National Council for Black Studies is hosting conference for the organization’s 47th anniversary

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) -Educators with the University of Florida are inviting students and the public to the 1st annual National Council for Black Studies conference to shed a light on what African-American studies really is.

This year’s theme is reparations and restorative justice and they will commemorate the 100th year since the Rosewood Massacre.

There will be a total of 7 sessions, which are about one hour and 15 minutes long on topics from the civil rights movement to critical race theory.

Dr. David Canton, the director of the African-American program at UF, said the conference has been in the works since 2020 and now it’s coming to fruition.

“It definitely shows the commitment that the university is making for African-American studies,” said Canton. “If there are any misconceptions about African-American studies, that’ll all be thrown out at this conference.”

More than 200 scholars across the country are expected to attend. They hope to change the negative perspective surrounding African-American studies.

“Like any other discipline, it has debates, discussions, presenting ideas from different African-American perspectives, so that’s really the center of what our conference is all about,” said Canton. “It’s not just for African-American students but all students should have access to this history because it’s part of American history.”

The 3-day conference is being held at the Hilton conference hotel, starts Thursday, March 23rd at 9:30 a.m. and will run through Saturday, March 25th.

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