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The College of Education’s Center of Racial Justice and Youth Engaged Research (CRJ) will bring together scholars, artists and thought leaders to the UMass Amherst campus for its second annual Black Artistic Freedom Conference 2025: Hip Hop Praxis from the Classes to the World, a two-day event featuring poetry slam, daylong symposium and closing dinner on Feb. 21 and 22. 

The conference merges education and activism through the arts, presenting scholars and creatives the opportunity to connect, empower and network across multidisciplinary fields while building “the next generation of emerging freedom dreamers.”

Imani Wallace, an education graduate assistant in the CRJ, the conference’s founder and committee chair, describes the event as “a platform for deep discussions, workshops, and exhibitions that emphasize the cultural significance of Black creativity as a catalyst for societal change.” She notes last year’s conference was widely attended by collegiate and graduate students, community members, educators and scholars from across the region and nationwide.  

This year’s conference will feature scholars and professional artists from across the country including keynote speaker, scholar and author, Lauren Leigh Kelly, and featured host, poet and performer, Roscoe Burnems in addition to various special surprise performances and speakers.

On Friday from 5-8 p.m., Burnems will host the W.E.B. DuBois Poetry Slam Invitational at the Carney Family Auditorium in Furcolo Hall. In partnership with the UMass Amherst W.E.B. DuBois Center, both students and guest poets are invited to competitively showcase spoken word poetry in honor of Black History Month and the life and legacy of DuBois, as well as a celebration of his birthday, Feb. 23, 1868. Performers will also have the opportunity to win cash prizes. 

A daylong symposium will take place from 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at Furcolo Hall featuring workshops, panel discussions, research presentations, performances, Kelly’s keynote address and distinguished guests. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

The event concludes Saturday evening with a dinner from 5-8 p.m. at the Bromery Center for the Arts lobby in the UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center. Check-in begins at 4:30 p.m.

Both event days are free and open to all with RSVP and registration by Friday, Jan. 31 through the Black Artistic Freedom Conference 2025 online form. For more information, contact Wallace at iwallace@umass.edu.