⎯⎯Upcoming Events⎯⎯
2024
March 22
Northeastern University at Mills College Oakland, CA
bell hooks symposium: Black Feminist Worldmaking
Northeastern University at Mills College Oakland, CA
bell hooks symposium: Black Feminist Worldmaking
March 17
Berkeley Arts Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) Berkeley, CA
The Underground Railroad screening + Conversation w/ Barry Jenkins
Berkeley Arts Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) Berkeley, CA
The Underground Railroad screening + Conversation w/ Barry Jenkins
Past Events
2024
February
Critical Approaches to Black Media ConferenceNew Orleans, LA
Paper: “Escape from Oakland: Afrosurreal Futures of a Black City”
Critical Approaches to Black Media ConferenceNew Orleans, LA
Paper: “Escape from Oakland: Afrosurreal Futures of a Black City”
February
Berkeley Arts Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) Berkeley, CA
Drylongso screening + Conversation w/ Cauleen Smith
Berkeley Arts Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) Berkeley, CA
Drylongso screening + Conversation w/ Cauleen Smith
2023
May
UC Davis
Davis, CA
Geography Group Colloquium
UC Davis
Davis, CA
Geography Group Colloquium
April
George Washington UniversityWashington, DC
McGrath Lecture in Urban Planning and Geography
George Washington UniversityWashington, DC
McGrath Lecture in Urban Planning and Geography
March
Papanek Symposium - Design Anthropology: Critical Speculation
Spatial Ecologies panel (online)
Papanek Symposium - Design Anthropology: Critical Speculation
Spatial Ecologies panel (online)
February
New York University
New York, NY
Urban Research Seminar Series
New York University
New York, NY
Urban Research Seminar Series
2022
November
Columbia UniversitySeeing the Valley, Facing the Acropolis: Symposium in Honor of Steven Gregory
“Spatial Politics Against Global Anti-Blackness” panel
Columbia UniversitySeeing the Valley, Facing the Acropolis: Symposium in Honor of Steven Gregory
“Spatial Politics Against Global Anti-Blackness” panel
May
University of Sheffield, Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Seminar Series (online)
University of Sheffield, Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Seminar Series (online)
April
University of Washington - Tacoma, School of Urban Studies
Debra Friedman Memorial Lecture
“Echoes of a Chocolate City: Race, Aesthetics and Black Urbanism” (online)
University of Washington - Tacoma, School of Urban Studies
Debra Friedman Memorial Lecture
“Echoes of a Chocolate City: Race, Aesthetics and Black Urbanism” (online)
April
UC Santa Cruz, Center for Cultural Studies
Colloquium Series
“Spatial Temporalities: The Future-Pasts of Black Dispossession (online)
UC Santa Cruz, Center for Cultural Studies
Colloquium Series
“Spatial Temporalities: The Future-Pasts of Black Dispossession (online)
March
Boston University
Urban Inequalities Workshop (online)
Boston University
Urban Inequalities Workshop (online)
February
Princeton University, School of Architecture (Princeton, NJ)
Womxn in Design and Architecture (WDA) conference
Princeton University, School of Architecture (Princeton, NJ)
Womxn in Design and Architecture (WDA) conference
February
New York University, Center for Black Visual Culture
Panel: “Home Displaced” (online)
New York University, Center for Black Visual Culture
Panel: “Home Displaced” (online)
February
University of Michigan, Taubman College
Under Consideration: Session IX (online)
University of Michigan, Taubman College
Under Consideration: Session IX (online)
2021
November
UCLA - Geography Department Geography Colloquium
“Spatial Temporalities: The Future-Pasts of Black Dispossession” (online)
UCLA - Geography Department Geography Colloquium
“Spatial Temporalities: The Future-Pasts of Black Dispossession” (online)
October
Columbia University - Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP)
Lectures in Planning Series (LiPS)
