The event, tentatively titled “The State of Black Manhood/All Black Men Matter Conference,” will include a full-day series of workshops covering topics such as domestic violence, sexual abuse, mental well being and body/self image.
The conference, presented by Hidden Acres Farms, Dream Life Works and Mudd Muck, also includes a lecture on how parental incarceration can affect children.
Tickets, which include breakfast and lunch, are $35.50 for adults. Kids ages 12-17 are free.
The full conference agenda is:
• 7:30-8:45 a.m.: Vendor check-in and set-up
• 9-9:45 a.m.: Continental breakfast/vendor visits
• 10-10:15 a.m.: Welcome and introductions, outline of agenda
• 10:15-11 a.m.: Plenary Speaker Louis Reed, founder of Louis L. Reed Empowerment Group
• 11-11:30 a.m.: Break/performance: Kelvin Young, assistant executive director, Advocacy Unlimited/Toivo
• 11:30 am to 12:30 p.m.: "The State of Black America," Valarie Shultz-Wilson, CEO, Urban League of Southern Connecticut
• 12:30-1:15 p.m.: Lunch
• 1:15-2:30 p.m.: Afternoon sessions A-C
Session A: "Radical Self Acceptance for Black Boys and Youth," Kevin Muhammad, Director, Mudd Muck
Session B: "How Parental Incarceration Can Affect the Children Left Behind and What You Can Do to Support Them," Aileen Keays Yeager, project manager, Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy
Session C: "Introduction to Rape Culture for Men and Boys," Olusanya Bey
• 2:30-2:45 p.m.: Break/Performance: Tracey Caldwell/Mind Evolution
• 2:45-4:15 p.m.: Afternoon sessions D-F
Session D: "Living with an Open Heart," Enroue Halfkenny, Healing and Liberation Counseling
Session E: "The Loss of Content in Mainstream Hip-Hop has Desensitized Our Society," Rashawn "Pain United with Passion" Asbury, ForUnity
Session F: Topic to be announced, Kenn Harris, director of New Haven Healthy Start
• 4:15-4:30 p.m.: Break/Performance: Jasmin Agosto
• 4:30-5:15 p.m.: Closing and final remarks: Wali Muhammad, executive director of Happy Family Clinical Services
For more information, to serve as a facilitator or join the conference's planning committee, contact Michelle Bicking at ourhiddenacresfarm@gmail.com.
For ticket information, click here.
The college is located at 900 Lafayette Blvd.
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