As racial tensions continue to make headlines on college campuses across the country, Roger Williams University will host a symposium on current and past black activist movements Thursday.
The day-long conference will feature scholars, poets, and a prominent member of the current Black Lives Matter movement. Organizers said the purpose of the event is to open a conversation about black activism and its history.
Roger Williams senior Marquis Caesar, one of the conference organizers, said there aren’t enough opportunities to have campus-wide discussions about race.
“At our university we do not have an African American studies class, or anything of that nature,” said Caesar. “So this is giving that platform for people to discuss these issues that we don’t usually have the opportunity to the fullest extent.”
The event comes just days after dozens of students at Providence College staged a day-long demonstration, over issues of racial insensitivity on campus.