“Navigating Anti-Black Racism and Nativism: The Global Black Immigrant Experience”

Keynote speaker, Dr. Regine O. Jackson, Professor of Sociology and Dean of the Humanities, Social Sciences, Media, and Arts Division, Morehouse College.

The issue of immigration and the right to reside across the globe has long been racialized. For example, in the United States, the past decade has seen a resurgence of exclusionary rhetoric rooted in anti-Black racism and the criminalization of individuals of color from Central and South America. While in Europe, the rise of exclusionary rhetoric against people of color from Africa and the Middle East has also grown over recent years. There are increasing fears that the immigration of people of color may soon alter the white majority of these countries. This conference seeks to understand how Black immigrants encounter nativism across the globe. Against this backdrop, the conference proposes to take a transnational perspective, investigating how anti-Black racism—broadly defined—and nativism affect immigration from Africa and the African diaspora around the globe. More specifically, this conference seeks to engage with global perspectives on Black migration.

Please submit a title and an abstract between 250-300 words explaining your topic and the format of your presentation. Include the names and contact information of all participants. Titles and abstracts are due April 1, 2025, and should be emailed to blackstudies@missouri.edu. Responses will be sent by May 31, 2025.

We can offer limited scholarship funding of $500 each to six outstanding graduate students for travel or accommodation expenses.

When: October 15 - 16, 2025

Where: University of Missouri, Columbia

Organized by the Department of Black Studies, University of Missouri