“If I have seen far, it is because I am perched upon the shoulders of giants” – A Reflection

[by: Tony Harris] We are, quite likely, familiar with the statement, “If I have seen far, it is because I am perched upon the shoulders of giants.” Dr. Ward (HBW Board Member Emeritus) pinpoints seven of several pillars whose writing could be thought to undergird the work the Project on the History of Black Writing has accomplished throughout its 35-year existence. He notes also the […]

The College Language Association @ Chicago: A Place to Dream

[by: Morgan McComb] This year was my inaugural experience at the 78th Annual College Language Association convention. I was in constant awe—every panel I went to struck me as something new, expanding my horizons. But perhaps no panel stood at the center of the crossroads between scholarship and dynamic engagement with black literature and black history than the panel entitled “Chicago Dreamers: Literary and Life […]

An Act of Faith

[by Vincent Omni] I last delivered a paper 20 years ago: an academic talk as an undergraduate fellow with the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM). I discussed the contributions of Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston to the Harlem Renaissance. Since then, I’ve raised a family and worked in public education. The thought, then, of presenting at the College Language Association’s annual conference caused […]

Conference Report: College Language Association, 2016

This year’s 76th College Language Association convention was held in Houston, TX at the Hyatt Regency, April 6-9. Hosted by Texas Southern University, the University of Houston and Prairie View, the theme for this year, “Dialogues between Africa and African Diaspora in Languages, Literatures, and Films” brought hundreds to present papers and engage in discussions. CLA was founded in 1937 to provide faculty from HBCU’s with a […]