Berklee’s Africana Studies Department to Host Its First Annual Symposium

Berklee's Africana Studies Department will present its first annual symposium with academic and religious scholar Dr. Eddie Glaude on Friday, April 12, at the David Friend Recital Hall, located at 921 Boylston Street, Boston, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The symposium will be free and open to the public.

Glaude is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, and the former chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University. He will address the Berklee community regarding his New York Times bestselling book Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own, which takes an exhaustive look at Black communities, the difficulties of race in the United States, and the challenges we face as a democracy. Written during the COVID-19 pandemic, the book coincides with the 100th birthday of author and civil rights activist James Baldwin.

"The Africana Studies Department is proud to have one of the leading Black scholars and public intellectuals as our inaugural Africana Studies Department Symposium speaker,” says Dr. Michael C. Mason, inaugural chair of the Africana Studies Department at Berklee. “Dr. Glaude is prolific in the ways he helps us to examine the complexities of human society and how we can work toward social justice. We are honored to have him share his insights with the Berklee community."

An author and passionate educator, Glaude examines the complex dynamics of the American experience in his 2016 and 2007 books Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul and In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America. Additionally, he is a columnist for TIME, an MSNBC contributor who frequently appears on the network’s Morning Joe and Deadline: White House programs, and a frequent guest on NBC’s Meet the Press. He also hosts Princeton’s African American Studies Podcast, which centers the conversation around the field of African American Studies and the Black experience in the 21st century. 

“As we gear up for this historic election, we must remind ourselves that we are more than the circumstances of our lives, and what we do matters,” says Dr. Glaude. “Democracy is our responsibility. I wrote We Are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For to remind us all that if our democracy is to survive, we must build a better society and that will require that we become better people. Sounds cliché. But I believe it to be true.” 

A Morehouse alumnus, Glaude holds a master’s degree in African American studies from Temple University and a PhD in religion from Princeton University.

Seating for the event is limited. Please RSVP to africanastudies@berklee.edu.