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ASALH Brings 111th Annual Conference to Hampton Roads, Virginia
Conference Marks the Centennial of Carter G. Woodson’s Negro History Week
NORFOLK, Va. — The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the founders of Black History Month, will convene its 111th Annual Conference Sept. 23–27, 2026, in Hampton Roads, Virginia. The gathering will bring together scholars, educators, students, authors, filmmakers, public historians, preservationists, community leaders, and members of the public for one of the nation’s premier conferences devoted to African American history and culture. The conference will be held at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott, 235 E. Main St., Norfolk, VA 23510.
Conference schedule and program information:
https://asalh.org/conference/
At a moment when Black history is being challenged, restricted, and distorted in classrooms, libraries, museums, and public institutions, ASALH’s 111th Annual Conference will affirm the importance of teaching and preserving the full American story. The centennial of Negro History Week is both a commemoration and a call to action. In addition to our theme, “A Century of Black History Commemorations,” our rallying cry this year comes from a phrase coined by the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, Ph.D.: “Forward ever, backward never.”
A National Gathering With Deep Virginia Roots
The conference comes at a particularly consequential moment. As the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, ASALH is calling upon the nation to examine the American story through the experiences and perspectives of African Americans—and to recognize the generations of Black people who have shaped the meaning of American democracy, citizenship, freedom, culture, and resistance.
The 2026 conference takes on special significance as ASALH commemorates 100 years since its founder, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, established Negro History Week in 1926, the observance that ultimately grew into Black History Month. Under the 2026 national theme, “A Century of Black History Commemorations,” the conference will examine the extraordinary century of scholarship, education, institution-building, preservation, and public engagement that has made Black history an indispensable part of the American historical record.
In welcoming attendees to ASALH’s 111th Annual Meeting and Conference, 30th National President Dr. Karsonya Wise Whitehead emphasized that the centennial of Negro History Week is both a celebration of Dr. Carter G. Woodson’s enduring vision and a call to confront the unfinished work of preserving Black history. Building on ASALH’s yearlong centennial programming—including her 28-Day Black History Challenge—Whitehead urged educators, scholars, archivists, museum professionals, community historians, and activists to remain steadfast as Black history faces renewed challenges in classrooms, scholarship, and public life.
"We convene at a time when Black history is once again under attack and contested in classrooms, scholarship, and legislation. Educators face increasing restrictions on curriculum and pedagogy," Whitehead stated. "Scholars, librarians, archivists, museum professionals, community historians, and activists operate in environments where preserving and sharing the truth about the Black experience can be both dangerous and courageous. We have intentionally addressed these concerns in our Conference programming, including the Friday Luncheon on the state of Black Politics and the Saturday plenary, 'We Keeping The Gate!': The Promise and Progress of the Black Professorate in the 21st Century."
Audrey Landell Perry Williams, President of ASALH’s Hampton Roads Branch and a key leader in preparing for the conference, has devoted decades to preserving and sharing African American history through education, faith, authorship, and community service. A graduate of Norfolk State University and Hampton University, Williams spent 27 years developing educational and instructional systems for the U.S. military and has led the Hampton Roads Branch since 2016. Her commitment reflects ASALH’s enduring mission to ensure that Black history is researched, preserved, and accurately shared with future generations.
Dr. Colita Nichols Fairfax, co-chair of the ASALH Local Arrangements Committee, president and co-founder of the Barrett-Peake Heritage Foundation, and professor at Norfolk State University, will present “The Power of Preservation in Community Development and Environmental Justice” during the session “New Research on Black Virginians’ Struggle for Freedom.” Her work has demonstrated how preserving Black historic sites can strengthen communities, advance environmental justice, and ensure that African American heritage remains a living resource for future generations.
Dr. Cassandra Newby-Alexander, a distinguished historian and professor at Norfolk State University, brings decades of scholarship on Virginia’s African American history to the conference—from the 1619 African Landing at Point Comfort to the Civil War-era “Contraband of War” freedom movement at Fort Monroe. Her work as an educator, author, filmmaker, and historical consultant has helped bring this history to wider audiences through major museum exhibitions, public commemorations, and community initiatives. The conference’s emphasis on remembrance, descendant empowerment, and the preservation of Hampton Roads’ Black history reflects the enduring public impact of her scholarship and leadership.
