The Center for Africana Studies at Central Connecticut State University will host “The Cookout: A Celebration of African Diasporic Resilience and Culture,” at this year’s annual conference.
Now in its 31st year, this free conference is a signature event of the Center for Africana Studies at Central. This year’s conference will convene on Friday, March 6, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Constitution Room at Memorial Hall on the Central campus. All are welcome.
The conference will offer a variety of educational, recreational, and cultural activities throughout the day. Central faculty and staff will offer remarks, along with keynote speakers Dr. Helen Nevillea, a professor of Educational Psychology and African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Dr. Daniel Broyld, an associate professor of African American History at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Attendees will be invited to explore their roots at the ancestry and family tree table; learn about the flavors of their heritage with a recipe exchange; and indulge in a feast that celebrates unity.
Music and dance performances will complement that program, with African line dancing led by Sistah Iya Anyangō Yaa Asantewaa, a multi-award-winning empowerment freedom coach and the CEO and founder of The FLYY Movement, LLC, and a drum circle with Leonard Epps, president of the Brother Carl Hardrick Institute for Violence Prevention.