USA

Amazin Bullock, James Madison University, USA
“Black Woman in STEM: Models for Success”

Pierre Mbala, James Madison University, USA
“Putting the Black Experience into the STEM Classroom”

Alyssa Vargas Lopez, University of Missouri-St. Louis, USA
“The Importance of African American Studies in a Graduate Program”

Panel 11e. Black Teachers Are Essential: A Comparative Study in Black Student Experience

Moderator: Eghosa Obaizamomwan Hamilton, University of San Francisco, USA
Zoom coordinator: Alysia Davis, James Madison University, USA

T. Gertrude Jenkins, University of San Francisco, USA
Eghosa Obaizamomwan Hamilton, University of San Francisco, USA
Raina Leon, Saint Mary’s College of California, USA

Closing ​

An opportunity to gather and reflect upon the 11th Annual Conference in an informal setting. Guests will have the opportunity to circulate among topic-based breakout rooms.