Global Blackness Initiative

Conversations across
the Black diaspora,
from the ground up.

A community of activists, artists, musicians, writers and scholars and practitioners in different fields, building an honest, people-centered conversation on what it means to be Black across the globe — in lecture halls and in the markets, from Nairobi to Kingston to Bogota.

Illustrative flight paths connecting the diaspora ITHACA NAIROBI KINGSTON HAVANA ACCRA PORT OF SPAIN

Illustrative flight paths across the diaspora

250+Town hall attendees, Feb 2023
5Partner countries in year one
11Partner universities & centers
Aug 10–17Kenya convening, 2026
Kenya 2026 · Program

The full event program.

From university visits and town halls to market conversations and the closing symposium — the complete day-by-day schedule for the Kenya convening is laid out in the program guide below.

Global Blackness Initiative — August 12–16, Kenya
Hatimaye coffee table book cover
Common Reads

Hatimaye Coffee Table Book

This coffee table book features stunning photography, personal narratives, and critical legal perspectives that document our community’s journey and brings together powerful voices from Kenya’s artistic and legal communities to illuminate the lived realities of the law on queer bodies, minds, and souls.

Get It From Nuria
The Nairobi Musical Theatre Initiative

Musical Theatre by Africans, for Africa and Beyond.

The Nairobi-based NBO Musical Theatre Initiative aims to offer contemporary African artists fresh, new and alternative models and techniques for creating plays with music.

Learn More

Join the network of Afro-diasporic thinkers, activists, writers and poets.