Programs and Events

Upcoming CAS Events

"Celebrating The Ties That Bind" Annual Festival

Save the date! Join us this year on the Campus Green as we celebrate and honor the cultural connections between Africa & the Diaspora. Food, fashion, music, dance, & a wide variety of goods for purchase! We hope to see you there!

Date: April 27, 2023
Location: Kennesaw Campus Green

Community & Culture Student Competition
Students can submit their original works to show their authentic expression of the Black Experience.

Events

+More Events

Past CAS Events

2023
- Annual Book Club Discussion
  
  Our annual book club discussion featuring Dr. Tiya Miles', The House on Diamond Hill: A Cherokee Plantation Story.
  
  Books were free of charge for the first 20 participants attending the discussion.
  
  Date: February 15, 2023
  Time: 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
- Africa Defines Architecture Lecture, Panel Discussion, & Gallery Reception
  
  Lecture & Panel Discussion with Nmadili Oksumabua, The Community Planning & Design Initiative, Africa
  
  Date: February 13, 2023
  Time: 3:30 - 4:45 p.m.
  
  Gallery Reception
  Date: February 13, 2023
  Time: 4:45 - 6:00 p.m.
  
  The Art of African Architecture exhibition was on view from February 13-17, 2023.
- Women Writers of Color - Film & Television
  
  Dr. Anna Weinstein, Assistant Professor of Screenwriting, Department of English, faculty & student research project presentation, "Women Screenwriters of Color."
  
  Date: February 8, 2023
2022
- Chief Vann House Historic Site Visit, Chatsworth, Georgia
  
  "The most famous plantation in the southeastern Cherokee Nation."
  
  Saturday, November 5, 2022 - book club participants explored the site that is the subject of CAS' FY '23 book club discussion.
- Gateway to Ghana
  
  Tuesday & Thursday, September 6th & 8th, KSU Study Abroad students discuss the impact of their Summer '22 trip to Ghana. Engaging, enlightening, & intriguing.
- CAS Annual Festival
  
  April 28, 2022 - 11am - 5pm!
  
  The Center for Africana Studies kicked off our inaugural festival, "Celebrating the Ties that Bind," exploring the connection between Africa & the global Diaspora!
  
  An overwhelming success celebrating, arts & crafts, culture, history, food, fashion, music, & authentic cuisine!
  
  Join us each year to celebrate the greatness of the Diaspora!
- KSU Welcomes Olivier van Beemen
  
  On April 4, 2022, author and investigative journalist, Olivier van Beemen, gave a keynote address about his book, "Heineken in Africa." Mr. van Beemen joined KSU faculty with expertise in Africana studies, Dr. Monica Swahn, Dr. Nurudeen Akinyemi, & Dr. Brandon Lundy to discuss artisanal alcohol making in West Africa and of the significant health burden of alcohol misuse and related harms across the African continent
- 9th Annual AADS Student Research & Community Engagement Virtual Conference
  
  Welcome Dr. Anna Malaika Tubbs!
  
  AADS Student Research & Community Engagement Virtual Conference, "Mothers and the Movement."
  
  Dr. Tubbs joined us for the AADS conference on Thursday, March 24, 2022. 9:00am - 7:45pm.
  - Dialogues on Mothering: Transgressive Politics of Black Moms
  - Popular Culture, Karens in Charge
  - Racial Politics on Mothering Then & Now - Round-table Discussion.
  - Keynote address, 12:00pm-1:30pm, ALC Auditorium, Room 1100 or virtually via AADS YouTube & Facebook.
2021
- Virtual Book Club Discussion
  
  The Center for Africana Studies hosted a campus-wide virtual bookclub discussion of:
  
  Dr. Anna Malaika Tubbs, The Three Mothers, Flatiron Books, 2021
  
  Date: October 20, 2021
- CAS' Lecture Series
  
  Campus lecture by Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, a Nigerian human rights scholar and activist on "Confronting Inequality to Promote Change: A Case Study of Women in Nigeria Since Independence."
  
