Black Journalism in Global Perspective: Intellectual Exchange Across the Diaspora
A collaborative workshop co-sponsored by the African American Intellectual History Society and the Black Press Research Collective on October 15-16, 2026 at Brown University.
Call for Papers
We are inviting early-career scholars and ABD graduate students to participate in a two-day workshop at Brown University in October 2026 focused on the Global Black Press. The workshop will bring together emerging scholars to share and discuss draft essays for a collaborative scholarly project commemorating the bicentennial of the Black Press (1827–2027).
Organized in partnership with African American Intellectual History Society, its digital platform Black Perspectives and the journal, Global Black Thought, the initiative examines the enduring and evolving role of Black journalism in shaping Black intellectual, cultural, and political life across the African diaspora.
Beginning with the founding of Freedom’s Journal in 1827, the project rethinks the Black Press not simply as a historical institution, but as a dynamic space of global Black thought—one in which ideas circulate, communities are imagined, and political futures are debated and produced. We are especially interested in scholarship that places the U.S. Black Press in conversation with Black and African diasporic media traditions, with particular attention to transnational exchange, intellectual production, and the cultural work of journalism.
Workshop participants will have the opportunity to publish essays of approximately 1,250–1,500 words in a special roundtable series on Black Perspectives in Spring 2027 as part of the bicentennial commemoration.
Selected contributions will also be invited for further development into a peer-reviewed forum for a special issue of Global Black Thought.
Honorarium and Support
Contributors’ travel and lodging will be fully covered for participation in the workshop. This support is intended to ensure that contributors can fully engage in the collaborative development of this project
Possible Areas of Contribution
We welcome essays that engage topics such as:
- Black journalists as intellectuals and theorists on global Blackness
- Transnational circulation of Black print culture
- The Black Press and global black cultural production (literature, performance, visual culture)
- Journalism and political movements (abolition, anti-colonialism, civil rights, Black Power) across Africa and the African Diaspora
- Gender, labor, and the infrastructures of transnational and international Black media
- Archives, digital humanities, and the afterlives of Black newspapers in a global context
Timeline
- Expression of Interest / Abstract (300 words): July 1, 2026
- Notification of Acceptance: August 1, 2026
- Workshop (Brown University): October 2026
- Final Essays for Roundtable: January 2027
- Publication (Black Perspectives Roundtable): March 2027
- Submission of final pieces – TBD
- Anticipation of Publication Date (Global Black Thought) – Fall 2028 or Spring 2029
Submission Details
Please send a brief abstract (approximately 300 words) and a short bio (2–3 sentences) to: mguy@blackpressresearchcollective.org by July 1, 2026.
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