The National Council for Black Studies (NCBS) held its annual conference in Los Angeles, CA from March 11-14, 2015. This conference was hosted by several Africana Studies Departments in Los Angeles including: California State University, Northridge; California State University, Los Angeles; California State University, Dominguez Hills; California State University, Long Beach; UCLA; Loyola Marymount; and the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA. CSUN’s representatives on the local host committee were Dr. David Horne (Chair of Africana Studies), Dr. Aimee Glocke (Assistant Professor of Africana Studies), Michele Beller (Administrative Support Assistant in Africana Studies), and the committee was chaired by Dr. Karin Stanford (Associate Dean in the College of Humanities). Conference highlights included: Congresswoman Karen Bass as a keynote speaker; a town hall meeting with Assemblywoman Dr. Shirley Weber at the African American Museum; and a plenary session hosted by UCLA on the 2015 Hollywood Diversity Report with actors Robert Townsend, Wren Brown, and others.
In addition, several CSUN faculty and staff presented their research and/or chaired panels at the conference including: Dr. Karin Stanford (Associate Dean in the College of Humanities); Dr. Sheba Lo (Assistant Professor of Africana Studies); Dr. Aimee Glocke (Assistant Professor in Africana Studies); Dr. Anthony Ratcliff (Associate Professor of Africana Studies); Dr. Raquel Kennon (Assistant Professor of Africana Studies); Dr. Paulette Theresa (Assistant Professor in University Counseling); James Simmons (Instructor in Africana Studies); Debra Hammond (the University Student Union); and Catherine Jermany (graduate student in Educational Psychology/Counseling). Dr. Horne also led a public debate showcasing two teams of CSUN students, and several CSUN students volunteered at the conference including: Aiden Binyam; Josh Henderson; Alexus Smith; Jessica Loyd; Ife Sangode-Olaitan; and Melanie Washington.
On the last day of the conference, NCBS also held Teacher Training Workshops on how to teach Black Studies and Ethnic Studies in Pre-School-12th Grades. Dr. Glocke was awarded a grant by NCBS to organize workshops taught by professors and educators in Ethnic Studies including Dr. Maulana Karenga, Dr. Aimee Glocke, Niki Mort, Jebby Williams-Wilkey, and two CSUN Alumni, Taylor Wilkey and Moya Ojarigi. About 25 teachers, administrators, and undergraduate/graduate students were in attendance. Not only did these workshops help to fulfill the original mission of Black Studies; but, they also assisted in bridging the gap between CSUN’s Africana Studies Department and the LAUSD in the hopes that they can work more closely together in the future.