Mission College to Host First Annual Black Writers Symposium on November 21

For Immediate Release

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - Mission College will celebrate the power, craft, and lasting impact of Black storytelling with its first annual Black Writers Symposium at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, November 21, on Mission's campus in the Hospitality Management building. The daylong gathering brings together published authors, students, and community members to explore the richness of lived experiences, uplift creative voices, and examine the vital role of narrative in shaping community identity.

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A Vision Born in Ghana

The concept for the symposium originated in fall 2024, when a cohort of Mission College educators traveled to Ghana attend the All-African Diaspora Education Summit (ADES) sponsored by The African American Male Education Network & Development organization (A²MEND). ADES is an immersive professional development opportunity, allowing African American educators to reconnect with the ancestral homeland of African people. By exploring both the historical and contemporary context of education in Africa, participants engage in transformative dialogue and collaboration that nurtures a vision of educational sovereignty.

Upon returning from Ghana, the team set a goal to turn the African-centered education & cultural experiences learned there into a concrete, permanent fixture at Mission College. And thus, Mission College's Black Star Movement, a multi-year institutional effort designed to increase Black and African American student success, close achievement gaps, and remove barriers to degree completion, was created. The Black Star Movement, along with the Office of Student Equity, and Black Academic Excellence (BAE), have created an annual gathering where students learn directly from working authors, gain practical writing tools, and see their own backgrounds reflected in literature.

Keynote Address by Dr. Chike Akua

“Storytelling is one of the clearest ways people connect, share their experiences, and build community,” said Ken Songco, Dean of Equity and Student Success at Mission College. “Bringing working writers and students together on our campus gives our students a firsthand look at what is possible across creative and professional writing fields. It is a natural and vital extension of what we teach in the classroom every day.”

In addition to the keynote presentation, attendees will engage directly with a diverse group of Black poets, novelists, memoirists, and screenwriters. Through interactive discussions and creative sessions, participants will explore the power of lived experience, discover practical storytelling tools, and work toward finding their own creative voice.

Additional speakers are:

• Dr. La'Tonya Rease Miles – Memoir

• Diane Marie Brown – Fiction

• Tongo Eisen-Martin – Poetry

• Zhen Smalls – Cinema / Screenwriting

“When our team came back from Ghana, our goal was to build something lasting that directly serves our Black students,” said Donnelle C. McGee, English Instructor at Mission. “Too many people think becoming an author, poet, or screenwriter is something only other people get to do. This day is about writing our stories into existence."

Admission and campus parking are free for all attendees.

Advance online registration is recommended at tinyurl.com/blacksymposium-26

 

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Benjamin Demers
Director of Marketing and Public Relations
[email protected]