Howard University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center (MSRC), in partnership with the Center for Journalism and Democracy, hosted the International Black Writers Festival from September 27-29, a new iteration on the National Writers Conference.
The event was themed around the idea, “Why We Gather,” and drew writers, readers, critics, academics, and more to discuss the role of literature and the arts, political issues, the concept of inclusion, and more.
“This is a repository about Black people around the world, controlled by Black people from around the world and we decide what is important. We decide what is significant, we decide the collections that we hold, we control the space. That distinction is worth homing in on and meditating on,” said Benjamin Talton, PhD, director of the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center.
Talton gathered Black academics and thinkers from around the world to join in conversation about banned books and other salient topics. Prolific writers Ta-Nehisi Coates, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Mikki Kendall, and more appeared on panels during the festival
Article ID: 1746