“Spatial Temporalities: The Future-Pasts of Black Dispossession” (online)
Columbia University - Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP)
Lectures in Planning Series (LiPS)
“Spatial Temporalities: The Future-Pasts of Black Dispossession” (online)
October
UC Berkeley - African American Studies
Critical Conversations Speakers Series - “Skyrise: June Jordan’s Architectural Imaginary” w/ Olalekan Jeyifous and Mabel O. Wilson (online)
UC Berkeley - African American Studies
Critical Conversations Speakers Series - “Skyrise: June Jordan’s Architectural Imaginary” w/ Olalekan Jeyifous and Mabel O. Wilson (online)
July
Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE)
Structural Racism, Health, and COVID-19 panel (online)
Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE)
Structural Racism, Health, and COVID-19 panel (online)
July
Urban Frontiers: A Conference on Gentrification Studies
“Black Joy as Recovery and the Fight Against Place Annihilation” for “Debates on Gentrification” panel (online)
Urban Frontiers: A Conference on Gentrification Studies
“Black Joy as Recovery and the Fight Against Place Annihilation” for “Debates on Gentrification” panel (online)
April
CUNY Grad Center - The Center for Place, Culture, and Politics
From “Upscaling” to Uhauling: Perspectives on Black/Queer Gentrification in Conversation w/ J. Jack Gieseking and Desirée Fields (online)
CUNY Grad Center - The Center for Place, Culture, and Politics
From “Upscaling” to Uhauling: Perspectives on Black/Queer Gentrification in Conversation w/ J. Jack Gieseking and Desirée Fields (online)
April
UC Berkeley - African American Studies
Critical Conversations Speakers Series - “Black Feminist Geographies of Emancipation” w/ Savannah Shange (online)
UC Berkeley - African American Studies
Critical Conversations Speakers Series - “Black Feminist Geographies of Emancipation” w/ Savannah Shange (online)
March
UC Berkeley - Architecture & Global Metropolitan Studies
Olalekan Jeyifous + Brandi T. Summers: “(Im)permanence, Improvisation, and our Absurdist Future” (online)
UC Berkeley - Architecture & Global Metropolitan Studies
Olalekan Jeyifous + Brandi T. Summers: “(Im)permanence, Improvisation, and our Absurdist Future” (online)
March
University of Oxford Rothermere American Institute RAI Goes to the Movies - Sorry to Bother You + Blindspotting Panel (online)
University of Oxford Rothermere American Institute RAI Goes to the Movies - Sorry to Bother You + Blindspotting Panel (online)
February
University of Maryland - Urban Planning Seminar Group
Reframing Social + Spatial Justice in 2020-2021
(online)
University of Maryland - Urban Planning Seminar Group
Reframing Social + Spatial Justice in 2020-2021
(online)
February
University of Cambridge - Conservation Research Institute
CUGS: The Geographies of Racial Capitalism panel
(online)
University of Cambridge - Conservation Research Institute
CUGS: The Geographies of Racial Capitalism panel
(online)
January
Rice University
Racism and Racial Experiences (RARE) Workgroup (online)
Rice University
Racism and Racial Experiences (RARE) Workgroup (online)
2020
December
University of California Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI)
Living Through Upheaval: Under Fire (online)
University of California Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI)
Living Through Upheaval: Under Fire (online)
November
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
Lecture - “A Tale of Two Cities: Black Insurgent Aesthetics & the Public Imaginary” (online)
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
Lecture - “A Tale of Two Cities: Black Insurgent Aesthetics & the Public Imaginary” (online)
November
Design Museum of Chicago + blkHaUS studios
Raising Products Series (online)
Design Museum of Chicago + blkHaUS studios
Raising Products Series (online)
October
University of Kentucky
Department of Geography Colloquium Series (online)