  Date: October 8, 2021
- Virtual Book Club Discussion
  
  The Center for Africana Studies held a virtual book club discussion of:
  
  Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing, Vintage Press, 2017
  
  Date: March 19, 2021
- Let's Talk with Dr. Krishauna Hines-Gaither
  
  A virtual workshop series featuring Dr. Krishauna Hines-Gaither
  
  Dates:
  
  Feb. 23, 2021
  March 2, 2021
  March 17, 2021
  March 30, 2021
  April 14, 2021
  April 17, 2021
- ADL’s A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute Training Program
  
  Dates:
  
  February 26, 2021
  March 12, 2021
  March 26, 2021
2020
- Let's Talk
  
  CAS' Conversation Series exploring topics of interest to the KSU Community. Faculty, staff, & students...Let's Talk!
  
  Date: Oct 9, 2020
- UN-SDG Ambassadors
  
  Collaboration with CIFAL-Atlanta Developing Sustainable Development Ambassadors. Sixteen KSU students, undergraduate & graduate ambassadors, selected for the inaugural program.
  
  Date: December 5, 2019 - June 30, 2020
- 2020 Civil Rights Conference
  
  "Rethinking Human Rights in Times of Crisis: Local & Global Perspectives of Resilience and Dignity.
  
  Dates: March 12 - 14, 2020
  
  Location: KSU
2019
- 23rd Annual Southeast Model African Union
  
  Hosted the 23rd Annual Southeast Model African Union simulation conference. 300+ students from universities across Georgia and one national university participated in the simulation.
  
  Date: November 7-9, 2019
- ASA Africa Night
  
  Celebration of cultures of Africa through Visual and Performance Arts. Co-sponsored with the African Student Association.
  
  Date: November 8, 2019
- 1619-2019 400 Years Commemoration of Africans in America
  
  Saturday, October 12, 2019, Historic Old Zion Baptist Church Museum, Marietta
  
  11:00am-12pm, KSU Student Panel
  
  Rhapsodiy's Revenue Dance Ensemble
  
  5:00pm: 1619 Commemorative Concert featuring FIsk University Jubilee Singers and Dr. Oral Moses
- A Celebration of African American Life, History & Culture
  
  KSU Student Panel: "Ghana: From Door of No Return to Year of Return."
  
  Tribute to Toni Morrison: Selected readings and discussion of Morrison's Works by Drs. Tony Grooms, Griselda Thomas, Gina Bradley, & Cherif Diop.
  
  Bunce Island Exhibit Presentation by Dr. Dan Paracka.
  
  Gumbo Mix: The Food, Music & Art of the African Diaspora featuring - KSU Gospel Choir, North Paulding High School Choir, Georgia Spiritual Ensemble, twelve25 Band, spoken word performances, & Vendor exhibition.
  
  Date: October 10-12, 2019
- US-Africa Trade & Investment Global Summit
  
  Collaboration with US-Africa Trade Council. Participants from across the United States & across Africa.
  
  Date: September 26-28, 2019
- Marietta Museum of History Civil Rights Project
  
  Collaboration with the English Department (Prof. Rochelle Cox) and the Marietta Museum of History. Sponsorship of student research and presentation to the Marietta community "of" and "to" local Civil Rights Icons.
  
  Date: May 3, 2019
- CAADS / CORED
  
  Welcome Professor Edward Ahmed Mitchell, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Georgia Chapter
  
  Faculty Development Seminar: CAADS-CORED Collaboration: "Building a Community of Respect for Human Dignity."
  
  Date: April 25, 2019
- CAADS & Gender & Women's Studies Collaboration and the College of Humanities & Social Sciences
  
  Symposium on "Trauma & Resilience"
  
  Keynote lecture and class visits by author, Aminata Forna / Book discussion of Forna's "The Hired Man: A Novel."
  
  Date: April 25, 2019
- Book Club Discussion
  
  Aminata Forna's "The Hired Man: A Novel."
  
  Date: April 15, 2019
- M.A.D.E. (Making a Difference Everywhere)
  
  Sponsorship of Student Community Engagement
  
  M.A.D.E. - An alternative spring break of community service and civic engagement in New Orleans.
  
