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The Challenges of Black Power
| Location: | Illinois, United States |
| Conference Date: | 2013-03-13 (Archive) |
| Date Submitted: |
2012-12-04 |
| Announcement ID: |
199305 |
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Black Power challenges people of African Descent to ascertain political and economic strength. This notion has shifted Black empowerment from an era of protest politics rooted in Black Nationalist strategies of political equality and social justice to the institutionalized approach of political incorporation (i.e., electing Black officials to positions of power). However, the socioeconomic status of African Americans has not changed even if it has improved over time. The continual decline of progressive and egalitarian institutions presents a challenge which must be met with robust and unwavering opposition. Poverty and unemployment continue to disproportionately affect people of color; the Prison Industrial Complex continues to wreck havoc on the lives of Black and Brown Males and Females - young, black females in particular are among the fastest growing prison population although their crime numbers have not risen; the Achievement Gap widens; the HIV travel ban was lifted in the United States bringing the International AIDS Conference to the U.S.; however, health disparities continue to require a purposive course of action. For the first time in U.S. History, gay marriage was endorsed by the Democratic Party following the heals of the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," yet violence and discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community continue to endure in ways that call for black scholars and black activists to reconsider coalition politics. Across the globe, the struggle for self-determination and equality continue; the Arab Spring in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya have incited newfound appreciation for protest politics; the U.S.-Columbia Free Trade Agreement was passed in 2012 despite human rights violations against Afro-Columbians; and China's economic expansion in Africa continues to fly in the face of Western influence on the continent; How do Black Activists and Black Intellectuals engage the politics of disparity? Must we reconceptualize Black Power? What is the state of Black Politics? Black progressive movements have long offered an alternative to American political discourse. Thus, the African American community must continue to agitate, mobilize, and demand accountability from the status quo.
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