Woodson, originally from Virginia, envisioned Negro History Week as far more than a celebration. It was an educational movement designed to place Black people at the center of their own history and ensure that their contributions, struggles, intellectual traditions, and achievements would not be erased from the nation’s memory. One hundred years later, ASALH continues the work he began.
Virginia: Where It All Began
Virginia is often the place where commemorations happen, because Virginia is where it all began. Hosting the conference in Norfolk provides a powerful setting for this centennial commemoration. Virginia occupies a central place in the African American story, from slavery and emancipation to education, institution-building, military service, political activism, civil rights, and Black cultural achievement. The conference’s setting in Norfolk places attendees at the heart of Hampton Roads, a region central to the African American experience. From the 1619 arrival of the first documented Africans in English North America at nearby Point Comfort in Hampton to Norfolk and Portsmouth’s connections to the Underground Railroad, Black maritime labor, military service, education, faith, and resistance have shaped the region for more than four centuries.
This year’s academic program was developed under the leadership of Augustus “Gus” Wood, chair of ASALH’s Academic Program Committee and a member of its Executive Council. Working alongside committee members and student Woodson Ambassadors, the committee has shaped a timely and wide-ranging program for ASALH’s 111th Annual Conference in Hampton Roads.
The 111th Annual Conference has also been supported by the outstanding work of the Local Arrangements Committee, chaired by Colita Nichols Fairfax in partnership with ASALH Hampton Roads Branch President Audrey Williams. Through their careful planning, support, and hospitality, committee members have welcomed attendees while highlighting the rich Black histories of Hampton, Norfolk, and the wider Hampton Roads region.
Conference attendees will have ample opportunities to explore the rich Black history and cultural heritage of Norfolk and Hampton Roads through several guided tours. A full-day Pre-Conference African American Heritage Bus Tour on Wednesday, September 23, will visit landmarks including Fort Monroe National Monument, Hampton University, the Newsome House Museum and Cultural Center, and the Emancipation Oak, while a second heritage bus tour on Thursday, September 24, will highlight significant sites in Norfolk and Portsmouth. On Sunday, September 27, attendees may also enjoy free tours of the Chrysler Museum of Art at 2 p.m. and the Aspire Art Gallery at 4 p.m., offering further engagement with the region’s vibrant artistic and cultural traditions.
Five Days of Black History, Scholarship and Culture
From Sept. 23 through Sept. 27, conference participants will experience an expansive program of scholarly sessions, workshops, roundtables, exhibits, book events, community programming, cultural experiences, receptions, tours, and special events. The conference will extend beyond traditional academic sessions, creating opportunities for the broader Hampton Roads community to participate in the centennial celebration.
A major component will be the ASALH Film Festival, featuring screenings that explore Black political struggle, identity, culture, resistance, education, and representation. Conference programming will also include an exhibit hall, poster session, membership activities, receptions, and opportunities for attendees to engage directly with historians, authors, educators, publishers, museums, universities, cultural organizations, and institutions committed to preserving Black history.
The opening plenary, “Beyond the Rockets’ Red Glare: The Cost of Interpreting a Painful Past,” will be held Wednesday, September 23, from 4:30–6:00 p.m. Moderated by A. Prince Albert III, the session will examine the pressures facing historians and preservationists responsible for interpreting painful and contested histories.
On Thursday, Sept. 24, the luncheon “VA HBCUs and the Power of Black Excellence” will highlight the enduring role of HBCUs as engines of Black intellectual achievement, leadership, opportunity, and community advancement. It will bring together leaders representing Virginia’s historically Black colleges and universities, including Makola M. Abdullah, president of Virginia State University; Javaune Adams-Gaston, president of Norfolk State University; Imam Ismael Saleem of Innovation & Grace; and ASALH National President Karsonya Wise Whitehead. Cassandra Newby-Alexander of Norfolk State University will serve as moderator, with Crystal Sanders as commentator.
On Saturday, Sept. 26, ASALH will present the Blassingame Luncheon, “How ASALH Nationalized Negro History Week and Black History Month.” The luncheon will examine how ASALH transformed Carter G. Woodson’s vision into a national—and ultimately international—commemoration of Black history. Participants include Daryl Michael Scott, Jelani Favors, Karsonya Wise Whitehead and the Rev. Todd C. Davidson, with Bertis English serving as moderator.