University of Kentucky
Department of Geography Colloquium Series (online)
October
UC Berkeley - Network for a New Political Economy
Race and the Political Economy panel (online)
UC Berkeley - Network for a New Political Economy
Race and the Political Economy panel (online)
October
Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum
A Right to the City - A Conversation with Brandi Summers (online)
Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum
A Right to the City - A Conversation with Brandi Summers (online)
June
University of ChicagoRace & Capitalism Project
COVID-19 and Racial Inequities: Unpacking the Anti-Black Response (online)
University of ChicagoRace & Capitalism Project
COVID-19 and Racial Inequities: Unpacking the Anti-Black Response (online)
June
Mills CollegeKnowledge for Freedom: “Black Study” and the Present Struggle, A Conversation with Nikhil Pal Singh, Savannah Shange, and Brandi Thompson Summers (online)
Mills CollegeKnowledge for Freedom: “Black Study” and the Present Struggle, A Conversation with Nikhil Pal Singh, Savannah Shange, and Brandi Thompson Summers (online)
April
Next City Webinar
Black in Place: The Spatial Aesthetics of Race in a Post-Chocolate City (online)
Next City Webinar
Black in Place: The Spatial Aesthetics of Race in a Post-Chocolate City (online)
April
University of California, Berkeley
Global Metropolitan Studies Lecture Series (online)
University of California, Berkeley
Global Metropolitan Studies Lecture Series (online)
March
UC Berkeley - Department of Geography
Berkeley Black Geographies Symposium
UC Berkeley - Department of Geography
Berkeley Black Geographies Symposium
February
Mills College
Black to the Future: Blackness, Space, & Power in Changing Times--A Conversation between Alicia Garza and Brandi Thompson Summers
Mills College
Black to the Future: Blackness, Space, & Power in Changing Times--A Conversation between Alicia Garza and Brandi Thompson Summers
February
Princeton University School of Architecture
Princeton-Mellon Forum on the Urban Environment
Princeton University School of Architecture
Princeton-Mellon Forum on the Urban Environment
February
Politics & Prose (Washington, DC)
Book talks: Democracy’s Capital and Black in Place
Politics & Prose (Washington, DC)
Book talks: Democracy’s Capital and Black in Place
2019
June
Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
“The Corner: Spatial Aesthetics and Black Bodies in Place”
Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
“The Corner: Spatial Aesthetics and Black Bodies in Place”
June
Université Paris-Dauphine (Paris, France)
Race in the Marketplace Symposium
“A Haute [Ghetto] Mess: Black Authenticity and Visual Artifice in Vogue Italia”
Université Paris-Dauphine (Paris, France)
Race in the Marketplace Symposium
“A Haute [Ghetto] Mess: Black Authenticity and Visual Artifice in Vogue Italia”
April
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
“Unmaking a Chocolate City: Spatial Aesthetics of Race and the Gentrifying Urban Landscape”
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
“Unmaking a Chocolate City: Spatial Aesthetics of Race and the Gentrifying Urban Landscape”
April
Hollins University
“Unmaking a Chocolate City: Spatial Aesthetics of Race and the Gentrifying Urban Landscape”
Hollins University
“Unmaking a Chocolate City: Spatial Aesthetics of Race and the Gentrifying Urban Landscape”
April
American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting (Washington, DC)
“Chocolate Lives in a Post-Chocolate City”
“Consuming Black Space and Culture: Race, Authenticity, and Quality-of-Life Aesthetics in Washington, D.C.”
“Washington’s ‘Atlas District’ and the New Regime of Diversity”
American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting (Washington, DC)
“Chocolate Lives in a Post-Chocolate City”
“Consuming Black Space and Culture: Race, Authenticity, and Quality-of-Life Aesthetics in Washington, D.C.”
