Upcoming Africana Studies Events

Collaboration with Sociology & Criminal Justice and Black Studies

Dr. Zandria Robinson – “Surely You’ll Begin the World: Black Studies Epistemology on the Other Side of Time."

Date:         Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Time:         11:00am - 12:30pm

Location:  SO 1021. Overflow, SO 1019

Online option coming soon

Dr. Nichole Renee Phillips - "The Contemporary Black Church: How Black is Black Christianity?"

Date:         Thursday, February 19, 2026

Time:         11:00am - 12:15pm

Location:  ALC 5102

Online option

 

Dr. Nichole Renée Phillips is the Associate Professor in the Practice of Religion and Society and Director of Black Church Studies at Candler School of Theology, Emory University. A sociologist of religion and public theologian, she is also a Senior Faculty Fellow at Emory University’s Center for Ethics and Associate Faculty in the Emory’s Department of Sociology. Her academic interest in race and religion in U.S. politics and church in American society, led to her first monograph, Patriotism Black and White: The Color of American Exceptionalism landing on the Best Sellers List for the Christian ecumenical and flagship magazine of U.S. mainline Protestants, The Christian Century in 2019.
 
A recipient of numerous recognitions, honors, and awards, Dr. Phillips is preparing for publication the results of her Templeton Religion Trust study on black faith, science and medicine. She was initiated into The Society for the Study of Black Religion (SSBR) in Spring 2018. In 2019, she was inducted into the Martin Luther King, Jr. International College of Ministers and Laity, and as a member of the Collegium of Scholars at Morehouse College.
 
She received the A.B. from Wellesley College, an M.Div. from Harvard University’s Divinity School, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Religion and Social Sciences with a minor in African American Cultural Studies and History from Vanderbilt University. She also holds an Executive MBA from Emory University, Goizueta Business School.

Mixed Media Textiles Gallery – This work celebrates the richness of African heritage through color, texture, and story. The pieces blend paper, fabric, and paint, highlighting the cultural symbolism found in textiles like kente, mud cloth, and Ankara.

Open to the Public

Date:         Monday - Friday, 3/23 - 3/27/26

Time:         9:00am - 4:00pm

Location:  ALC 5625

Ms. Lola Okunola - "Woven Legacies: African Textiles and Their Global Influence in Contemporary Art, and Design."

Date:         Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Time:         11:00am - 12:15pm

Location:  ALC 5102

Online option

 

Lola Okunola is a mixed media artist whose work celebrates the richness of African heritage through color, texture, and story. Raised between Atlanta and Lagos, she carries a lived understanding of the global African experience, which shines through in her art and her community work. Her pieces blend paper, fabric, and paint, highlighting the cultural symbolism found in textiles like kente, mud cloth, and Ankara.

Lola serves as the Senior Regional Manager for the South at Welcoming America and is a dedicated board member of the Cowart Family YMCA. She also lends her voice to the City of Brookhaven’s Arts and Culture Commission. Her artistic reach spans the globe, with works shown in galleries in London, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. She has created an installation for the Google Atlanta headquarters, and her portfolio includes standout moments such as her art appearing on prime-time television and a striking outdoor lamppost banner displayed as part of Midtown Alliance’s biggest outdoor gallery in the Southeast initiative.

Passionate about heritage, identity, and creative expression, Lola’s upcoming gallery showcase at KSU offers a vibrant look at the global influence of African textiles and design, weaving together history, contemporary style, and the voices of designers shaping the future.

Theme: Uniting the African diaspora and continent through cultural exchange, business, art, and dialogue.

Performer: Tosinger - "Remembering Home: A Pan African Healing Journey

Date:        Thursday, March 26, 2026

Time:         7:00pm - 8:00pm

Location:  SO 1021

Online option

 

Remembering Home is a 30–45 minute immersive performance experience by Tosinger that unites the African continent and its global diaspora through music, storytelling, rhythm, and collective participation.

Rooted in African wellness traditions and oral history, the program opens with an acappella invocation that grounds the audience in breath, presence, and ancestral memory. Through original song, guitar, storytelling of Mali and Mansa Musa, spoken word, and drumming, the journey traces Africa’s legacy of knowledge, generosity, and global influence while honoring the shared longing for home felt across the diaspora.

The experience culminates in a communal call-and-response song, transforming the audience from spectators into participants and reinforcing Pan Africa Week’s core vision: uniting Africans worldwide through cultural exchange, art, dialogue, and collective healing.

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Tosin Taiwo, popularly known as 'Tosinger', is originally from Nigeria, West Africa, and is a multi-hyphenate Afrosoul singer-songwriter, actress-storyteller, cultural producer, and wellness creative with over 20 years of experience across Africa, Europe, and North America. Rooted in Yoruba heritage and diasporic consciousness, she brings African excellence to stage, screen, and sound with soul and purpose. Lyrically, she weaves Yoruba folklore and sayings into contemporary music aimed at healing, inspiring, and promoting African culture in the diaspora.

A SCAD graduate with a Masters in Arts Administration and a background in musical theater, Tosinger has performed as a vocal ensemble member in West End Broadway shows and served as Production Consultant & African Dialect Coach for Fela! on Broadway. Tosinger was also the first TEDx music performer at TEDx Atlanta Women 2022. As a cultural custodian, she shares African folklore on her YouTube channel 'Tales With Tosinger' and 'Daily Yoruba proverbs' on TikTok. In the acting world, Tosinger has contributed to various Hollywood productions, indie films, TV/web series and theatre, bringing African roles to life through authenticity while expressing relatable human stories.

She also channels her musical talents through playing the acoustic guitar and other unique instruments including the handpan, yoruba talking drum and the lap steel guitar. She is also media personality on TV and radio, co-hosting WRFG's 89.3 FM -African Experience Worldwide Show.

Beyond performance, as a wellness creative, Tosinger develops African-centered wellness products and practices: including sound therapy, somatic touch, and herbal apothecary, to support mental ease and spiritual grounding. Her work intentionally calms the nervous system, strengthens vagal authority, and restores emotional balance through sound, touch, and mindful practices.

Website: tosinger.com
@Tosinger on all social media platforms

Honoring global traditions of people of African descent through food, migration, story, and enterprise.

Cultural Immersions, Business Showcase, Mini-workshops, Diaspora Dialogue, Community Reflections. 

Date:          Thursday, April 23, 2026

Time:          11:00am - 2:00pm

Location:   SRAC 2090