“Teaching with The HistoryMakers Digital Archive in the College Classroom” will demonstrate innovative ways educators can incorporate the world’s largest African American oral-history archive into undergraduate and graduate courses. Led by Candace Cunningham, George Daniels, Laura Oliver, Zebulon Miletsky, and Shively Smith, this interactive workshop will offer practical assignment models and strategies for connecting Black intellectual history, community memory, and interdisciplinary scholarship. The session will take place Saturday, September 26, from 10:15 to 11:45 a.m.
The Thursday key session “Listening Across Borders: Oral History, Migrant Labor, and Ethical Storytelling” will feature Felicia A. Bell, Eola Dance, Shafante Deshields, and Gina Marie Lewis. The roundtable will bring together scholars, public historians, and community members to examine oral history projects supported by ASALH and the National Park Service.
“Activism as Scholarship: Honoring the Life and Legacy of Johanna Fernandez” will bring together leading scholars to recognize the late Dr. Fernandez’s contributions as a scholar-activist. Moderated by Augustus Wood, the session features Natanya P. Duncan, Felipe C. Hinojosa, Shannon King, Jessica Millward, Zebulon Miletsky, and Adrienne M. Petty. The panel will take place Friday, September 25, from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m
Additional conference highlights include sessions on the Black feminist legacy of the Black Panther Party, Circum-Caribbean activism, new directions in African American Studies, the legacy of Quintard Taylor, and the centennial significance of Du Bois’s scholarly methods. Other featured programs will examine Black self-determination and self-defense, the 60th anniversary of the Black Power Movement, grassroots organizing in Harlem, reparative public history in Northern Virginia, Black Virginians’ struggles for freedom, and efforts to combat the erasure of Hampton Roads’ history. Author-centered discussions, plenaries, and Hine-Horne Book Roundtables will feature an impressive group of scholars, including Ibram X. Kendi, V. P. Franklin, Ula Taylor, Gerald Horne, Ashley Farmer, Donna Murch, Deborah Gray White, Blair L. M. Kelley, Kendra Field, LaShawn Harris, and others.
On Saturday, Sept. 26, the conference will feature “We Keeping the Gate!: The Promise and Progress of the Black Professoriate in the 21st Century.” Free and open to the public, the plenary will bring together Carol Anderson, Hakim Adi, Anthony Redd, Jeff Ogbar, Shanti Parikh, Nikki Taylor, and other leading scholars. Stephen M. Bradley will serve as moderator, with Natanya Duncan as co-moderator.
“Freedom Forward: Remembering 1619, the Journey to Freedom, and Descendant Empowerment at the Time of America’s Semiquincentennial” will convene Thursday, September 24, at 8:30 a.m. Presented by the National Alliance of Faith and Justice in collaboration with the 400 Years of African American History Commission, the program will feature Niya Bates, Cheryl Grills, Jessica Harris, Joseph Green, Eola Dance, Wanda Tucker and Joy Banner. Advance online registration is required.
“The Revolution Will Be Databased: America 250 Commemorations Are Online and Underway” will be held Wednesday, September 23, at 10:15 a.m. Moderated by Dann J. Broyld, the free public session will feature Kelli Barnes, Celeste Keith, William F. Kelly, and Monet Thornton discussing how digital resources are shaping America’s 250th-anniversary commemorations.
The plenary session “Honoring Historiography: Discussing the Creation and Use of the ABWH Booklist” will take place Thursday, September 24, at 2:15 p.m. Ashley Farmer will moderate a free public discussion featuring Stephanie Y. Evans, Karen Kossie-Chernyshev, Charissa Threat, Tyrone Freeman, and Crystal Moten.
ASALH’s annual Poster Session will be held Friday, September 25, at 10:45 a.m. Free and open to the public, the session will showcase research, public-history projects, and ASALH branch initiatives. Digital presentations will also be available through the All Academic conference platform.
“Diagnosis of Our Discomfort: The Crisis and Future of Black Studies” will convene Friday, September 25, at 2:15 p.m. Moderated by Sundiata Cha-Jua, the free public plenary will feature Melina Abdullah, Brian Kwoba, Natanya Duncan, Mary Frances Phillips, Minkah Makalani, and Shawn Utsey.
“Safe Spaces: Healing the Bodies That Hold Black Memory in an Era of Erasure” will be presented Friday, September 25, from 4:00–5:30 p.m. The roundtable will examine the challenges facing Black archivists, librarians, and cultural-heritage workers and introduce a healing-centered initiative developed by the Council on Library and Information Resources.
