Black Issues Conference features Rosa Clemente

Rosa Clemente, the 2008 Green party vice presidential candidate, will be the keynote speaker for the 17th annual Black Issues Conference at BGSU.

The conference, which features a wide range of research and creative presentations by students, faculty and staff, will start at 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, in the Bowen-Thompson Student Union. Presentations will include visual and performing arts and critical analyses of contemporary black society and culture from across the academic spectrum. Special emphasis is placed on current social and political movements, such as #BlackLivesMatter, and the issues of importance to black communities as we look ahead to the 2016 election cycle.  

Clemente’s keynote presentation will begin at 12:30 p.m. In addition to her political run in 2008, Clemente has spoken widely on issues of Afro-Puerto Rican identity, feminism and hip-hop activism. She is a graduate of SUNY-Albany and Cornell University and has studied and lectured across the country on nationalist movements, particularly those involving young people of color. She frequently speaks on youth participation in politics. Over the last 20 years, she has written for Clamor Magazine, The Final Call, The Black World Today and The Ave. Clemente’s intersectional approach to black identity and politics is especially timely.

Registration is free for BGSU students and $15 for all others. Register online by Feb. 12 2016.

Departments or offices that would like to reserve a table for the event may contact Stephanie Rader at srader@bgsu.edu.