Fifty years later, that clarion sounds again as a group of those individuals — now alumni — join current students, faculty and others for “A Black Vision of Change,” a conference that reflects on the importance of the North Hall Takeover and explores ways of creating a better future for Black students and, consequently, for all students at UC Santa Barbara.

 

Organized by Jeffrey Stewart, a professor of Black studies, the conference will take place Friday through Sunday, Oct. 12-14. The highlight will be a keynote speech by actor and humanitarian Danny Glover. Speaking Saturday, Oct. 13, in the campus’s Corwin Pavilion, Glover will reflect on “the importance of social commitment along with individual success in a life well lived.”

 

“The intention of this conference is to have an impact on the quality of life and numbers of Black students coming to UC Santa Barbara,” said Stewart. “The 68ers, as they’re called, said looking back is fine, but they’re more concerned with how this event can be used to improve the future.”

 

To that end, the conference features an array of activities, including panel discussions and talks. Saturday will open at 9 a.m. with a welcome from Lisa Przekop, UC Santa Barbara admissions director, and Marcus Mathis, assistant director for diversity initiatives, followed by additional remarks from Stewart, Aida Hurtado, who holds the Luis Leal Endowed Chair in Chicano Studies, and John S. W. Park, a professor of Asian American studies.

 

At 11:30 a.m., the panel “A Black Vision of Change at UC Santa Barbara, 1968 and 2012,” moderated by Aaron Jones, will bring together North Hall activists Thomas Crenshaw, Stan Lee and Murad Rahman and 2012 activist Alexis Wright.

 

Also Saturday, Vilna Bashi Treitler, professor and chair of Black studies at UC Santa Barbara, will moderate a panel titled “Write the Next Chapter” that will include Trevor Logan, who holds the North Hall Chair in Economics; Victor Rios, professor of sociology; Yoel Yosief, political director of the Afrikan Black Coalition; and Sharon Tettegah, director of the campus’s Center for Black Studies Research.

 

In addition, moderators Nezey and current BSU President Mariyah Lewis will lead an intergenerational alumni and student dialogue.

 

The three-day conference will offer myriad opportunities for current and prospective UC Santa Barbara students to meet and create connections with alumni and faculty members. “The event is designed to make these students feel they will be best served here at UC Santa Barbara,” Stewart said.

 

The event will also include a concert by Fendika, an Ethiopian music group from Addis Ababa, in the campus’s MultiCultural Center Lounge; and “A Luta Continua,” an exhibition curated by UC Santa Barbara Black Studies Librarian kynita stringer-stanback. Located in the library’s Ethnic & Gender Studies Collection, the exhibition celebrates Black student activism at the university through archival photographs.