Students, professors and community members will convene tomorrow in Cabot Auditorium for Tufts' second annual Emerging Black Leaders Symposium (EBLS).
"We're bringing [the speakers] together to talk about issues that relate to the community as a whole at Tufts University," said junior, EBLS co-coordinator and TCU senator Mitch Robinson.
Mass. Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick will deliver the opening address, and Tenn. Democratic Congressman Harold Ford Jr. will deliver the keynote address.
The symposium is divided into three panels: the Black Family, Arts and Media, and Politics. Panelists will include Mass. State Representative Gloria Fox, New Jersey Congressman Donald Payne and Joy Bennett-Kinnon, editor of Ebony Magazine.
Robinson said that the symposium, while focusing on the black community, can also apply to the entire Tufts community. "There is no such thing as just a black issue, but there [are] such things [as] community issues," he said.
While the symposium aims for a community-wide effect, its stated purpose reflects a focus on black youth. According to the EBLS Web site, "our purpose is to give young Black people in higher education the tools for success, and...the impetus to use those tools for the betterment of the Black community and the overall human family."
The event's organization included a decision on the official use of the term "black" as opposed to "African American."
"The reason we chose 'black' over African American is because we wanted to be as inclusive as possible," Robinson said. "Many people that can relate to the issues of the symposium don't consider themselves African American, necessarily."
The symposium is a one-day event, with on-site registration beginning at 9:30 tomorrow morning.
"There's something for everybody," Robinson said. "It will be a historic event."
According to the Web site, the EBLS "is the first event of its kind at Tufts University."
The first symposium, organized by past Tufts Community Union president Chike Aguh, hosted Kwame Jackson, who appeared on Donald Trump's television show "The Apprentice," as the keynote speaker.
"Next year I'm sure we're going to have more issues," EBLS executive board member and sophomore Amanda Richardson said.
