While on my return flight from Baltimore to Sacramento, I reflected on this year’s ABPsi conference. From the writing bootcamp to my daily workouts, the liberating libations, and more, I enjoyed the Association of Black Psychologists’ 57th Annual International Convention. This year’s theme, The Illumination: Freeing the African Spirit, loosened the shackles on my spiritual challenges.
The ABPsi convention offered opportunities to gain knowledge, form new relationships, participate in wellness activities, and share about my work with capoeira. I am grateful for the resources to attend.
Like last year, I attended the pre-conference writing boot camp led by Drs. Burlew, Vandiver, and Wilton. Their presentations offered useful strategies for conducting research and preparing manuscripts for publication. As the Managing Editor of PsychDiscourse, I also shared advice with participants about writing commentaries.
Several attendees promised to reply to future calls for submissions.
On Wednesday morning, I ran around Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and paused to practice capoeira in front of the Frederick Douglass statue. The workout helped clear my mind and fortify my body before I presented on my work with capoeira as an African-centered wellness practice.
Participants in my session learned about capoeira’s history, played instruments, experimented with movements, observed a demonstration, and sang songs. I debuted a video featuring my sons. During the presentation, I also shared findings from my book and the data collected since Peter Lang Press published it in 2019.
When my session ended, I left the classroom on Morgan State University’s campus with a smile on my face and feelings of gratitude in my heart.
Wednesday evening’s opening ceremony libation invited the Ancestors, the Creator, and the unborn to the conference. Energy in the Student Center shifted as we remembered loved ones, called their names, and affirmed them through a collective Ase. Right fists lifted as we sang the final words of James Weldon Johnson’s Black National Anthem.
Madame President Monique Swift Muhammad welcomed and beckoned us to explore the Spirit purpose in our presence at this year’s convention. She reminded us of the wars that we find ourselves in throughout the diaspora and encouraged unity as the means to survive. By acknowledging the Divine in us, she asked that we respond to oppression with courage and community.
Thursday, I attended the Mbongi: Global Africa Rising: Spirit, Sovereignty, and Collective Liberation meeting.
Baba Dr. Wade Nobles led a panel of delegates with perspectives from Ghana, Canada, the UK, Haiti, Ethiopia, and their respective regions. I wrote down questions, quotations, and ideas in my journal during the session.
Nobles asked us to contemplate, “How can I see the Divine Energy Made Manifest (DEMM) in my brothers and sisters?” whenever we find ourselves experiencing frustration in global emancipatory work. He reminded us that Sawubona is not just the Zulu word for “I see you.” The greeting further translates to, “I see the Divine in You.”
The global panel reiterated Madame President’s plea for unity throughout the diaspora.
On Friday morning, I shared an update on PsychDiscourse’s progress with the editorial team during the State of the Association meeting. We discussed key analytics and a preview of our forthcoming updated site. Then, I returned to Morgan State University’s campus, where I joined the drum circle, before leaving for the airport.
I missed the weekend’s activities because I planned a rite-of-passage excursion for my son’s thirteenth birthday.
The day before the pre-conference writing bootcamp, I received a job offer. On the Monday after the conference, I signed the contract for a position as an associate professor at an institution in the Caribbean islands. The timing between the offer, this year’s conference, and the signing of the contract makes the position feel like a Divine opportunity to free my African spirit.
While my family plans to move abroad again, I am prayerful that God’s Will, brings me to next year’s convention. Share this article with another conference attendee and encourage them to submit a reflection essay about their experiences.
