Photo by Janyce Carroll
Mount Holyoke’s APAU recently attended the Black Solidarity Conference, held at Yale University.
Kannille Washington ’28
Staff Writer
Late on Thursday, Jan. 30, the chair and body members of Mount Holyoke College's Association for Pan-African Unity took rows of shuttles to Yale University’s campus in New Haven, Connecticut to attend the Black Solidarity Conference. The event convened over the weekend from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1.
The BSC theme for 2025 was “The Renaissance is B(l)ack: Crafting Joy, Confronting Injustice.” The Renaissance theme highlighted concepts of rebirth and remembrance, making references to iconic movements from the Harlem Renaissance to Beyonce’s Renaissance tour. The event featured a concert by Rich the Kid on opening night, and other panels featured content creators like Ava T. Ocloo, as well as environmental activists like Wawa Gatheru and Rhiana Gunn-Wright.
Friday began with an opening statement and logistics meeting from the student leaders at Yale. Attendees were then ushered through a room for a Dunkin’ breakfast. Many of the Mount Holyoke students in attendance then decided to stop into a New Haven cafe for a pick-me-up before heading to their chosen sessions with topics ranging from STEM to mental health in the Black community. Mia Gonzales Jackson ’26, after attending the panel on Black spirituality, shared that “it was good to hear this reminder of positionality and humility as it pertains to sharing faith.”
Photo by Alex Donkor
The career fair opened at noon for students to share their qualifications and resumes with various industry professionals. Friday night ended with an impressive Diasporic Arts Exhibition and Showcase featuring a choir, slam poetry, step and dance teams and a fashion show.
On Saturday, the last day, Mount Holyoke’s APAU had a group breakfast to celebrate the beginning of Black History Month and their appreciation for spending the weekend together in the spirit of joy and solidarity. Panels that day included talks on politics, activism, media and the arts.
The keynote speaker for Saturday was Kevin Richardson of the Exonerated Five. When Kevin was a young boy, he was part of a group of five who were wrongly convicted of attacking and sexually assaulting a white woman in Central Park, earning the group the name “Central Park Five.” The five boys were subject to police interrogation, death threats to themselves and their families and eventually full prison terms. Current U.S. President Donald Trump also issued a newspaper advertisement in 1989 calling for New York state to adopt the death penalty for killers following the attack, according to the New York Times. Years later the five were exonerated, and a Netflix special, “When They See Us” directed by Ava DuVernay, was made about their case. Kevin spoke on his case, his trial and his hopes for the future.
The night ended with a black-out gala hosted at the New Haven Lawn Club. Panelists and attendees were invited for a night of dancing, cheese and crackers to complete a weekend of beautiful Black joy.
Madeleine Diesl ’28 contributed fact-checking.