Attendees of the CUNY Black Male Initiative 8th Annual Conference on Race, Law and Justice gather at York College last Friday. Photo Courtesy York College
York College hosted the City University of New York’s Eighth Annual Black Male Initiative Conference, titled “Race, Law and Justice,” which drew intellectual heavyweights to its Jamaica campus for a packed day of keynote talks, film screenings, and panel discussions focusing on the racial history of the United States.
“These are thorny, pressing and uniquely American issues,” said Dr. Marcia Keizs, President of York College. “All of us at York were honored to facilitate robust discussion among some of the leading minds of our time.”
More than 1,000 students, staff and community members attended last Friday’s conference, which comprised 11 panels and three keynote addresses, with a focus on the history of race and racism in criminal justice, education, housing, residential segregation, employment and other social issues.
Prominent thinkers who addressed the conference included Juan Cartagena, a leading civil rights lawyer and President of LatinoJustice / PRLDEF, formerly the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Educational Fund; Ron Daniels, the former leader of the Center for Constitutional Rights and a Distinguished Lecturer at York College; and Paul Butler, one of the nation’s leading critical race theorists and a Professor at Georgetown University Law Center were the prominent
“I was so inspired by the BMI conference, its brilliant leadership team, and especially the amazing students I met during the conference,” said Butler, whose keynote address highlighted the devastating impact of mass incarceration on African-American and Latino families and hip-hop’s role in telling these stories. “I hoped I inspired some folks to want to become professors, and get paid to think for a living. It’s a great job and if I can do, so can you!”
The Black Male Initiative, which is a CUNY-wide program funded by the City Council, is an effort to raise societal awareness of the challenges facing underrepresented students, particularly African American and black males.
“The Black Male Initiative Program has become a very valuable and critical program to the university as it pertains to diversity recruitment and retention of students of under-represented populations,” said Jonathan Quash, Director of York College’ s Black Male Initiative. “While university standards are increasing, the admission of specific populations, such as Black males, is facing increased challenges. Programs like the BMI Program offer a pipeline for success, to both undergraduate and graduate programs.”
Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans), a participant of the “American Apartheid: The Emergence of Residential Segregation in Urban America” panel, dubbed the Black Male Initiative Conference and the overall CUNY program a success.
“Having been on the leadership team in the City Council that first allocated funds for the Black Male Initiative, it is great to see how this program has helped guide so many youth across the city stay on the right path,” said Comrie. “York College has been a leader in this program, with its well-known mentoring program, making it a perfect place to hold the conference.”
