Imani Tailly, News Writer 

As we draw to the end of February and the end of Black History Month, there is one event that I have been anxiously awaiting. From February 24th through the 26th, the UNCG African American and African Diaspora Studies (AADS) program will be having their annual Conference on African American and African Diasporic Cultures and Experiences (CACE conference). With the theme of race and education, three days of panels, discussions, and more, it is a true celebration of Black culture and the perfect way to bring African American History Month to a close. 

With this year marking the 100th anniversary of Black History Month, it is important to understand the history and the work that created it. Black History Month was established in 1926 through the work of Carter G. Woodson. According to the CACE Conference webpage,  Woodson, a journalist and historian, started his work in 1915. The Association for the Study of African American Life and History offers more background on Woodson, who was a graduate from the University of Chicago, and his work establishing the holiday. Originally named “Negro History Week,” the name was changed in 1976 to Black History Month and expanded from a week to a month-long celebration.  

The CACE conference has taken place annually since 1990, drawing together scholars, students, professors, artists, and more. It goes far beyond just UNCG and the AADS department, working with other colleges like North Carolina A&T, Western Carolina University, and Davidson College. There are three spotlight speakers to look forward to this year: Dr. Tracy Bailey, founder of Freedom Readers and author of Forever Free: A True Story of Hope in the Fight for Child Literacy; Dr. Fredrick Douglas Dixon, the director of African American Studies and the Black Studies Institute at Radford University; and Dr. Deborah Barnes, one of UNCG AADS department’s adjunct professors and a Greensboro native with deep connections across the state. 

The CACE conference is a three-day-long event. The Day 1 Schedule starts when registration opens at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, February 24^th. Opening remarks start at 9:30 a.m. with a poster presentation of Christianity’s Role in Shaping America’s Society by Bashar al-Janabi at 9:45 a.m. The first keynote event is at 11 a.m. with Dr. Dixon’s discussion on Black Studies. The second keynote begins with Dr. Barnes at 3 p.m. titled Every Blessing Hides a Curse: Autobiography as Black History. The day wraps up with an open mic starting at 7 p.m. and lasting until 9 p.m. (my personal favorite event). The Day 2 Schedule (for Wednesday, February 25^th) opens with two discussions at 9 a.m. Other events on Wednesday include The Deep Dark Sea: African Americans’ Relationship with the Sea at 11 a.m., a noon roundtable on mental health in the academic world, and a 2 p.m. panel on representation in media education. The Day 3 Schedule marks the end of CACE on Thursday, February 26th. Thursday’s events begin at 9:30 a.m. with two discussions focused on Inclusion and Equity at Work and Abroad. The first discussion, Against the Current, studies the experience of four people in the world of music education as they navigate political opposition. The second discussion, Navigating Belonging, looks at the experience if Black and Latino people with the health care system abroad. At 3:30 p.m. Black Superheroes: Exploring Race, Power and Culture Through Comic Studies begins and the day wraps up with a reflection at 5 p.m. 

I hope that you saw an event that caught your attention and piqued your interest. CACE is put on by the amazing AADS team, and everyone involved works hard to bring the event to campus every year. To attend, you can register the day of or by using this Microsft Form. As an intern with the AADS program, I am proud to have worked with and taken classes with many of the professors in our AADS department, and I know the time and planning that goes into it. I encourage you to look through the daily schedules, come to learn, and have a great time connecting with the speakers and other students.