By: DaQuan Lawrence, Ph.D. Candidate at Howard University
Dr. Ron Daniels, president of the Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW) and convener of the National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC), announced and provided a preview of the upcoming State of the Black World Conference V in a press conference convened by IBW at Empowerment Temple AME Church in Baltimore.
“All roads lead to Baltimore for the State of the Black World Conference V” said Dr. Daniels. “This great gathering will feature the participation of leaders from around the world who are engaged in the reparations movement and addressing the myriad issues of concern to the Pan African world” he continued.
The conference is scheduled for April 19-23, 2023 at the Baltimore Convention Center and Hilton Inner Harbor Hotel and will include international members of the African diaspora and leaders from civil society and the public and private sectors.
“Originally scheduled for 2022 but rescheduled to 2023 as a safeguard against the projected winter increase in COVID, State of the Black World Conference V will commemorate and celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of IBW” said Dr. Daniels.
“At this time of international crises and transformation of global hegemonic systems of dominance, it is important that African civilization norms and prescriptions for sustainable development be formalized and structured as we repair the damage caused by the last 500 years of European materialism, industrialization and oppressive dehumanization” said conference chairman, Dr. Julius Garvey in the invitation letter.
With the theme Global Africans Rising, Empowerment, Reparations and Healing, the 5-day conference seeks to strengthen the rising U.S. and global reparations movements and to explore strategies and models to address social, political and economic issues negatively affecting the African diaspora.
Dr. Daniels and the conference’s organizers expect leaders from human rights, faith, labor, and political spheres around the world to attend. “Hon. P.J. Patterson, the longest serving Prime Minister of Jamaica and the Caribbean a global statesman has already confirmed” Dr. Daniels announced.
“The Hon. Nana Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana, Hon. Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, Hon. Francia Marquez, Vice-President of Colombia, and Hon. Dickon Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada, have been invited and are expected to confirm” Daniels continued.
Listed goals of the conference include reassessing the implications of the 2022 midterm election for Black America and African diaspora; expanding reparations movements to empower and heal Black families, communities and nations; and advancing strategies and models to improve political and economic conditions for the diaspora.
The convening will include plenaries and working sessions on issues such as environmental justice, displacement and gentrification, the ongoing situation in Haiti, socially responsible economic development, combating gun violence and public safety and law enforcement reformation, and more.
Special aspects of the five-day assembly include a Global Black Women’s Leadership Summit and a Global Black Mayors and Elected Officials Roundtable. The conference will also feature a Hip Hop summit, an African marketplace with cultural exhibits and trade booths, and an award ceremony to recognize outstanding Pan African leaders from the global diaspora.
“I am delighted to be in Baltimore today to announce that the Institute of the Black World 21st Century is poised to convene one of the great global gatherings of Black people of the century in this city. This gathering will mark a return to the roots and origins of IBW” said Dr. Daniels.
Dr. Ron Daniels is a veteran social and political activist who was an independent candidate for President of the United States in 1992. Daniels served as executive director of the National Rainbow Coalition in 1987 and as Southern Regional Coordinator and Deputy Campaign Manager for Rev. Jesse Jackson’s 1988 presidential campaign.
The origins of the State of the Black World Conference date back to Baltimore in 1994, when the African American Progressive Action Network (AAPAN), which included a national group of activists, organizers and scholars, convened the State of the Race Conference at Sojourner Douglass College.
During the convening attendees deliberated about the need for an African-centered resource center for Black empowerment. The second State of the Race Conference was also held at Sojourner Douglass College, and took place in 1997.
Later in 2001, while convening for the third time, AAPAN organized the first State of the Black World Conference in Atlanta, GA, and in 2002 several participants returned to Atlanta for the second conference and to formally launch IBW. The third State of the Black World Conference took place at Howard University in 2012, while the fourth conference was held in Newark, NJ in 2016.
Interested attendees can also register for the upcoming conference and find the preliminary agenda and list of facilitators, speakers and invited guests here. For more information IBW and State of the Black World Conference contact info@ibw21.org.
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