  Date: March 30 - April 5, 2019
- Faculty Spotlight - Focus on Faculty
  
  Dr. Oral Moses (Emeritus Professor) Lecture & musical performance, "The Negro Spiritual: Songs of Resistance and Resilence
2018
- CAS Lecture Series
  
  Campus lecture by Anythony Grooms on "The Vain Conversations"
  
  Date: October 29, 2018
- Book Club Discussion
  
  Dr. Anthony Grooms, "The Vain Conversatoin: A Novel"
  
  Date: October 26, 2018
- Faculty Spotlight - Focus on Faculty
  
  Addressing Intercultural Faith and interfaith discussions in the Classroom. Keynote lecture: Dr. Abdullahi An-Na'im, Emory University, "Living the Values We Seek to Uphold."
  
  Date: April 27, 2018
- Film Screening & Panel Discussion
  
  Award-Winning Film "90 Days," A Film by Nathan Hale Williams & Jennia Fredrique Aponte
  
  Co-sponsored with the Department of English
  
  Date: April 10, 2018
- Pan-Africa Week
  
  Co-sponsored with the Interdisciplinary Studies Department and the African & African Diaspora Studies program
  - The Art of African Architecture week-long Poster Exhibit and Panel Discussion with area architects.
  - Campus lecture on Brazilian Women's Movement
  - Uganda Youth Choir Concert
  - African Cultural Night - Visual and Performance Art; Taste of Africa; Fashion Show
  - Film screening and panel discussion
  Date: March 19-22, 2018
- CAS Lecture Series
  
  "African Women in the Judiciary" Dr. Josephine J. Dawuni, Howard University, Washington, DC. Co-sponsored with the Interdisciplinary Studies Department and the African & African Diaspora Studies program
  
  Date: March 1, 2018
- Book Club Discussion
  
  Michele Alexander's "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindedness
  
  Date: February 9, 2018
2017
- Southeast Model African Union Conference
  
  Georgia Southern University
  
  CAS Director, Nuru Akinyemi, led fifteen (15) students to the Southeast Model African Union simulation. The KSU team represented Algeria, Niger, and Sao Tome and Principe, winning several individual and team "outstanding" awards. Fifteen (15) universities participated in the Southeast Model.
  
  Date: November 9-11, 2017
- Student Leadership Forum
  
  African Diaspora Student Leadership Forum: Haitian Youth Leadership Forum (HYLF), co-sponsored with the Consul General of Haiti in Atlanta.
  
  The HYLF brought more than 200 participants to campus, including middle and high school students and their parents, employers, career counselors and mentors. The focus of the HYLF included college and career counseling, job interview role-playing, and leadership training. (225 participants)
  
  Date: September 23, 2017
- Faculty Development Seminar
  
  "Interfaith Dialogues"
  
  Keynote speaker & expert facilitator, Dr. Tania Saeed, University of Lahore, Pakistan. This seminar focused on interfaith dialogues.
  
  Date: May 26-27, 2017
- Pan Africa Week
  
  African Diaspora Student Leadership Forum with student panels and participants from across the university; a poster exhibit; film screening; faculty panel discussion.
  
  Date: March 20-24, 2017.
- International Model African Union Conference
  
  Washington, DC
  
  CAS Director led KSU students to very successful International Model African Union simulation conference, hosted by Howard University, Washington, DC. Seventeen (17) students represented Cameroon, Rwanda and Uganda, winning several individual and team "outstanding" awards. Over forty (40) universities from across the United States, Canada and Kenya participated in the simulation conference.
  
  Date: February 23-26, 2017
- Teaching Africa Workshop for Georgia 6th through 12th Grade Teachers
  
  The Teaching Africa Workshop strategically brings together seasoned experts representing the diverse multidisciplinary nature of African studies - from History, Political Science, Literature, Foreign Languages, Visual & Performance Arts, Antropology, Geography, Science Education, and Information Technology. Colleagues spend months deliberating and designing the framework and contents of the curriculum for this workshop with keen awareness of and attention to the Georgia and national performance standards.
  
  2-1/2 day workshop
  
  1 PLU