The African Student Union kicks off its 34th Annual Black Consciousness Conference tomorrow with its headlining theme “The Resurrection of Black Power: A Call to Action.”
The African Student Union’s Black Consciousness Conference is the longest standing student conference in California. Like past years, the conference will feature a number of speakers from multiple California campuses, as well as exhibitions and activities that celebrate black consciousness. The conference has a legacy of reaching a wide variety of students and community members from all over the United States, according to the College of Liberal Arts website.
“The essential purpose of this event is to enhance the understanding of people of African descent on the issues that impact them as a people, so that as a collective unit we can formulate solutions to collectively move us forward and resurrect black power,” ASU President and Conference Chair Taharka Anderson said.
This three-day conference will begin with a talent showcase hosted by Epsilon Kappa Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity Friday. At the event, R&B performances, poetry and spoken word will be featured.
The event heats up on Saturday with talks about “Obama and the Myth of Black Equality,” “Rap and Religion,” “School-to-Prison Pipeline,” “21st Century Student Activism,” “Emasculation of Black Males,” among others.
The event will feature speakers such as University of California, Irvine Vice Chancellor Thomas Parham, Cheryl Grills of Loyola Marymount University and Tyrone Howard of University of California, Los Angeles. The keynote speaker of this event is Oakland native activist and hip-hop artist Ise Lyfe.
ASU welcomes students from all over campus to participate in one or all days of the event. There will be a series of panel discussions, vendors and food.
“I am looking forward to seeing a sense of urgency and consciousness as a result of the conference,” senior biology major Blair Parks said. “I would love to see more unity within black communities.”
The event will take place in the University Student Union auditorium on Friday and Saturday. Admission is free and canned food donations are encouraged. For more information and registration, visit the CSULB ASU’s Facebook page: http://mbasic.facebook.com/events/499439853508500.