
Virtual Practitioners Symposium presented by Michigan State University
13 JULY 2021
Rethinking Sites of Memory and Dialogue: The Promises of Ubuntu, Pan-Africanism, and Decolonization
1. Welcome and Opening Remarks
Panelists:
Upenyu S. Majee: Project Manager, Ubuntu Dialogues, African Studies Center, Michigan State University (MSU)
Prof Jamie Monson: African History; Director, African Studies Center; Co-PI, Ubuntu Dialogue Project, MSU
Bongani Mgijima: Director, Stellenbosch University (SU) Museum; Co-PI, Ubuntu Dialogues Project, SU, South Africa
2. Ubuntu Pan Africanism, and Decolonization: Mapping the Landscape
Panelists:
Baruti Katembo: Co-author, UWENZI: The Pan-African Factor, a 21st Century View; and Mathematics Faculty, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL
Assistant Prof Gnaka Lagoke: History & Pan-Africana Studies, Lincoln University, PA and Founding Member, Convention for Pan-Africanism and Progress (CPP)
Facilitator:
Upenyu S. Majee
3. Ubuntu Pan Africanism, and Decolonization as Concepts and as Practice: Practitioners Experiences and Insights
Panelists:
R. Sherman McCathern: Founder & Executive Director, Ubuntu Village, Flint, MI
Ernest Johnson: Co-founder & Director, Ubuntu Village, New Orleans, LA
Kiya Green: Founder & Executive Director, Ubuntu Village School, Trenton, NJ
Facilitator:
Isaac Kalumbu
4. Sport and Art as Sites of Youth Dialogue and Engagement
Panelists:
Taylor Sharp: Producer and Co-Director, Hoops Africa: Ubuntu Matters (movie)
Dan Hedges: Co-Director, Hoops Africa: Ubuntu Matters
Olivia Furman: Artist and PhD Candidate, Curriculum, Instruction and Teacher Education, MSU
Facilitator:
Leps Malete
5. Cultural Heritage and Creative Arts as Sites of Memory and Dialogue: Mapping the Landscape
Panelists:
Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes: Executive Director, Ashé Cultural Arts Center, New Orleans, LA
Madaha Kinsey-Lamb: Director, Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center, Bronx, NYC
Zella Palmer: Chair and Director, The Dillard University Ray Charles Program in African-American Material Culture, Dillard University, New Orleans, LA
Facilitator:
Philip Effiong
6. Cultural Heritage and Arts as Sites of Memory and Dialogue: Practitioner Experiences and Insights
Panelists:
Patrina Chatman: Curator, Collections and Exhibitions, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit, MI
Greta McHaney Trice: Coordinator, Pave the Way I-496 Project, Lansing, MI
Diana N’Diaye: Curator, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Washington D.C.
Facilitator:
Monica Ramirez- Montagut
7. Closing Remarks
Panelist:
Judith Stoddart: Associate Provost for University Collections and Arts Initiatives; Senior Associate Dean of the Graduate School; and Associate Prof. of English, MSU