USF Institute on Black Life conference focuses on arts, health and healing

February is Black Heritage Month  

The USF Institute on Black Life (IBL) hosted its annual conference for the first time on the Sarasota-Manatee campus on Feb. 2. The conference, co-hosted by the USF Center for PAInT and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, centered on the theme of “Arts, Health, and Healing for African American Community Empowerment.”  

The one-day event featured panels, presentations, and artistic performances by both USF and community partners. Presenters came from an interdisciplinary mix of backgrounds, including Africana studies, public health, education, business, and art among many others.

The IBL at the USF College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) was founded in 1986.  

“The IBL continues its important mission of serving as a resource center on the history and culture of the black experience in Africa and the African diaspora in the U.S., Caribbean and Latin America,” said Dr. Fenda A. Akiwumi, director of IBL and professor in the School of Geosciences.  
 
Dr. Gloria Browne-Marshall, a renowned legal scholar, author, playwright and professor at John Jay College CUNY, served as the keynote speaker and Wanda Battle, griot and storyteller, joined as a guest speaker.  

“Our IBL conference is a forum for USF researchers and their community research partners and colleagues from other institutions to present and discuss their collaborative work on issues relevant to the IBL mission,” Akiwumi said. “The diverse fields represented in our conferences over the years show the importance of taking a multidisciplinary and integrated approach to understanding and addressing the triumphs and challenges of black life.” 

“We facilitate and promote scholarly exchange and knowledge production through community-engaged research on a broad range of topics relevant to the lives of African Americans, contemporary Africans, and people of African descent in Latin America and the Caribbean,” Akiwumi said. “In line with USF’S goal to support student retention and academic success, we provide scholarships and study abroad opportunities and support mentoring programs for students. Our overall mission aligns with the University of South Florida’s Strategic Plan as a Research I and Carnegie Classified Community Engaged university with a global perspective.” 

Dr. Tangela Serls, special advisor to the CAS dean on diversity, equity, and inclusion and associate professor of instruction in the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, served as a panelist at the conference.  

“Historically, the conference has taken place within the first couple of days of February. I think the timing of the conference is an excellent way for the USF and Tampa Bay community to kick off the month-long celebration of black heritage, black history, and black futures,” Serls said.    

One of the goals of the conference was to “explore the transformative power of the arts as a driver for healing during times of social strife,” according to Serls.

“The entire day was inspiring. The interactive components during the second half of the conference were inspiring because they reminded me of the importance of movement on an individual and collective level,” Serls said. "I enjoyed getting to know griot and storyteller, Ms. Wanda Battle, at the conference reception. And I was also really inspired by the keynote speaker, Dr. Gloria Browne-Marshall. She’s a powerhouse!”  

To learn more about the IBL and future events, please visit the IBL website.