The luncheon “Black Political Power: The 92% and Where Do We Go From Here” will take place Friday, September 25, from 12:30–2:00 p.m. Moderated by Errin Haines of The 19th, the program will feature Stacey Patton, Charles McKinney, Tanya Clay House and Lester Spence examining the future of Black political power.
The Association of Black Women Historians (ABWH) will hold its annual luncheon Friday, September 25, from noon–1:50 p.m. ASALH President Karsonya Wise Whitehead will offer greetings, and Vanessa Holden of the University of Kentucky will lead the program recognizing the scholarship and leadership of Black women historians.
The Saturday luncheon “How ASALH Nationalized Negro History Week and Black History Month” will take place September 26 from noon–1:45 p.m. Moderated by Bertis D. English, the program will feature Daryl Michael Scott, Jelani Favors, and Karsonya Wise Whitehead discussing how ASALH transformed Carter G. Woodson’s Negro History Week into a national movement.
The presidential session “200 Years of the Black Press: Voice, Resistance, and Global Impact” will take place Thursday, September 24, from 10:15–11:45 a.m. Moderated by Brandi Kellam and chaired by Cathy M. Jackson, the session will examine the Black press’s influence across print, radio, music, film, television, and social media.
Concurrent sessions will explore Black institution-building, Black feminist storytelling, archives, theology, public memory, political leadership, global Black history, and hip-hop. Together, these programs demonstrate the breadth of contemporary scholarship on African American life and history.
ASALH has never shied away from difficult issues. In Hampton Roads, the conference will offer a national Black town hall, bringing scholars, educators, public officials, and community leaders together to address the most urgent questions confronting Black history, education, and public memory. “Protect the Vote Against Disinformation and Fraud: Know Your Rights at the Polls” will take place Wednesday, September 23, from 7:00–9:00 p.m. at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott. Moderated by Hampton NAACP President Gaylene Kanoyton, the free public town hall will feature Virginia Sen. Angelia Williams Graves, Virginia Del. Bonita Anthony, and experts in law, cybersecurity, and voting rights.
ASALH will host “A Friday Night Out at Norfolk State University” on September 25 from 6:00–9:30 p.m. ASALH President Karsonya Wise Whitehead will serve as emcee, with greetings from Executive Director Sylvia Y. Cyrus. The conference will conclude Sunday, September 27, with a reception from 4:00–6:00 p.m. at the ASPIRE Art Gallery, 645 Church Street in Norfolk.
Awards Banquet
The conference will culminate Saturday, Sept. 26, with ASALH’s Awards Banquet at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott. The banquet will recognize ASALH members, community leaders, and national figures whose work has made significant contributions to African American history. Among the 2026 honorees is Lucien J. Metellus Jr., President of Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc., who will receive the Council Award of Special Recognition for his contributions and commitment to the community.
Leading this year’s distinguished awardees at ASALH’s 111th Annual Conference is Congressman Al Green of the U.S. House of Representatives, whose career in public service and advocacy has reflected a longstanding commitment to civil rights, justice, and African American communities. He is joined by longtime ASALH leader Burnis Morris of the Huntington Tri-State Branch and Marshall University, along with JoEllen ElBashir, retired Chief Curator of the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center; Althemese Barnes, founder and executive director of the Riley House Center and Museum; Latorial Faison of Virginia State University; Devon M. Henry, CEO of Team Henry Enterprises; Marlee Bunch of Rutgers University–New Brunswick; archivist William E. Branch; Jerome Harris of the Charleston Area Branch; Eunique Jones-Gibson, CEO of Culture Brands; Lillian Serece Williams of the State University of New York at Buffalo; Asia Bingaman, National President of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity; and Pulitzer Prize winner Edda L. Fields-Black of Carnegie Mellon University.
Scheduled from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m., the banquet will provide a celebratory conclusion to the centennial conference and recognize those carrying forward the work that Carter G. Woodson and ASALH began more than a century ago.
Conference attendees are also invited to the USPS Kwanzaa Forever Stamp First Day of Issue Dedication Ceremony on Wednesday, September 23, from noon to 12:45 p.m. in the Hampton Ballroom at the Marriott Norfolk Waterside Hotel.
The conference is supported by a coalition of universities, cultural institutions, community organizations, publishers, businesses, media organizations, and individuals. Media sponsors include The Washington Informer and New Journal and Guide.
Additional information, speaker biographies, and conference registration are available at
https://asalh.org/conference
Media credentials are available to members of the press, podcasters, and social media influencers at
https://asalh.org/conference/media-credential-form/
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