Present

An International three-Day Conference on

“Black Thought and Movements in World History”

April 27, 28 & 29, 2000

Keynote Speaker: Professor Molefi Kete Asante
Temple University
“Afrocentricity: Towards a New Understanding of the African American Experience”
(Click on name for biography & bibliography)

Special Guest Speakers, Opening Ceremony Panel
Professors George Ayittey and André M. Kapanga
Theme: “Why Have Our Leaders Failed Us?”

– Conference Details & Description
– Conference Program & Schedule
– Keynote Speaker: Molefi Asante
– Guest Speakers: George Ayittey & André Kapanga

Martin Luther King

Description: The course of history has been deeply affected, even controlled, by the contributions in thought and deed of individual blacks (such as Martin Luther King, Steve Biko, Kwame Nkrumah, Marcus Garvey, Leopold S. Senghor, Aime Cesaire, Edward Blyden, Frederick Douglass, Malcom X, Patrice Lumumba, Frantz Fanon, Nelson Mandela, Cheick Anta Diop, etc.) as well as by movements and groups (such as Negritude, Pan-Africanism, Black Consciousness, Afrocentrism, Nation of Islam, Black Panthers, Harlem Renaissance, etc.) in Africa, the United States, the Caribbean, and other parts of the world. Too often, however, given a preconception that there is no truly black intellectualism, these individuals, movements, and groups have taken a place in history as mere names, actions, or events without an accompanying lasting understanding of their deeper philosophical, ideological, or historical significance. This conference calls for papers from all related fields (history, anthropology, literature, political science, etc.) that would help to examine the contributions by black individuals, movements, and groups of both the present and the past with a view to enhancing our understanding of their true philosophical and historical importance as well as their specific contributions to areas of creative and intellectual endeavor such as science, humanities, the arts, etc.

Deadline for Receipt of Abstracts: If you propose to give a paper, we must receive your abstract by March 20, 2000. Abstract Requirements: Paper abstracts must be no longer than 300 words.

Abstracts May  Be Submitted By:

• E-mail to: Daniel Mengara,  or

• Post Mail in the form of both a computer disk and a hard copy (Microsoft word or WordPerfect). Mail your abstract to: Dr. Daniel Mengara, Executive Director, SORAC, French Department, Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, New Jersey 07043 (USA).

Registration Fee: For planning purposes we ask that you pre-register for the conference (and banquet) by returning this form, along with the registration fee, by April 7, 2000. Mail both to: the Institute for the Humanities, Montclair State University, Room 101 Dickson Hall, Upper Montclair, New Jersey 07043. The registration fee for this conference is $75.00 for Non-SORAC members and $65.00 for SORAC members *(must have been a member by December 1998). The fee includes the banquet dinner with guest speaker Molefi Kete Asante and attendance at all of the conference sessions. The registration fee for students not presenting papers, which does NOT include the banquet is $40.00. Make checks or money orders (U.S. or Canadian) payable to SORAC/MSU. If you are coming from abroad, please pay by check drawn on a U.S. bank or by international money order. Print the registration form here.

Directions And Accommodations: The conference will be held on the campus of Montclair State University, located 30 minutes west of midtown Manhattan and easily accessible by ground transportation from there, or from Newark and JFK airports. Relatively inexpensive hotel accommodations will be made available close to campus. Those who respond to this announcement will be mailed a second circular giving further details concerning the schedule of the conference and local accommodations. Print the registration form here.

Conference Program & Schedule: Click Here to access program and schedule information.

Important Notes: Please provide all contact information (name, address, departmental and institutional affiliation, telephone, fax, e-mail). It is important for you to have an e-mail account. Free e-mail accounts can be obtained from http://www.hotmail.com or http://www.yahoo.com. If mailing your abstract, please be sure to include a self-addressed envelope with appropriate postage. Abstracts submitted without a self-addressed (stamped) envelope will not be considered (except when mailed from outside the US.)