“Washington’s ‘Atlas District’ and the New Regime of Diversity”
March
SXSW EDU Conference & Festival “Imagination & Ingenuity: Prison as Learning Space” (panel discussion)
SXSW EDU Conference & Festival “Imagination & Ingenuity: Prison as Learning Space” (panel discussion)
January
University of Oregon
SLOW LAB at the College of Design
“The Corner: Spatial Aesthetics and Black Bodies in Place”
University of Oregon
SLOW LAB at the College of Design
“The Corner: Spatial Aesthetics and Black Bodies in Place”
2018
December
Rush University Hospital (Chicago, IL)“The Life, Limits, and Longevity of (Institutional) Bias in the Workplace”
Rush University Hospital (Chicago, IL)“The Life, Limits, and Longevity of (Institutional) Bias in the Workplace”
Afrikana Film Festival (Richmond, VA)
Post-screening interview with Boots Riley, director of “Sorry to Bother You”
Post-screening interview with Boots Riley, director of “Sorry to Bother You”
November
American Studies Association Annual Meeting (Atlanta, GA)
“Racial Architectures of Urban Space”
American Studies Association Annual Meeting (Atlanta, GA)
“Racial Architectures of Urban Space”
November
(anti)Blackness in the American Metropolis Workshop (Baltimore, MD) “Spatial Aesthetics and Black Bodies in Place”
(anti)Blackness in the American Metropolis Workshop (Baltimore, MD) “Spatial Aesthetics and Black Bodies in Place”
September
Howard University
Broken Landscapes: Local Perspectives on Black Architects and Planners Since 1968“Geographies of Blackness in a Post-Chocolate City”
Howard University
Broken Landscapes: Local Perspectives on Black Architects and Planners Since 1968“Geographies of Blackness in a Post-Chocolate City”
June
Progressive Connexions (Palermo, Italy)
Fashion and Photography: An Inclusive Interdisciplinary Project
“A Haute [Ghetto] Mess: Black Authenticity and Visual Artifice in Vogue Italia”
Progressive Connexions (Palermo, Italy)
Fashion and Photography: An Inclusive Interdisciplinary Project
“A Haute [Ghetto] Mess: Black Authenticity and Visual Artifice in Vogue Italia”
May
American University
Sharing Space: Examining African American and Latino Intercultural Exchanges in Dynamic Neighborhoods Symposium
“Revitalized Displacement: The Mark of Diversity in a Gentrifying Commercial Corridor”
American University
Sharing Space: Examining African American and Latino Intercultural Exchanges in Dynamic Neighborhoods Symposium
“Revitalized Displacement: The Mark of Diversity in a Gentrifying Commercial Corridor”
May
University of Richmond
Arc of Racial Justice Institute
“The Art of Inclusion and Community Engaged Research”
University of Richmond
Arc of Racial Justice Institute
“The Art of Inclusion and Community Engaged Research”
April
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA)
“The Art of Inclusion and Community Engaged Research”
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA)
“The Art of Inclusion and Community Engaged Research”
April
University of Pennsylvania
“Black Aesthetics/Aesthetic Blackness”
University of Pennsylvania
“Black Aesthetics/Aesthetic Blackness”
April
American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting (New Orleans, LA)
“Black Geographies and the Spatial Containment of Race”
American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting (New Orleans, LA)
“Black Geographies and the Spatial Containment of Race”
January
Modern Languages Association Annual Meeting (New York, NY)
“The Corner: Black Bodies, Spatial Aesthetics, and DC’s Go-Go Economy”
Modern Languages Association Annual Meeting (New York, NY)
“The Corner: Black Bodies, Spatial Aesthetics, and DC’s Go-Go Economy”
2017
November
American University
Metropolitan Policy Center
“Shifting Cultural Landscapes in Chocolate City”
American University
Metropolitan Policy Center
“Shifting Cultural Landscapes in Chocolate City”
October
University of California, Berkeley
Black Geographies Symposium
“Neoliberalism and Black Containment”
University of California, Berkeley
Black Geographies Symposium
“Neoliberalism and Black Containment”
September
Afrikana Film Festival (Richmond, VA)
Post-screening interview with Amanda Seales
Afrikana Film Festival (Richmond, VA)
Post-screening interview with Amanda Seales
August
American Sociological Association Annual Meeting (Montréal, Quebec)
“Fear and Loathing (of Others) in Washington, D.C.”
American Sociological Association Annual Meeting (Montréal, Quebec)
“Fear and Loathing (of Others) in Washington, D.C.”
