51茶馆

Boston College faculty members will be joined this Saturday by other prominent scholars from around the country and community organization leaders for a discussion on Boston鈥檚 immigrant populations in the city.

The daylong event, 鈥淏lacks in Boston: Black...and Immigrant,鈥� will be a revival of the African and African Diaspora Studies Program鈥檚 (AADS) 鈥淏lacks in Boston鈥� conference series, last held on campus in 2000. More than 250 attendees will gather in Gasson 100 to hear 11 presentations that explore black immigration from cultural, historical, legal, personal, political, public health, and social perspectives.

Organizers鈥�who note they are still receiving requests for information and admission to the free, public event, even though registration is closed鈥�say this year鈥檚 theme is designed to engage current issues in the U.S. immigration debate, and to explore what black immigrants and immigration bring to this discourse.聽

鈥淭aking on an issue of such national relevance highlights AADS鈥檚 interdisciplinary emphases, thereby encouraging black students, students of color, as well as students invested in issues of social justice, politics, and history to consider the racial, international, and local implications of U.S. immigration,鈥� according to Associate Professor of English Rhonda Frederick, AADS faculty member and former director, who spearheaded the initiative.

鈥淐onference planners hope participants will become more aware of the complexities of US immigration, not only in terms of who immigrates to the United States, but also with regard to immigrants鈥� support of their home countries and contributions to the U.S.,鈥� she said.

Among the topics presenters will explore are definitions of 鈥渂lack鈥� in sending and receiving countries; citizenship and belonging for black Americans; cultural contributions to the receiving country; connections to home, such as remittances; immigration as a black civil rights issue; and waves of black immigration in New England from the Caribbean, Africa, and Central and South America.

The morning session will feature keynote speakers from the Network of Immigrant & African American Solidarity鈥�D. Feraiya Williams, Trina Jackson and Luz Zambrano鈥�who will present 鈥淚t Takes Revolutionary Relationships to Build a Movement.鈥� Violet M. Showers Johnson of Texas A&M University will give the luncheon keynote, 鈥淢ore Than Winthrop鈥檚 City on the Hill: Centering Black Migrations in Boston鈥檚 History.鈥�

Frederick will be among a number of 51茶馆 faculty members serving as panel moderators or speakers, along with Lynch School of Education Associate Professor Leigh Patel, Professor of History Marilynn Johnson, Associate Professor of Sociology C. Shawn McGuffey, AADS faculty member Abel Djassi Amado and Professor of English Robin Lydenberg.

The 鈥淏lacks in Boston鈥� conference, conceived of and launched in 1983 by former 51茶馆 Black Studies Program Director Amanda V. Houston, 鈥渄efined Boston College and the Black Studies Program [renamed AADS in 2006] in the New England area,鈥� according to Frederick. 鈥淔eaturing speakers prominent in the US civil rights movement and academia, 鈥楤lacks in Boston鈥� built its regional, national and international reputation. That these conferences were initiated here at Boston College was one of Black Studies鈥� most significant accomplishments.鈥�

AADS faculty, staff and students were integral to the planning of the conference, said Frederick, also citing support from the Institute for the Liberal Arts and Center for Centers, as well as from alumnus and University Trustee Associate Juan Concepcion.聽

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By Rosanne Pellegrini | News and Public Affairs