Announcements
Posted: Monday, April 7, 2025Black Buffalo Speaks
East Buffalo is coming to campus!
Thanks to funding provided by the Faculty-Student Association, on Saturday, April 19 from 11 am to 4 pm, Africana Studies is hosting a conference called “Black Buffalo Speaks.” The conference features presentations from a star-studded cast of East Buffalo grassroots leaders representing diverse organizations: [1] nationally renowned storyteller, Karima Amin, of Prisoners Are People Too; [2] eminent researcher and Buffalo State alumnus, Terry Alford, of the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor; [3] social justice icon, Cariol Horne, of Black Lives Matter Grassroots; [4] community activist and Buffalo State alumnus, Leighton Jones, of Our City Action Buffalo; and [5] educator and activist, Lion Blyden, of the Universal Negro Improvement Association.
Mayoral candidate and member of the 5/14 Commission, Garnell Whitfield, will be the Keynote Speaker, while many other community organizations, such as SURJ, Buffalo Urban League, and Fruit Belt Coalition are invited to table during the conference.
Exemplifying high-impact practices, students from the course “AAS 200-Blacks in Buffalo” planned and organized this conference with several outcomes in mind:
- Become familiar with East Side organizations and grassroots leaders
- Hear the voices and perspectives of residents from the city in which we are located
- Align teaching and service with the needs of East Buffalo as articulated by the residents
- Expand networks into East Buffalo and establish partnerships, internships, and more
- Enjoy the energy that comes with participating with campus and community colleagues involved in creating and acting on knowledge that is relevant to the lives of real people
This event is free and open to the public. It will include drumming to energize the room and lunch to satisfy our appetites.