June
Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, Genders, and Sexualities (Hempstead, NY)
“Queer Imaginations of Black Beauty”
Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, Genders, and Sexualities (Hempstead, NY)
“Queer Imaginations of Black Beauty”
March
Society for Cinema and Media Studies Annual Meeting (Chicago, IL)
“Haute [Ghetto] Mess: Post-Racial Aesthetics and the Seduction of Blackness in High Fashion”
Society for Cinema and Media Studies Annual Meeting (Chicago, IL)
“Haute [Ghetto] Mess: Post-Racial Aesthetics and the Seduction of Blackness in High Fashion”
2016
November
American Studies Association Annual Meeting (Denver, CO)
“The Changing Face of a Black Place: Spatializing Nostalgia and Cultural Tourism“
American Studies Association Annual Meeting (Denver, CO)
“The Changing Face of a Black Place: Spatializing Nostalgia and Cultural Tourism“
November
National Women’s Studies Association Annual Meeting (Montréal, Quebec)
“Street Life: Black Bodies and Spatial Aesthetics in a Post-Chocolate City”
National Women’s Studies Association Annual Meeting (Montréal, Quebec)
“Street Life: Black Bodies and Spatial Aesthetics in a Post-Chocolate City”
November
Georgetown University
“The Politics of Soul Style: Fashion, Race and African American History”
Georgetown University
“The Politics of Soul Style: Fashion, Race and African American History”
October
Association for the Study of African American Life and History Annual Meeting (Richmond, VA)
“Diversity as Tableau: Race, Space, and Redevelopment in Washington, D.C.”
Association for the Study of African American Life and History Annual Meeting (Richmond, VA)
“Diversity as Tableau: Race, Space, and Redevelopment in Washington, D.C.”
October
Center for Worker Education
City College of New York
“Black Bodies, Spatial Aesthetics, and DC’s Go-Go Economy”
Center for Worker Education
City College of New York
“Black Bodies, Spatial Aesthetics, and DC’s Go-Go Economy”
July
Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum (Washington, DC)
Book Forum: Capital Dilemma
“Race and Change in the Atlas District”
Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum (Washington, DC)
Book Forum: Capital Dilemma
“Race and Change in the Atlas District”
March
National Council for Black Studies Annual Meeting (Charlotte, NC)
“The Corner: Black Bodies, Spatial Aesthetics, and DC’s Go-Go Economy”
National Council for Black Studies Annual Meeting (Charlotte, NC)
“The Corner: Black Bodies, Spatial Aesthetics, and DC’s Go-Go Economy”
February
American University
Urban Studies Humanities Lab
“Race and Urban Aesthetics in Washington, D.C.”
American University
Urban Studies Humanities Lab
“Race and Urban Aesthetics in Washington, D.C.”
2015
October
New York University
Institute for Public Knowledge
“Un/Making Blackness: On the Aesthetic Discourses of Post-Race and Urban Space”
New York University
Institute for Public Knowledge
“Un/Making Blackness: On the Aesthetic Discourses of Post-Race and Urban Space”
September
Association for the Study of African American Life and History Annual Meeting (Atlanta, GA)
“Selling Haute Pu$$y: Defining an Aesthetic Market for Blackness in High Fashion”
Association for the Study of African American Life and History Annual Meeting (Atlanta, GA)
“Selling Haute Pu$$y: Defining an Aesthetic Market for Blackness in High Fashion”
August
Association of Black Sociologists Annual Meeting (Chicago, IL)
“Black Bodies, Diverse Spaces: Neoliberal Aesthetics of Cool in a Post-Chocolate City”
Association of Black Sociologists Annual Meeting (Chicago, IL)
“Black Bodies, Diverse Spaces: Neoliberal Aesthetics of Cool in a Post-Chocolate City”
April
American University
“Hot Food/Haute Cuisine: Aesthetics, Race, and Authenticity in the Atlas District”
American University
“Hot Food/Haute Cuisine: Aesthetics, Race, and Authenticity in the Atlas District”