Town Hall: Black at Cornell

Black History Month is a time to assess, ask questions, and come together. Join us for this town hall and community event hosted by the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies to kick off Black History Month on campus and discuss the encounter between African Americans and Black people outside the United States.

To be Black is to be part of a community that has multiple identities and nationalities. Our encounters and experiences show historical, political, and cultural solidarities but, at the same time, capture tensions among ways of being Black.

At this event, faculty, staff, and students will gather to ask the questions: What does Blackness here at Cornell mean? Who defines it? What do Black people owe each other? What of each other’s histories do we know and should know? And what should be done?

Stay after the town hall to enjoy time with friends, refreshments, and music from DJs Ishion Hutchinson and Esther Kondo Heller.

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Free Ticket Required

Limited seating: Reserve your free ticket today!

Please note that this is an in-person community event. The discussion will not be recorded or livestreamed.

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Schedule

• Town Hall: 6:00–7:30 p.m.
• Food and Music: 7:30–9:00 p.m.

Faculty Speakers

• Mukoma Wa Ngugi (Literatures in English, Africana Studies and Research Center, A&S)
• Carole Boyce Davies (Africana Studies and Research Center, Literatures in English, A&S)
• Russell Rickford (History, A&S)
• Ishion Hutchinson (Literatures in English, A&S)
• Michell Chresfield (Africana Studies and Research Center, A&S)
• Grant Farred (Africana Studies and Research Center, A&S)
• Derrick Spires (Literatures in English, A&S)
• Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon (Literatures in English, A&S)
• Misha Inniss-Thompson (Psychology, A&S)

Student Speakers

Harmela Anteneh '23 | Alana Berry '24 | Obioha Chijioke '24 | Esther Kondo Heller, MFA candidate | Setor Kudiabor '25 | Maia Lee ' 24 | Rumbidzai Mangwende '23 | Amira Olingou '25 | Imani Rezaka '24 | Brice Roundtree '24 | Ami Tamakloe, PhD student | Amandla Thomas-Johnson, PhD student | Selam Woldai '23 | Members of Black Students United and the Caribbean Students' Association

Host and Sponsors

Hosted by the Einaudi Center as part of its inequalities, identities, and justice global research priority, this event is cosponsored by the Africana Studies and Research Center in the College of Arts and Sciences.